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Reviews
Katie Says Goodbye (2016)
Extremely Depressing
I'm all for a heart wrenching drama about someone who's down on their luck, but Katie Says Goodbye has 0 bright parts to it.
Katie, played beautifully by Olivia Cooke is an extremely naive waitress having sex on the side for money to fund an ambitious move to San Francisco.
She's a character that's too good for this terrible world, which is clearly what the writers are trying to portray. But they lay this notion on too thick, with one terrible circumstance after another and not a single moment to counterbalance this, the result? Katie as a character becomes one-note.
Like I said, this movie has a great performance by Olivia Cooke and is worth watching just for her.
Chasing Christmas (2005)
Creative Christmas Carol Twist
Workaholic Jack (Tom Arnold) has forbade any celebration of Christmas, prompting the Ghost of Christmas Past (Leslie Jordan) to intervene. However, when Past goes AWOL in the 1970's, Present (Andrea Roth) must intervene and team up with Jack before it's too late.
Chasing Christmas is an instant classic, and not your usual take on A Christmas Carol. It's funny, it's thoughtful and doesn't take itself too seriously. The meta-jokes and touching character moments make for a great watch for all the family (even adults!). Roth and Arnold have good chemistry and Leslie Jordan is a true scene stealer.
Despite this being released in 2005 (and me reviewing this in 2018), the story and its elements still hold up today, with its themes of time, forgiving, love and loss being forever-relevant and relatable.
Kristin's Christmas Past (2013)
Kristin's Timeless Christmas
When 34 year old party girl Kristin begins to regret her past decisions, she suddenly wakes up one morning to find herself transported to 1996, where she meets her teenage self on Christmas Eve. Kristin see's this as an opportunity to rectify her past problems. But it's easier said than done.
The story has been done quite a few times but not like this. The story flows naturally, we see great character moments that are sad, fun and everything in between. My only issue was the ending, it felt rushed and didn't do justice compared to what a great time we had getting to know Kristin, her family and her past.
A heartwarming, sometimes funny but not sickly-sentimental, Kristin's Christmas Past is a real treat for the season.
Elizabeth Harvest (2018)
Interesting Thriller
"Elizabeth Harvest" is an intricate indie thriller which does a great job at building up suspense and unease throughout.
We are introduced to Elizabeth (Abbey Lee) a beautiful new bride, being taken to her new high tech home by husband Henry (Ciaran Hinds). She meets the housekeeper, uptight Claire (Carla Gugino) and the blind, flower picker Oliver (Matthew Beard). As she tours the grand home, one room in particular catches her eye to which Henry forbids her from ever entering. Shocking discoveries and dark truths are what lies past the frosted glass door, but will Elizabeth enter?
Abbey Lee has had small bit parts throughout the past few years and so I was surprised at how great she was in the movie, although the British accent falters somewhat (she's Australian), she maintains our interest as the lead character. The rest of the performers are all on fine form too.
Quite a few twists and revaluations happen quick and fast, and these kick off pretty quickly actually (after the first 30 minutes). Overall, I'd recommend this indie thriller.