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Reviews
Noelle (2019)
Ho ho ho hot Diggity Dang!
In the Disney Movie 'Noelle' directed and written by Marc Lawrence, the movie stars Noelle Kringle (Anna Kendrick) and Nick Kringle (Bill Hader) on their Christmas adventures.
The setup for the plot is simple. When Santa passes away, his son Nick Kringle is the next in line to play the part. That being said, he isn't exactly great at it nor does he fully understand how to be Santa Claus. As a result, his sister Noelle Kringle tells him to take the weekend off so he can destress. However, Nick has unexpectedly traveled to Arizona for vacation and it seems he isn't coming back.
Now, it is up to Noelle Kringle to find where his brother is in Arizona and bring him back to the North Pole and save Christmas day. However, she isn't alone in this endeavor. With help from the detective Jake Hapman (Kingsley Ben-Adir) she stays with him and his family while they piece together the mystery location of the scurried away, brother. He is then found to be a yoga instructor and wants to keep that business going instead of being Santa Claus. In the end, although the brother is brought back to the North Pole, it is discovered that he wants to give the reins to Noelle Kringle, considering that she has more talent than Nick, in terms of being kinder to kids, actually caring about children, and also has the gift of speaking any language naturally including verbal and non-verbal. .
Overall, the comedic plot is indirectly centered around this idea of female empowerment which doesn't feel forced into the plot. I felt Anna Kendrick perfectly conveyed someone that walked the fine line of funny, courageous, and talented in this entertaining film. For example, one scene had Noelle explaining how she was super hot being in Arizona because she is from the freezing cold North Pole. In order to fix her little dilemma, the next scene shows her cuts into her inside a supermarket freezer. The movie has tons of little moments like these that come unexpectedly but are very welcome to the charm of her character.
That being said, if I had anything negative to say about the writing it is towards the end of the film. It kinda feels like they were really trying to push in the reused Christmas puns just because...they could? Although it felt unnecessary it didn't detract from my overall enjoyment of the film.
Technically speaking, the cinematography, editing, and lighting are great. The cinematography is great with a good amount of sweeping shots rather than the repetitive camera changes that are usually seen in lower-budget films. The editing was great because each scene felt fluid and nothing was really dragged out. Finally, the lighting was fantastic. You can clearly see how the North Pole conveys a sense of warmth and comfiness and the scenes in Arizona convey that super hot, bright, and sunny feeling. All throughout the movie you are really immersed.
Personally, the movie is really fantastic. From the plot, the cinematography, the writing and dialogue, the editing, the lightning, and much more I would rate the movie an 8/10. The cinematography is great with the number of sweeping shots however, some clever framing could have been done for a nice extra touch. The editing and lighting were great as colors and quality were super vivid in each shot, combined with natural story pacing. That being said the Christmas puns were overly intense towards the very end of the film that could have been removed entirely or used newer better ones. The movie leaves you feeling wanting more but leaves you feeling satisfied with what you got.
The Knight Before Christmas (2019)
The Knight Before Christmas is...WILD!!!!
In the 2019 romantic-comedy film, 'The Knight Before Christmas,' by Monika Mitchell and screenwriter Cara Russell, the film follows the Knight Sir Cole (Josh Whitehouse) as he is transported from the medieval ages to present day in order to fulfill his destiny of receiving true love's kiss. Overall, the movie had great writing throughout, only to be left feeling let down by the plot and the cinematography. So, what went right and wrong here?
Well, let us start off with the plot of the movie because it's a simple premise that works okay. Although the plot of the movie is very unfocused and in which certain tropes and plots are reused from different Hallmark movies there is nothing inherently wrong about being predictable. After all, if it isn't broke, don't fix it right? Well, the problem I have with the Knight Before Christmas is simply the fact that there is no tension because of its traditional nature. For example, Sir Knight Cole has to fulfill his destiny before Christmas or else he will never be able to go back to the time from which he came. This premise alone is great but because I know prior to viewing that this is going to be a feel-good movie (as all Hallmark movies are) the tension is gone. But other than the plot being predictable, the pacing in the final 10 minutes of the movie is satisfying but questionable. Yes, Sir Cole gets back to his time period but all he does is go up to his brother after he was thought to have been lost in a winter storm to say, "Hi, I'm back, see you later." and comes back to present day to live happily ever after with the love of his life. It makes you really question why the plot of needing a kiss to come back was really a necessary plot device if he was only going to spend 5 mins to just grab his horse and say goodbye to the thing he worked towards for the entire film.
But other than my gripes with the structure of the story, everything else I thought worked fantastically. In particular, my favorite part was the comedy part of the rom-com, particularly Sir Cole and how he referred to present-day items using medieval terms. You would think that guy would learn how to say car instead of 'metal steed' considering how he immediately figured out how to use a remote. The continuity of the character role isn't always consistent but it is executed well since it leads to scenes that are very funny and/or adds to the romantic relationship between Cole and Brooke.
The lighting was great I liked how it was changed every now and then with more shadows to convey more intense emotions, and more light in the shots to convey happier ones which benefited the cinematography by allowing each scene to be viewed easily. Speaking of cinematography, I thought the movie could have used more varied scenes. For example, I think I counted 5 times throughout the movie where they are at the Christmas town and if they are not there they are back at Brooke's house. As a result, It got a little stale in terms of fresh environments.
The thematic content works well although like I said earlier, the composition of the movie is very traditional. Nothing really felt out of place except the Knight in the movie but since it was intentional it worked out to make the movie more appealing. These elements work well, I never felt like I cringed over poorly executed scenes.
Overall, the movie is good. The plot could have been less traditional and added more tension. The cinematography was great although nothing mind-blowing. Finally, the relationship Cole and Brooke have in the movie really builds up well throughout the movie only to be diminished with a lackluster and questionable ending.