New movie about Charles Dickens makes authors smile and laugh

If you're an author, you'll get a kick out of this new movie about one of England's most cherished authors, Charles Dickens.  I posted this movie review on my web site Movie Review Mom.   Enjoy!


Movie Title:  The Man Who Invented Christmas

Grade:  A-

Rating:  PG, 104 minutes

In a Nutshell:   I admit it.  I loved this movie, because I'm an author.  

I have a particular fondness for movies that peel back the curtains on the life of a successful author and reveal the painful writing process, including writer’s block, muses, and taking notes of people’s names (I do all that too.)  In this case, Charles Dickens is the author and the book that he struggles to write in less than 6 weeks is the famous, beloved A Christmas Carol: Original illustrations by John Leech.

I love that he was inspired by life around him.  Charles Dickens’ father warns, “We must not disturb the poet when the divine frenzy is upon him.”  True THAT!  When I’m writing and “in the zone”, it makes me crazy when I get interrupted, so I got a kick out of watching Charles Dickens deal with the constant knocking at his door.

Based on the book, this family friendly film is perfect for almost all ages and will leave you with the desire to do something kind for someone this Christmas season.  In fact, after A Christmas Carol: Original illustrations by John Leech was released in 1843, charitable giving immediately surged.  I hope this movie gets the same reaction.

 

Uplifting theme: 

• “No one is useless in this world who lightens the burden of another.” –
• “Christmas…the hope that our better natures will prevail.” - John
• Are you fettered by chains that you have made in life?  Jacob asked, “Do you know the link of the chain you bear yourself?”
• Poor vs. rich

Things I liked:

• Dan Stevens and those blue eyes!  If you wanted to see more of him since you first discovered him in Beauty and the Beast (2017) (Theatrical Version), you’ll love watching him star in this movie as Charles Dickens.
• Christopher Plummer was perfect as Ebenezer Scrooge. 
• The set pieces, furniture, and costume designs are really great.  I loved the details like the oil lamps for street lights.  Speaking of sets, some of the pieces from the TV series Penny Dreadful: Season One were used to make this film.  Despite the fact that you really feel like you’re in 19^th Century London, most of the filming was done in Ireland.
• Some well-placed humor.
• The audience laughed when Charles Dickens’ publisher said, “There’s not much of a market for Christmas.”
• While A Christmas Carol addresses the spirit of Christmas more than particular Christian beliefs, Charles Dickens’ book The Life of Our Lord: Written for His Children During the Years 1846 to 1849 where he bears testimony of the Savior of the world and shares his Christian beliefs.
• We don’t often see PG live action movies, so this was refreshing to see playing in theaters.
• I love how the characters in Charles’ books come to life for him and through him and are a part of the cast in the film.  In fact, Charles explains, “Get the name right and the character will appear.”  I write non-fiction and have always been fascinated with how the writing process works for fiction authors who create characters and worlds.
• There are several references to Shakespeare and, in fact, most of the cast in the film are trained Shakespearean actors.  In real life, Charles Dickens adored “The Bard” and acted in some of his plays.  Many of them had also previously worked on other adaptations of A Christmas Carol.

Things I didn’t like:

• It’s a little slow moving.
• Neither the title of the movie nor the original book are properly explained during the movie.
• Some of the flashbacks were shown at odd times and might be a bit confusing for children.
• While a biopic of sorts, some of the story is fiction.  We honestly don’t know as much about Charles Dickens’ writing process as we would like to!

Interesting quotes:

• “Debt is an ogre.  If you’re not careful, it can eat you up.” – Charles Dickens
• “People will believe anything if you’re finely dressed.” – John Dickens (Jonathan Pryce) 

Funny lines:

• “I’m the author here!” – Charles Dickens

“Allegedly.” - Scrooge

Tips for parents: 

• If your kids have never heard or read Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, then you’ll want them to become familiar with it first.
• Kids will be surprised to learn that Christmas wasn’t always so commercial as it is now.
• Kids also won’t know about “debtors’ prison” in England, where people were sent when they couldn't pay their bills.  That always seemed strange to me, because there would be no possibly way for them to earn the money they owed while in prison!
• Work houses in England are also mentioned several times.  Poor and destitute people were encouraged to go to work houses to live and earn money.  The conditions and stigma were so terrible that people would rather die than go there.
• I heard profanity twice. One of those times was the British swear word “bloody.”
• Some words your kids may not know are “nappies” (British word for “diaper”) and “necromancer” (conjurer).

@trinaboice 

Geostorm is a disaster movie in every sense of the word

Movie Title:  Geostorm

Grade:  C+

Rating: PG-13, 1 hour 49 minutes

In a Nutshell:  I’m embarrassed to admit that I love disaster movies.  This predictable end-of-the-world drama follows the cookie-cutter formula, resulting in a movie that self destructs.  After being delayed many times, this movie is the difinally hits the Big Screen as the directorial debut of Dean Devlin.

Uplifting theme: 

• Those who are interested in global warming will appreciate the premise of the film, which shows the world in chaos because of natural disasters.  The narrator at the beginning (Hannah Lawson played by Talitha Bateman) announces, “Everyone was warned, but no one listened.”
• Talitha states at the end of the movie, “No single nation could solve this.”  There’s a theme of togetherness and international unity.  “One planet.  One people.”  Wouldn’t it be amazing if we all really could work together in peace?
• Family is most important.

Things I liked:

• The space station was called “The Dutch Boy” named after the old story of the Dutch boy who saved the town by putting his finger in the dike to stop the leak.
• It gives new meaning to the world wide “net”.
• Cool gadgets and technology.  I especially liked the “holoframe” cell phone things.
• Talented cast includes Gerard Butler, Jim Sturgess, Abbie Cornish, Andy Garcia, Richard Schiff, Ed Harris.  Too bad the material isn’t as good as they are.  

Things I didn’t like:

• A lot of the humor fell flat.

·       Some good special effects, but not much we haven’t already seen before.  Almost every scene was green screen.

·       A lot of things simply don’t make sense and are laughable.

·       It could have been fun if the movie took itself less seriously.  One of my favorite disaster movies of all time is Independence Day                          It's a perfect example of drama, comedy, special effects, and heart.

*    Politicians are evil and stupid.

Tips for parents: 

• Profanity, including some that a little girl says.  I hate that.
• Natural disasters and massive destruction.
• People die.

Want to learn more about global warming? Check out the book Climate Change: The Facts 2017

MOVIE REVIEW MOM

@trinaboice