Stream this year's Christmas hit: John McPhail's ANNA AND THE APOCALYPSE

Likely to become a holiday classic -- thanks to its delightful and original combination of high school musical, zombie pic and Christmas movie -- ANNA AND THE APOCALYPSE snuck into theaters in limited release at the end of last year (garnering some very nice reviews in the process) and is now available to stream via Amazon Prime. The movie's a winner, a keeper, and an all-round wonder as it unfurls its very charming, funny and bizarre "take" on high school, love, friendship, Christmas pageants and zombies. Really, this is the best zombie movie since Train to Busan and the best original musical in several years (for my money it beats the too-precious La La Land all to heck).

As directed with a remarkably intuitive sense of tone and tenor by John McPhail (at left) and co-written -- with not just exceptional "smarts" but also an appreciation of and love for the genres they send up and add to -- by Alan McDonald and the late Ryan McHenry (to whom the work is dedicated), this little film finds its footing so quickly and securely that I suspect film buffs will recall it fondly and lovingly when many other more trumpeted, high-budget movies will have long faded from memory.

The story is simple and initially rather sweet. As Anna and her loving dad drive along the highway discussing Anna's future (for which they each have a different plan), on the radio we hear, "The CDC has announced that what it initially thought to be a contagious--", at which point Anna switches the radio off, and we continue with high school and teenagers, the trauma of growing up, falling in love (of course with the wrong person), and putting on the yearly Christmas pageant. Talk about a pointed but relatively subtle manner in which to introduce the expectation of zombies -- and then having the chutzpah to simply leave them offscreen for quite some time!

By the time we do see them, Anna (Ella Hunt, above center) and her friends are so immersed in teenage narcissism and song (a lovely, funny one, too) that they don't even notice the undead cavorting in their slow, zombie fashion behind them. (These zombies adhere to the better, slower George Romero version, which allows for a lot more leeway, escape routes and fun.)

Anna's friends include her "bestie," John (a sweet Malcolm Cumming (above, center), who clearly loves Ella in more than a best-friend way, and student investigative journalist Steph (no-nonsense Sarah Swire, at left, below),

and especially the school bully, Nick (Ben Wiggins, below), who turns out to have a bit more on the ball than bullies in other films. Wiggins also gets a great song midway along that reinforces how cleverly Anna and the Apocalypse plays with the genre conventions of zombie movies, high-school rom-coms, Christmas movies and so much else.

The supporting cast is terrific, too, with Paul Kay, below, left, as the succulently sleazy school headmaster, and Mark Benton, below, right, the very picture of a kindly, loving, over-protective dad.

Who survives and who does not may surprise you, and this certainly adds to the film's thrills and sometimes to its sadness. (As one of the songs tells us, "There's no such thing as a Hollywood ending.") I can't remember when a zombie movie made me laugh and touched me in the way this one does, yet even the moving moments don't seem too sentimental. They're all delivered with a wit and a style that seduce. (Who'd imagine a Christmas candy cane as a prime zombie-killing tool?)

Marli Siu (above) makes a sweet secondary love interest for the school's nerdy-but-nice photographer, a funny, on-the-mark Christopher Leveaux (below, center left). The musical numbers range from very good to OK, with more of the former than the latter, and they are produced and executed so well that they seem utterly organic to the rest of the film. In a movie that mashes this many genres, that took some doing.

Oh, yes, there's gore, too. This is a zombie film, after all. But even the blood is handled with the same kind of smart tone and subtlety as all else here. Boy, what a special little movie this is!

Streaming now via Amazon Prime, and also available for rental or purchase on DVD and Blu-ray, Anna and the Apocalypse is simply too good to miss. It'll take its place with other fine, dark Christmas movies, for folk who need a respite from the current feel-good holiday twaddle filling our network TV, cable and streaming services.

Streaming choice: Zach Clark's WHITE REINDEER -- an oddball, deadpan original

Though TrustMovies has seen the actress Anna Margaret Hollyman in a number of movies (generally not in the leading role: Somebody Up There Likes Me and Gayby are two of the most recent), nothing she has given us so far impresses me as much her work in WHITE REINDEER. In this strange and rather deadpan film by writer/director Zach Clark (shown below), Ms Hollyman not only has the leading role but it would be difficult to imagine anyone else quite as distinctive and right for this quirky, unclassifiable little bit of holiday non-cheer.

The movie would seem to have the outline of a melodrama (after all, it includes, robbery, murder, infidelity, pole dancing and more), yet in the playing/telling, it is resolutely unmelodra-matic. You will find yourself laughing off and on, yet White Reindeer is anything but comedy. It is not a drama, either, exactly, though there are also moments of odd tenderness and feeling that make themselves felt without the filmmaker, actress or the rest of the cast "pushing." Among its themes is one that probably stands out most: Even if you think you know who you are and what your life's about (a sometimes tricky proposition to begin with), all this can change in a moment. Oh, yes, and it's a Christmas movie, too, though I think we'd have to place it firmly in the category of "alternative" holiday fare.

Ms Hollyman, above, plays a happily married realtor named Suzanne, whose hubby is a successful businessman about to move the couple to Hawaii. Once fate (or whatever) intervenes, Suzanne finds herself involved with a group of strippers,

one of whom is  named Fantasia (a quite wonderful first performance from Laura Lemar-Goldsborough, above), who has a young child and lives with her mom.

There's a detective (Chris Doubek); a newly married couple played by Lydia Hyslop (above, center) and Joe Swanberg (yes, that Joe Swanberg, above, left, doing a nice acting turn here) who has bought a house via Suzanne; a couple of co-worker real estate ladies; Fantasia's group of strippers (shown below), and some other odd and various characters. But it is Ms Hollyman who holds it all together, as she tries to figure out, well, so many things. And we're right there along with her.

White Reindeer can be streamed now via Netflix, and elsewhere, but apparently it is not yet available on DVD.

For a dose of real Christmas spirit -- and a look at Paul Walker in one of his best roles -- try to find/view Chazz Palminteri's under-seen NOEL

Such a holiday curmudgeon am I -- reviewing a Netflix series I didn't much like for Christmas Eve, and then following it the next day with a Christmas "turkey" of a movie -- that I feel I ought now suggest to you a fine, overlooked holiday film, NOEL, with a sterling cast, smart writing and good direc-tion by Chazz Palmin-teri (shown below).

Unfortunately, Netflix only has the DVD (don't know why the company doesn't stream it, at least during the holiday season), but you can also watch it now via Amazon Instant Video and maybe elsewhere.

Below is the review I posted on Netflix during the 2005 holiday season, soon after the movie made its DVDebut.


An incipient classic in the holiday movie genre, NOEL is for us urbanites who hate the holidays on the surface but secretly pine for connection, redemption and a little real joy. Suffused with sadness and longing (and occasional quirky humor: the winning-the-Xmas-tree scene), the film connects a group of disparate New Yorkers in ways that are humane, sentimental and, in one case, otherworldly. 

This sort of thing could easily become predictable and tiresome but thanks to the thoughtful screenplay by David Hubbard, tactful direction (plus a cameo) from Chaz Palminteri and fine performances from Susan Sarandon, Penelope Cruz, Alan Arkin, an uncredited Robin Williams and a spot-on ensemble cast, the movie works beautifully, leaving you up to your ears in a pile of used Kleenexes--what every good sentimental holiday movie aims for. (You can take or leave the "spirituality" angle, which is played tenderly and realistically enough to please even an agnostic reprobate like me.) 

The biggest surprise of all is the rich, wonderful performance given by Paul Walker, a "looker" who heretofore has been given little chance to act ("The Skulls," "Timeline," "Into the Blue"). As a big city, lower-middle-class cop with an attitude/jealousy problem, he sports a fine accent and an even better range of emotions--from anger and love to confusion and joy, with each moment utterly believable. I hope some of our better directors see this one and realize the possibilities possessed by Mr. Walker. Released briefly in theatres and treated like a poor relation, the movie deserved a lot better. From the tone of most other reviews here on Netflix, it will thankfully find its true standing on DVD.

Catch Noel if you can. It's one of those under-seen and under-sung independents.

For a true Xmas turkey, look no further than Ed Burns' THE FITZGERALD FAMILY CHRISTMAS

Ed Burns and Connie Britton are tremen-dously appealing actors, but they are about the only good things -- despite a cast full of other good actors -- in the atrocious and cliche-ridden "family" rom-com-dram, THE FITZGERALD FAMILY CHRISTMAS. What were they thinking? rears its questioning little head often and loudly throughout this message-laden movie about family, death, dying, guilt, retribution, sex, drugs, rock-n-roll and more. Oh, god, so much more. Each family member in this sappy, soapy saga has his/her own sad story. Together these make for major audience tribulation -- unless you are one of those lucky souls who must have your daily fix of a cliché or two (or, in this case maybe 20).

Over the years since Mr. Burns (pictured at right), who wrote and directed this film, burst upon the scene with his over-rated debut, The Brothers McMullen, he then, due to the outsized success of that one, continued mostly to repeat himself with movies that tend to glorify male caddishness, while misunderstanding women (though this did seem to be changing a bit in a film like his Purple Violets). In his latest we get themes and characters like the overbearing mother, abused girl friend, a senior citizen at the end of life, an unfaithful/absentee dad, and the great-looking guy (Mr. Burns, of course) who just can't seem to land a decent girlfriend.

That gone-for-decades dad (the recently-deceased Ed Lauter, above, left, with Michael McGlone) now wants back into the family, for reasons that will soon become apparent. Mom (Anita Gillette, the redhead shown bottom, center) says no, while their multiple offspring seem rather split in their views.

Not one of those offspring save the most fabulous one (you can guess who plays him) will even show up for mom's birthday, while the increasingly dumb behavior of one sis (Kerry Bishé, above left) and bro (Mr. McGlone) manages to hook their respective boyfriend (Noah Emmerich, above, right) and girlfriend up to each other. In fact, so much of the behavior on view is either lame-brained or super-convenient/coincidental that believability and interest soon depart.

And the happy ending you can see coming a mile away (but hope against hope will not arrive) does manage to land with its own built-in kicker: If ever a family deserved each other, it's this one. The Fitzgerald Family Christmas, that very rare holiday turkey that seems both over-cooked and under-done, can be streamed on Netflix, viewed via Amazon Instant Video or purchased on DVD.

Blu-ray/DVDebut: Giamatti, Rudd & Hawkins brighten Phil Morrison's ALL IS BRIGHT

The beauty and necessity of indie films stars are put on show in this little independent movie that came and went from theaters in the blink of an eye but can now find its place in film-goers' hearts and minds in a very good Blu-ray transfer that hits the street this coming Tuesday, November 19. ALL IS BRIGHT is about thievery and the criminal as-pect, among other movie constants such as family, love, divorce and coming to terms with what's best for your offspring.

As written by Melissa James Gibson (who penned several episodes of cable TV's The Americans this past season) and directed by Phil Morrison (shown at left, of Junebug), the movie is a parable of how to survive our current bleak economic times.

Those talented Pauls, Rudd and Giamatti, play criminal friends who also share a love for the Giamatti character's wife (Amy Landecker) and child (a talented newcomer named Tatyana Richaud). So Giamatti, just out of prison, on parole and needing immediate employment, talks Rudd into letting him replace another worker selling Canadian Christmas trees in New York City. (The scene in which Rudd tells that worker he's not needed, shot from a distance so that we cannot hear any of the dialog, is one of the film's sweetest, saddest and funniest.)

Down in New York City, Giamatti's first sale is to recent Russian immigrant played in fabulous style by that versatile British actress Sally Hawkins (above, right), who brings the movie a much-needed lift whenever she appears. Otherwise, the Pauls (below, with Rudd on the left) argue and sometime fight, finally managing to sell their trees and earn a nice bit of cash, while trying to convince the other that he's the wrong guy to head the family in question.

All Is Bright's a movie of small pleasures. Ace performances from everyone ensures that anyone who appreciates good acting will stick with the film. The writing too, is full of quirk, charm and a relatively high level of beliveability, given the combination of reality and sentimentality that hovers over the situation. Morrison directs in a simple, offhand manner that lets the actors grab the ball and run with it -- which they do at every opportunity (Morrison and Gibson have given them ample).

And that's pretty much it. There is an interesting viewpoint toward criminality here, what it does to our boys and how it comes back to bite them in the ass. There's also a smart look at immigrants in NYC, and at the haves and the have-nots. Nothing too deep, mind you; there is that air of sentimentality I mentioned earlier that comes home to rest at the finale. And yet. The writer and director and their cast manage to finally circumvent this just enough to let us feel the sadness and pain while exulting in the final decision made -- which seem the right one, considering all that we've come to know.

All Is Bright, from Anchor Bay Entertainment and running 107 minutes, is one of those worthwhile independent films that can easily escape notice. So be aware, particularly if you're a fan of this trio of fine performers.

Revisiting the Richard Curtis milestone, LOVE ACTUALLY, as its 10th anniversary approaches

Ask movie fans of romantic comedy what's their favorite example of the genre, and back will undoubtedly come a lot of responses for LOVE ACTUALLY. This movie was first released in 2003, when 9/11 was still on most of our minds. It made what was then -- still is, actually -- one of the more profound and truthful statements about airports and air travel and what you see while waiting at the arrivals gate. When it was first released, the film divided critics, though not so much audiences, as it gave many of us exactly what we wanted in spades and times ten -- while playing each of its several love stories for all it was worth. Which turned out to be quite a lot, making this movie so damnably memorable.

When TrustMovies noticed that the film, written and directed by Richard Curtis (at left), was suddenly appearing as "new" on Netflix streaming, it was hard to resist taking a peek at it once again, as he hadn't seen it since it was first released in November 2003. (Interestingly enough, Mr. Curtis' newest film, About Time, makes its debut this coming week at the New York Film Festival.) TM promised himself that he would only watch maybe ten minutes, just as a "fun" reminder. But then, 135 minutes later, there he was scrolling down the end credits, tears dripping onto the remote control as he kept hitting the "pause" button to check the names of some those so recognizable faces in lesser roles.

What's maybe most surprising about the movie (other than how well it holds up and how, even now, it seems incapable of being properly imitated) is how many about-to-be-better-known actors (and a few others on their way down) show up in smaller roles! Other than those eight starry names and faces that appear on the movie's poster, top, you probably will have forgotten about the other actors until you find yourself saying, omigod, that's Shannon Elizabeth! Chiwetel Ejiofor! January Jones! Martin Freeman! Elisha Cuthbert! Rodrigo Santoro! Denise Richards! And on and on...

I was also surprised at how much I had forgotten about the specific of so many of these love stories. Only the one involving Hugh Grant (above, left) as Britain's new Prime Minister and Martine McCutcheon (above, right) as the aide he falls for still filled my memory. Perhaps this story registered so strongly because we were at that time in the midst of Bush's lying and illegal war against Iraq, to which Tony Blair, despite the wishes of the British people, gave his blessing. To see Grant stand up to Billy Bob Thornton's American President -- who comes of like a reptilian combo of Bush and Cheyney -- made the movie seem like wish fulfillment on a whole other level.

The love story that most surprised me on this second viewing was that of Colin Firth (above, with Lúcia Moniz) who, early on, is cuckolded by his girl and so hightails it to southern France where he meets and fall in love with another visitor to that country whose language he can't speak, nor she his. Mr. Curtis makes the most of this tale, with subtitles to clue us in to what Firth can't understand. Is there an another actor who packs so much emotion and heft into utter passivity? If so, clue me in. Firth is so good here that he would steal the movie, if so many other's weren't doing it already.

Like Bill Nighy (center, left), as an over-the-hill rock singer trying for a comeback by changing an old hit of his into a "new" Christmas" song. Oh, yes: the movie takes place in the weeks leading up to that holiday -- which makes it both a memorable rom-com and a memorable Christmas movie. There's Alan Rickman (shown at bottom, right) and Emma Thompson (bottom, left) as a married couple about to be jolted by the specter of adultery; Laura Linney and Mr. Santoro (the latter will have gays and girls fainting when he disrobes); and Keira Knightley, Mr. Ejiofor (both below) and The Walking Dead's Andrew Lincoln (two photos below) in a lovely, funny/sad, unrequited triangle.

The capper -- and perhaps Mr. Curtis' best idea -- is using Mr. Freeman and Joanna Page as body-double stand-ins on a classy-looking porno shoot who meet in perhaps the oddest, most against-the-grain charming manner in the history of movies. Both actors seize their roles with zest and delight, which the audience can only share.

Oh -- and remember the loss Liam Neeson (below, left) must deal with, along with the budding romance that his stepson (Thomas Brodie-Sangster, below, right) experiences? One of the reason this movie works so well is that the filmmaker offers so many kinds of love -- from lost love to first-love, love in danger to love between the classes and/or races. (The only thing missing is any trace of GLBT love. Were Curtis to make his movie in this decade, there's hardly a way he could leave that out.)

As I mentioned earlier -- despite Love Actually's high quotient of laughs, charm, love (and length, though there's hardly a wasted moment) -- not everyone likes this movie. To read one of the better negative votes for this film, via Salon's Mary Elizabeth Williams, click here. Though I must say, comparing this movie, as Ms Williams does, to the work of Garry Marshall indicates that she has never sat through the likes of Valen-tine's Day nor New Year's Eve. Sure, Marshall was trying to come up with another movie as successful as Curtis', but he set the bar so low in terms of intelligence and class that comparisons are anything but apt.

You can catch the movie now via Netflix streaming, on DVD and elsewhere, too, I am sure. Universal, the studio that released the film, is offering a new Blu-ray/DVD combo -- to appear mid-October -- as a special holiday "ornament."

The holiday onslaught begins -- with Sue Corcoran's cute ALL I WANT IS CHRISTMAS

Every year around this time, "entertainment" is seized by holiday cheer -- or something approximating same -- as movies, television, cable, DVD, and this year evidently VOD become inundated with holiday programming and/or releases. If TrustMovies, holiday curmudgeon that he is, must cover at least one of these, he's glad that it's the straight-to-VOD movie ALL I WANT IS CHRISTMAS (aka Ira Finkelstein's Christmas). If that original title lets the cat out of the bag -- yes, this will be one of those Jewish-boy-jealous-of-the-big-Christian-holiday movies -- then you are probably thinking, Oy, we're gonna get a lesson in cultural tolerance! Well, yes and no.

The film's director (as well as co-writer and -producer), Sue Corcoran (shown at left), keeps any moralizing about religion/culture to a minimum and instead concentrates on family and the importance of togetherness at holiday time. She also concentrates on a better-than-average storyline that offers some good fun.  Instead of having just one kid-with-a-problem, her movie offers two.

One boy, Ira Finkelstein (Elijah Nelson, above), lives in Los Angeles with his either sleazy or just-stupid movie producer dad (David DeLuise) and pines for cold, snow and holiday cheer; the other, Mikey Amato (played by newcomer Justin Howell), comes from cold weather and a fractured family and longs for some sun and warmth.

How each gets what he wants is part of the fun of the film, which fortunately stays with the kids more than the adults and gets good performances from all of them, including the snowy town's mean bully (another newcomer Ashton Herrild, above).

In passing, the movie manages to take in our current depressed economy, living on credit, child (and dog) abuse, and a few other timely issues without messing up the necessary feel-good finale. While some of the jokes are tired and thin -- particularly those to do with the making of a sci-fi Christmas movie by Ira's dad involving elves and ray-guns (at right) and a typical Hollywood diva with an attitude and a yappy little dog -- those that stick with the children and their situations, especially those that involve Ira's grand-dad (Elliott Gould, below right), result in some good chuckles.

Sure, the movie is no great shakes, but compared to many that squeeze every last bit of sentimentality out of things, this one seems relatively easy-going, charming, and benign. It doesn't even bother to tie up all the loose ends too neatly, and the 84-minute running time (plus end-credits) makes it an easy watch.

All I Want Is Christmas makes it VOD debut on November 1 via Amazon, Brighthouse, Charter, Comcast, Cox, Dish, iTunes (Canada and U.S.), Microsoft (Canada and U.S.), Verizon Fios, Time Warner and YouTube.