Comedy

• Title: Operation Christmas Drop
• IMDb: link

Operation Christmas Drop is your typical schmaltzy holiday fare featuring a character rediscovering the meaning of Christmas. In this case, our leading lady is Kat Graham starring as workaholic Congressional aide Erica who is sent halfway around the world on Christmas by a Grinch of Senator (Virginia Madsen) to find reasons to shut down a military base that dares spread goodwill during the holidays. I half expected Madsen to start looking for Dalmatians to skin as the script by Gregg Rossen and Brian Sawyer requires so many one-note characters to force the plot along.

The military operation that gives the film its title, where U.S. Forces drop crates of humanitarian aid across several isolated islands, has been going strong since 1952 providing the backdrop of the base in Guam and the reason for Erica to be in tropical paradise at Christmas. Alexander Ludwig plays the goodhearted pilot who lives for Christmas and helps the base make the most of the occasion. He’s even able to help rekindle a bit of Christmas spirit within Erica despite the entire reason for her arrival being to deliver a report justifying the base’s closure.

…

Operation Christmas DropRead More »

• Title: Borat Subsequent Moviefilm
• IMDb: link

It’s been 14 years since Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan was a success in the United States. Unfortunately for the Kazakh television journalist Borat Sagdiyev (Sacha Baron Cohen), the movie did not do so well at home leading to trouble for the would-be documentarian who was imprisoned for bringing shame on his country. As the sequel opens, Borat is given a second chance to redeem his honor, and that of his country, by presenting a gift to Vice Premier, er… Vice President, Mike Pence.

Borat Subsequent Moviefilm is very similar to Borat in setting Sacha Baron Cohen loose in public and letting the cameras roll. Because of the recognizability of the character at this point, there’s even a Halloween costume of him, Borat is forced to disguise himself over the course of the film whose primary target this time around is the Christian Right, Trump supporters, and the Republican Party who, as Cohen proves, don’t need much help to look foolish on film. Maria Bakalova co-stars as Borat’s daughter whose relationship with her father provides the emotional undercurrent of the film.

…

Borat Subsequent MoviefilmRead More »