I can hear the voice of Andy Williams singing “It’s the most wonderful time of the year”. That’s how I feel about Christmas. What can I say? I’m a big kid at heart. But I had to take time to wish all of my movie blogging pals, generous readers and followers, and die-hard movie lovers a merry and blessed Christmas. I know I said this same thing during Thanksgiving but I truly appreciate each and every one of you. Thanks for the reading, visiting, commenting, and sharing. Thanks for everything you all have added to this itty bitty movie blog. It’s been a ton of fun for me and you all are a big reason for that. So Merry Christmas and I hope God blesses you with a fantastic 2014. It’ll be here before you know it!

The Keith & the Movies Valhalla is a place of tribute for those movies that I hold in the highest regard. These are films that embody everything that is great about motion pictures. These are the best of the best – movies that I truly love and that stand above the rest. There are many great movies that won’t find their way into these sacred halls. But here you will find those films that I believe personify brilliance in filmmaking, storytelling, and entertainment. These glorious 5 star accomplishments are worthy of special recognition as the very best. Ok, enough of the high drama! In other words, these are my favorite movies of all time, ok?

IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE (1946) – Could there be a better time than this to induct what I believe is the best Christmas movie ever made? But here’s the thing. Not only is “It’s a Wonderful Life” a bonafide Christmas classic. It’s also an incredible film period. I still remember the first time I saw this gem from Frank Capra. Yet like all great movies, it still has a wonderful effect on me today even after numerous viewings.

There are so many things that make “It’s a Wonderful Life” great. The fabulous story, the fun batch of characters, and some really strong performances. Jimmy Stewart is one of my favorite actors and he perfectly realizes the character of George Bailey. He’s funny, believable, and carries the bulk of the load. But there is also great work from the gorgeous Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore, Henry Travers, Thomas Mitchell, and many more. It’s hard to believe that “It’s a Wonderful Life” was poorly received when it was first released and it initially recorded a loss for RKO. But it would soon become a timeless classic. Stewart would later call “It’s a Wonderful Life” his favorite film he made. I may be inclined to agree.

“It’s a Wonderful Life” is the eighth inductee into the Keith & the Movies Valhalla. But there are more amazing movies to come in the near future so stay tuned. What are your thoughts on this Jimmy Stewart classic? Is it worth the accolades it’s received or is it an overrated picture? You now know my opinion. I’d love to hear yours. Take time to share your comments below.

(Original reviewed 12/4/2012)

While there have been two serviceable remakes, neither come close to the magic of the original “Miracle on 34th Street”. This 1947 Christmas picture has become a stalwart for Christmas movie watchers each and every year. But while most modern Christmas movies are cheap and gimmicky, “Miracle on 34th Street” rightfully holds its place as a true Christmas classic as well as an incredibly well-made film. It’s also one of the few seasonal pictures to get recognition from the Academy Awards. It won four Oscars, was nominated for Best Picture, and is a movie that deserves the accolades and treasured status it has received.

George Seaton directed and wrote the script which begins on Thanksgiving day. The beautiful Maureen O’Hara plays Doris, a cynical single mother who works for Macy’s and is in charge of their Thanksgiving Day Parade. As she frantically works to get the parade under way, she discovers that her Santa Claus is drunk off his feet. Desperate to find a replacement for the big finale of the parade, she convinces a passerby named Kris (Edmund Gwenn), who strikingly looks the part, to fill in. His convincing work eventually earns him a spot as Macy’s department store Santa. His only quirk? He claims to be the real Santa. But Doris’ bosses overlook that after seeing their customers positive reaction to him.

But the core of the story and the most satisfying component of it revolves around the relationship between Kris, Doris, and her young daughter Susan (Natalie Wood). Susan is just like her mother, cynical and skeptical about all sorts of things, most notably the existence of Santa Claus. Kris sets out to not only convince Susan that he is Santa Claus but to convince Doris that there are many things in life worth believing it. Helping him along the way is Fred Gailey (John Payne), a struggling attorney who is also attracted to Doris. Fred uses the crafty old technique of getting close to the daughter in order to get close to the mother. He and Doris eventually hit it off even though his willingness to believe in things sometimes clashes with her stubbornness.

I really like the chemistry between O’Hara and Payne. Their developing relationship is easy to buy into especially thanks to O’Hara’s cautious confidence and Payne’s witty self-deprecating humor. Both give spot-on performances. Also, young Natalie Wood is fantastic. She wonderfully portrays Susan and her childlike innocence combined with her inherited skepticism. And then there is Edmund Gwenn who is still the most convincing Santa Claus I’ve seen on film. His undeniable sincerity and infectious charm flows from every scene he’s in and his Oscar was well deserved. The movie also gives us great supporting roles such as Porter Hall as Macy’s psych evaluator and the movie’s chief antagonist, James Seay as a nursing home doctor and friend to Kris, and Jerome Cowan as a district attorney given an certain impossible task. The cast is fantastic from start to finish.

“Miracle on 34th Street” is a nice mix of holiday sentimentality (in a good way) and genuine feel-goodness. But it’s also a wonderfully written story that’s flawlessly realized through sharp direction and the perfect cast. It’s easy for some to dismiss Christmas movies as shallow seasonal escapism. But there are those special gems that are simply great movies. They show us that sense of style and craft that remind us of how good movies can be. This is one of those films.

VERDICT – 4.5 STARS

It can’t only be reviews, Phenomenal 5 lists, and commentaries, right? Know Your Movies is all about having fun. Here’s how it works: I’ll share a single shot from a movie. It can be extremely serious or completely absurd. After that I’ll provide you with three hints. The rest is up to you. Hop in the comments section and share your guess as well as any thoughts or memories you have on the movie, actor/actress, or the scene. It should be a blast.

Today’s image is from a film that has become a true classic. So here’s the shot. Three hints will follow.

Hint 1: Released in 1946

Hint 2: Was considered a flop when first released

Hint 3: The film originated from a greeting card

Now head to the comments and share your guess. Pretty obvious, right? I would also love to hear your thoughts on the film, the scene, or anything else related to it. The correct answer will be announced first on my Twitter feed (@KeithandMovies for those who want to follow). Now feel free to guess and discuss this movie classic.

“12 Years a Slave’ and “American Hustle” lead the pack of this year’s Golden Globes nominees. Both movies, which seem primed for awards season, each received seven nominations each. As for the rest, while there were some predictable selections there were no egregious offenses (will anyone every forget “The Tourist’ nomination in 2010?). But that doesn’t mean there isn’t something to talk about. So here are a few thoughts and observations.

• Let me get this out of the way first – the snubbing of “Mud” was the biggest frustration. On the other hand it shouldn’t surprise me. “Take Shelter“, another film from Jeff Nichols, was snubbed in 2011 as was Michael Shannon for his amazing performance. Film critic Roger Moore pointed out to me that “Mud” probably wasn’t edgy enough for them. What a shame. It’s an almost criminal ommision.
• Staying with the snubs, where on earth is Mads Mikkelsen? I know the awards type have this weird concept of confining the foreign films to their one category (a small handful of exceptions excluded), but this is a pretty glaring ommision. Mikkelsen was amazing in “The Hunt” and not nominating him is most definitely a shameful snub.
• I loved seeing Greta Gerwig get a nod for her work in “Frances Ha“. Let’s be serious, she has absolutely no chance of winning but the nomination is deserved. Gerwig may only play these eccentric, slightly neurotic characters but she does it REALLY well.
• I knew it wouldn’t happen but Geoffrey Rush should have been nominated for his supporting work in “The Book Thief“. I could say the same for Emily Watson and young Sophie Nélisse. But Rush was just phenomenal and he was such a strong point in this underappreciated film.
• Voter favorite David O. Russell once again finds his film nominated in multiple categories. So far he’s only managed to bring home the big awards for his actors and actresses. Some have said the challenge for him is breaking through and winning Best Director and Best Picture. For me his biggest challenge is making a movie without a boatload of f-bombs.
• Is there anyone on planet earth who didn’t believe “Blue is the Warmest Color” would be nominated? Let me be fair, I haven’t seen it and I’ll probably never see it. But as sure as the sun shines during the day, it was going to be nominated. The Hollywood Foreign Press and the Academy actively search out films like this.
• It’s odd that Julie Delpy gets nominated for “Before Midnight” and Ethan Hawke gets snubbed. On the other hand, it’s odd that the weakest film in the trilogy (I’m know, I’m one of the few who think that) is the first to finally get recognized by the awards folks.
• The black community is well represented by some fantastic and deserving nominations. While I did have a few issues with “12 Years a Slave” there was nothing wrong with Chiwetel Ejiofor’s work. Absolutely brilliant. And Lupita Nyong’o was just as good giving a truly heartfelt performance. And it was wonderful to see Barkhad Abdi get recognized for his work in “Captain Phillips“. I’m also a huge fan of Idris Elba but I haven’t seen “Mandela”.
• Tom Hanks gets nominated for “Saving Mr. Banks” but not “Captain Phillips“? That’s surprising. He was wonderful in “Captain Phillips” and I can’t imagine him being any better in “Saving Mr. Banks”. We shall see.
• Congrats to Oscar Isaac. Here is an actor that is much better than the notice he has received. Some of his choices have been questionable but his talent isn’t. I’m glad to see the Coen brothers gave him an opportunity and the awards folks gave him recognition.

So much more could be said but I’ll end it there. It case you missed it, here are the film nominees. I would love to here your thoughts on my thoughts or the nominees in general. Let the awards season begin!!!

BEST MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA
“12 Years a Slave”
“Captain Phillips”
“Gravity”
“Philomena”
“Rush”

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA
Cate Blanchett, “Blue Jasmine”
Sandra Bullock, “Gravity”
Judi Dench, “Philomena”
Emma Thompson, “Saving Mr. Banks”
Kate Winslet, “Labor Day”

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA
Chiwetel Ejiofor, “12 Years a Slave”
Idris Elba, “Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom”
Tom Hanks, “Saving Mr. Banks”
Matthew McConaughey, “Dallas Buyers Club”
Robert Redford, “All Is Lost”

BEST MOTION PICTURE – COMEDY OR MUSICAL
“American Hustle”
“Her”
“Inside Llewyn Davis”
“Nebraska”
“The Wolf Of Wall Street”

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE – COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Amy Adams, “American Hustle”
Julie Delpy, “Before Midnight”
Greta Gerwig, “Frances Ha”
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, “Enough Said”
Meryl Streep, “August: Osage County”

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE – COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Christian Bale, “American Hustle”
Bruce Dern, “Nebraska”
Leonardo DiCaprio, “The Wolf of Wall Street”
Oscar Isaac, “Inside Llewyn Davis”
Joaquin Phoenix, “Her”

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
“The Croods”
“Despicable Me 2″
“Frozen”

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
“Blue is the Warmest Color”
“The Great Beauty”
“The Hunt”
“The Past”
“The Wind Rises”

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE
Sally Hawkins, “Blue Jasmine”
Jennifer Lawrence “American Hustle”
Lupita Nyong’o, “12 Years a Slave”
Julia Roberts, “August: Osage County”
June Squibb, “Nebraska”

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE
Barkhad Abdi, “Captain Phillips”

Daniel Brühl, “Rush”
Bradley Cooper, “American Hustle”
Michael Fassbender, “12 Years a Slave”
Jared Leto, “Dallas Buyers Club”

BEST DIRECTOR – MOTION PICTURE

Alfonso Cuaron, “Gravity”
Paul Greengrass, Captain Phillips”
Steve McQueen, “12 Years a Slave”
Alexander Payne, “Nebraska”
David O. Russell, “American Hustle”

BEST SCREENPLAY – MOTION PICTURE
Spike Jonze, “Her”
Bob Nelson, “Nebraska”
Jeff Pope, Steve Coogan, “Philomena”
John Ridley, “12 Years A Slave”
Eric Warren Singer, David O. Russell, “American Hustle”

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE – MOTION PICTURE
Alex Ebert, “All Is Lost”
Alex Heffes, “Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom”
Steven Price, “Gravity”
John Williams, “The Book Thief”
Hans Zimmer, “12 Years A Slave”

Well winter is here and what better place to keep warm than in a movie theater! The winter movie season is notorious for its flops, particularly in January and February. But sometimes we get some really nice surprises and it looks like that may be the case again. So today I’m picking out five winter releases that I am genuinely interested in and want to spread the word about. These I’ll certainly flaunt. I’m also going to pick five releases that are (from my perspective) toilet ready. These I’ll flush. It’s Flaunt It or Flush It time again.

FLAUNT ‘EM

1. THE MONUMENTS MEN (February 7, 2014) – After first hearing about this film I was immediately interested. It’s a remarkable true story and with the right cast and direction it seems perfect for the big screen. The first trailer had me second guessing my excitement but the second trailer fired me up again. Based on Robert Edsel’s book, the film tells a story unique to World War 2 and features a strong cast. George Clooney stars and directs the film which was originally set to be released in time for 2013 Oscar consideration. Being pushed to February is worrisome but not enough to ruin my excitement for this movie.

2. INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS (December 6, 2013) – Anyone who reads this blog regularly knows that I am a big, big Coen brothers fan. So naturally I would be excited upon hearing that their new film “Inside Llewyn Davis” hits theaters this winter. Of course it’s written and directed by the brothers and stars Oscar Isaac, a really good actor who deserves more spotlight than he is usually given. It’s guaranteed to have a quirky sense of humor and a fine directing style. Let’s just hope that the 1960’s New York City folk music scene is a good enough setting for their particular style of filmmaking.

3. THE HOBBIT: THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG (December 13, 2013) – While I can’t hardly say its full title without laughing, I’m still extremely excited for the next installment in Peter Jackson’s Hobbit trilogy. The first film was a lot of fun and captured a lot of Jackson’s earlier Middle Earth magic. Yet it was never as good as any of the Lord of the Rings films. Still it left me really anxious for the next installment. I love the Middle Earth that Jackson has created for the big screen and ANYTIME I have an opportunity to go back I’m excited. Here’s hoping that he delivers another solid if not better film.

4. THE RAILWAY MAN (January 2014) – Yet another movie with connections to World War 2. In “The Railway Man” Colin Firth plays a British officer who was captured and tortured while in a Japanese P.O.W. camp. Years after the war he is still an emotional wreck. He finds out that a captor of his is still alive. He seeks his captor out thinking that confronting him may be the only way to put his past torment behind him. The trailer for this looks stunning. Firth is a fabulous actor and he’s joined by Nicole Kidman, Stellen Skarsgard, and Japanese actor Hiroyuki Sanada who I’ve always liked. This has a chance to be a truly remarkable experience.

5. OUT OF THE FURNACE (December 6, 2013) – This is a movie that has creeped up on me. I’m not sure how a movie could fly under my radar with a cast like this: Christian Bale, Casey Affleck, Woody Harrelson, Forest Whitacker, Sam Shepard, and Willem DaFoe. Set in the economically strained Rust Belt, Bale and Affleck play brothers, one of whom gets caught up in a brutal crime ring and the other who sets out to help him. The trailer looks very good and it looks as though director Scott Cooper has created an intense environment and setting. I’m really hoping that “Out of the Furnace” delivers.

FLUSH ‘EM

1. BEST NIGHT EVER (January 31, 2014) – Ok, tell me if you’ve heard this before – a group of friends go to Las Vegas for a one-night bachelorette party but things get wild and completely out of control. I mean how many times do we have to see this? The all female cast embraces this current trend of showing that they can be as stupid, sleazy, and juvenile as men. This is another of those raunchy comedies loaded with profanity, sex, nudity and all of the other formulaic crap that seems to dominate the comedy genre today. This thing looks pathetic and while I wouldn’t be surprised if it attracts an audience, I can guarantee you I won’t be a part of it. Lame.

2. A MADEA CHRISTMAS (December 13, 2013) – Maybe I haven’t tried hard enough but I just can’t get into these Madea movies. They pretty much hit the same note every time and there is no reason to think “A Madea Christmas” will be any different. Tyler Perry has certainly hit a gold mine directing, writing, and starring in these films. There will be plenty of people who go to this for the Madea name and others who will go because it’s a Christmas movie. Perry knows a cash in when he sees one. I can see “A Madea Christmas” doing good at the box office but it looks like a flusher through and through for me.

3. GRUDGE MATCH (December 25, 2013) – I would love to be excited about a movie that puts Robert De Niro and Sylvester Stallone together. But after seeing the trailer for “Grudge Match” several times now, let’s just say this isn’t the movie I would prefer. The two screen legends play retired boxers who never got along in their prime and have held grudges since. The old guys are persuaded to go at it one more time, blah blah blah. I can see it now, tons of old and out of shape gags and a happy, feel good ending. It looks silly, predictable, and utterly forgettable. Who knows, maybe “Grudge Match” will surprise. I don’t see it.

4. JUSTIN BIEBER’S BELIEVE (December 25, 2013) – Look, I know this pick is too easy and too obvious but I just couldn’t leave it off the list. Normally I would just cast something like this aside knowing that most readers would know its flush status without me mentioning it. But the Bieb’s first film brought in nearly $100 million! So consider this a public service announcement. This sequel promises to be more of the same. Expect this annoying little ulcer to prance around, pose, and belt his teeth-grinding lyrics to a horde of screaming young teens. I don’t know about you, but I don’t see myself sitting through 90 minutes of that!

5. VAMPIRE ACADEMY (February 14, 2013) – Sigh…here we go again. Look, I know this is based on a best-selling novel and I know that I’m not the target audience. But I’m also not the target audience for “The Hunger Games” yet it’s at least entertaining. “Vampire Academy” looks awful and I can’t help but think this is another example of Hollywood milking a current fad dry. I say current fad but are vampires as big as they were a few years back? “Twilight”, “True Blood” – all of these soapy vampire shows and flicks have run their course but that doesn’t stop Hollywood. How I miss the days of Nosferatu!