DARK ANGEL aka I COME IN PEACE (full article at The Guardian Australia)

There’s always a lot of conversation at this time of year surrounding what does and does not constitute a Christmas movie. For some folks, only James Stewart appreciating the joy of existence in It’s a Wonderful Life will do. Others want to watch the Peanuts gang in A Charlie Brown Christmas. Personally, I want to watch Dolph Lundgren fight an alien drug dealer and kick people in the face in Dark Angel.

This 1990 action film is an underrated piece of festive lunacy with an extremely fun if slightly overcomplicated plot, but there are a lot of stunts and explosions to smooth things over. If you doubt its festive credentials, the opening scene involves a guy crashing his car into a Christmas tree lot. You can’t get more Christmassy than that.

Read the full article at The Guardian Australia:

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2023/dec/27/dolph-lundgren-alien-heroin-and-evil-yuppies-dark-angel-is-fun-festive-lunacy

IMDB: Dark Angel aka I Come In Peace

WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING (full article at The Guardian Australia)

While You Were Sleeping is the feelgood movie I always find myself revisiting at this time of year. It is kind of ridiculous – but it is also funny, charming and utterly determined to lift your spirits.

Lucy Moderatz (Sandra Bullock) works as a token collector for the Chicago L train. Having lost her father the previous year, and with no family to speak of, she agrees to work over Christmas. Lucy has a crush on Peter (Peter Gallagher), a handsome commuter, who passes her kiosk every day in a whirlwind of perfect hair and 90s post-yuppie business attire.

Read the full article at The Guardian Australia:

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2023/dec/20/best-christmas-movies-2023-while-you-were-sleeping-die-hard-alternatives

IMDB: While You Were Sleeping

FACE/OFF (full article at The Guardian Australia)

It’s beginning to feel a lot like Christmas: legendary Hong Kong director John Woo has a new film coming out in December – Silent Night – and any movie from the GOAT of action flicks is a real gift. So why not revisit the movie that is arguably the most popular, and inarguably the most bonkers, of his career?

Face/Off sees John Travolta as FBI agent Sean Archer, who is tracking the notorious terrorist Castor Troy, played by Nicolas Cage. But when Troy tries to kill him and kills Archer’s son instead, Archer becomes consumed by revenge. Six years later, he catches up to Castor and in the ensuing chaos puts him in a coma. But Castor has planted a huge bomb in downtown LA and the only possible way for Archer to discover the location … is, of course, face transplant surgery.

Read the full article at The Guardian Australia:

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2023/nov/29/faceoff-1997-movie-john-woo-nicolas-cage-john-travolta-silent-night-2023

IMDB: Face/Off