Past the Popcorn film roundup—What’s In Your Stocking?
Each week, Past the Popcorn offers a thorough look at the latest round of films opening on big screens.
Christmas is over, but the holiday saw several new movies hit theaters. Past the Popcorn reports on this latest round of Christmas releases.
Greg Wright can’t say enough good things about Denzel Washington’s second directorial effort, The Great Debaters. While he acknowledges that the film itself isn’t the greatest thing since sliced bread, he says the film is a reminder that there are more powerful things than winning—and more powerful things than films. “It wants to lift us all out of the miry clay, and openly acknowledges the solutions to getting us there: a faith in the Almighty who made all men equal, and the strength of character required to take that faith seriously.” If you’ve got to see a film this holiday week, this wouldn’t be such a bad choice.
Neither would The Water Horse, which Greg also recommends. Again, he acknowledges that this is neither “a perfect film, nor a Saturday morning classic.” But the tale of a boy and his Nessie, says Greg “has successfully adapted for the big screen, and in a fairly captivating way.”
Jennie Spohr also recommends Persepolis, a line-drawing animated adaptation of Marjane Satrapi’s graphic novel, as a story that deserves to be heard. “As we cast around words like ‘axis of evil,’ Persepolis reminds us that it is the people of Iran who are the first victims of their government and the first victims of war.”
All in all, a good slate of releases for Christmas Day.
