Reel Thursday: Elf (2003)

It's Christmas! I'm not actually writing this on Christmas day, because I've been busy and I only have time today. Nonetheless, we can still feel the spirit while waiting for the new year to come.

I was going to post the best Christmas movie that I've watched recently on Christmas day, but as I said earlier, I've been busy with events with family and friends. Without further ado, here's Elf!

Buddy is a human raised by an elf in the North Pole. He was raised like an elf and didn't know that he was a human until he became an adult. He made toys for Santa Claus, like all other elves, but didn't have the talent that all the elves had, and so he thought that he's just a weird elf.

But now that he's an adult already, he found out that he's indeed human, and not just an "abnormal" elf.

He then went on a journey to New York city, where his biological father is. The thing is, he came from an orphanage and his father didn't even know he exists because his birth mom didn't tell his father and just left him in the orphanage after he was born. 

Buddy made it to New York from the North Pole and so he met his father who worked in the Empire State building. He told his father about how he was his son and mentioned his mother's name, which his father of course remembered. However, he was still kicked out of the building for being "weird."

Buddy then went around New York and found blonde Zooey Deschanel as Jovie at a department store. The manager there thought that he works for them because of his outfit.

After Buddy's father got them tested if they're indeed father and son, he took Buddy in and Buddy met his father's family.

At first, Buddy's half brother, Michael, was weirded out by Buddy but then they bonded and became really close. Michael even helped Buddy ask Jovie out on a date.

Buddy then went on a cute and funny date with Jovie. 

After Buddy ruined his dad's work, he ran away and planned on going back to the North Pole.

Santa Claus got stuck in New York city's Central Park, and Buddy found him. He then helped Santa fix his sleigh.

Michael, together with his father, also helped people in New York city to believe in Santa so that Santa's sleigh could fly even if it didn't have the faulty machinery in it anymore.

Jovie also helped spread the Christmas cheer by singing loud for all to hear.

After Jovie started to sing, everyone also started singing and so Santa Claus was able to fly his sleigh again.

Even though Buddy's father was irritated with him at first because he thinks that Buddy is just crazy for saying that he came from the North Pole, after meeting with Santa and realizing that Buddy is still his son, they became one happy family with Buddy and Jovie as new members.

Buddy's father quit his job in order to save Christmas with Buddy, Michael, and Jovie, and so he built his own publishing company with Buddy as an author of a new children's book about an elf's journey from the North Pole to New York city.

Buddy also visited Papa Elf (the one who raised him up) together with Jovie and their daughter, Susie. It was cute seeing Jovie also dressed as an elf!

That's it for the movie Elf, I hope it indeed spread the Christmas cheer, like it uplifted mine!

Countdown to Christmas: Arthur Christmas (2011). 1 day left!

December 24, 2013. Tuesday, 9:30pm. (U.A.E. time).

I have arrived! I didn't have the time to blog yesterday as it was my flight back to Dubai, and I've only got time now. It's cold here, and it feels really Christmas-y because of the abundant decorations, presents, and my family here. The cold weather is also a plus! It might not be as cold as in countries with four seasons, but this cold is something. I even got a developing flu.. 

Anyway, let's go to another Christmas movie for today, which is Arthur Christmas!

Arthur is the youngest son of the current Santa Claus. He is clumsy and good-natured, and he works in the mailroom wherein letters from kids to Santa arrive.

This is Malcolm Claus, the current "Santa" Claus. Although he is the current Santa, his job is made easier by new technology, (and helpful elves) which is run by his eldest son, Steve.

This is Steve, the commander of the elves, working from the North Pole and helping Santa (his father) go through all of the nice children (to give them gifts!) on Christmas day.

Next is Margaret Claus, Malcolm's wife and the mother of Arthur and Steve. Being the only woman in the family, she takes care of everyone. She's a really smart mother.

Last but not the least in the Claus family, we have Grand-Santa. He's the retired Santa who is Malcolm's (current Santa) father and grandfather to Arthur and Steve. As a grandpa would be, he's full of stories about his days as Santa and is also somehow cranky because of his age.

This is the Claus family, all looking at Arthur, the "weird" one in the family.

This is Bryony, an elf from the gift-wrapping division who helps Grand-Santa and Arthur give the forgotten gift.

The story revolves around the one gift that Santa forgot to give, and Arthur is really worried that that one child will be the only one who'll not be receiving her gift for Christmas. Because of that, Arthur and Grand-Santa (along with Bryony) went on a mission to bring the gift to the child and so they used the old sleigh that was used by Grand-Santa back in the day.

The gang got into trouble, and so the rest of the Claus family went to the rescue, although Steve was initially against the idea.

After much trouble and adventure by the whole Claus family just to deliver Gwen's (the child) gift, they made it just in time before the sun went up in England (where the Gwen lives).

Before everyone left for the North Pole after completing the mission, Arthur was acknowledged by the whole Claus family as the new "Santa" who would then replace Malcolm in the position. He earned that title because of his genuine concern for every child in the world, including Gwen, who, if not for him, would not have received a gift from Santa this Christmas.

Gwen then saw a glimpse Arthur looking like "Santa" with his snow beard  and red bloated jacket.

Arthur Claus saves Christmas! This movie left me feeling all warm and fluffy inside because of Arthur's sincerity. He definitely deserves to be Santa! This movie reminds us that every person in the world matters even though we think that we're just a little piece of a puzzle or a speck of dust in the air. Someone out there would be disappointed to hear that you would be unhappy this Christmas so let's spread the Christmas cheer!

Countdown to Christmas: Love Actually (2003). 3 days left!

December 22, 2013. Sunday, 12:00am (Philippine time).

I'm done with Christmas gift shopping! (well, except for one last which I'll be buying in Dubai) I've also wrapped them (those for my family) and pre-wrapped the other ones. It's so much fun wrapping the gifts, but it was tiring when I bought them this morning. It even rained hard in the afternoon! I was trying to go home from buying gifts and doing some errands and it rained just when I stepped outside. Despite that, I'm home and trying to finalize the things that I'll be bringing with me, and I hope that I don't forget anything.

***

This movie is a well-known (romance-themed) Christmas movie in the English-speaking world. Love Actually is a British film about many couples with different love stories, which are somehow interrelated. As Christmas was approaching, the characters experience love, be it requited, unrequited, friendly, or even forbidden.

I'm going to talk about the couples involved in this movie, and the situations they are in.

Juliet and Peter

Mark and Juliet

These two (Juliet and Peter) are a newly wed couple. Peter's best man, Mark, is in love with Juliet for the longest time, and couldn't even tell her until after Peter and Juliet were already married. Juliet basically just found out about Mark's feelings for her. In the end, Mark confessed his feelings, as a way of letting go.

He did the cutest stunt! He played a carol (Silent Night) on a cassette player and hoped that Juliet will answer the door. Juliet did, and so he showed the placards that he prepared for her. (without Peter knowing about this)

Next couples are Daniel-Joanna and Sam-Joanna.

Daniel and his wife Joanna, who just passed away.

Daniel and his step-son, Sam.

Sam and his crush, Joanna.

Daniel's wife just passed away, while Sam and himself are left behind. Daniel is not that close to his step-son, but he tried to be close to him and talked to him, and so Sam opened up and told him about his crush in school, Joanna, who's an American who sings really well. When Joanna was leaving for the US at the eve of Christmas, Sam courageously told her about his feelings and so Joanna kissed him good-bye (for now). These two kids are the cutest!

Now we have Harry-Karen and Harry-Mia.

Harry and Karen with their two children.

Harry and Mia.

As you have already probably guessed, Harry fell in love with another woman apart from his wife. He already has a family, but his new secretary, Mia seduced him, and he fell for it. Harry's wife, Karen, was well aware of this, and didn't think much of it at first, not until she figured out that her husband gave Mia a necklace. Karen then confronted Harry and Harry realized his faults. He probably took a break to give sometime for himself to think, but in the end, he'll be coming home to his family.

Next are Sarah-Karl and Sarah-Michael.

Sarah and Karl.

Sarah and Michael.

Sarah has been in love with Karl, her co-worker, for many years now. When they finally got the chance to be together, Sarah couldn't leave her brother, Michael, who has a mental problem. She would always blow off Karl to talk to her brother because her brother needs her more than anything. In the end, her love for her brother was still stronger than her long-time unrequited love for Karl.

Next is Jamie and Aurelia.

Jamie finally proposing to Aurelia.

Jamie is a writer who went for a trip to write a new book. He gets his house-helper, Aurelia, since he is too busy putting his thoughts into words to cook for himself or even do house chores. As they spent time together, they developed feelings for each other. However, when Aurelia finished her house-helping duties with Jamie, they went their own separate ways. Of course, Jamie then realizes his feelings for Aurelia and tries to learn Portuguese (since Aurelia can't speak English) and then goes to find Aurelia to ask her hand in marriage. 

John and Judy.

John and Judy at a production set.

John and Judy met at a filming of a movie where they're supposed to have sex scenes. While they're working together (naked), they would always talk to each other comfortably even when doing those (fake) sex scenes. The finally got together after the shooting.

Colin and Harriet

Harriet with Colin introducing her to his friend, Tony.

Tony is always teasing Colin that he can't have a girlfriend and couldn't even if he tried a million times. Colin then figured out that only English women aren't attracted to his charms and so he went for a trip to America to find an American girlfriend. As we can see on the screenshot, Colin was able to get an American girlfriend during his trip and so he introduced "Harriet" to his friend Tony.

Billy Mack and Joe

Billy Mack hugging his manager, Joe.

Billy Mack is a veteran singer who has his long-time manager, Joe. Billy would always be mean to Joe and doesn't seem to appreciate Joe's hard work in being his manager. However, in the end, Billy realized that Joe is the only one whom he wants to spend the holidays with. (not in a romantic way, but in a "bromantic" way. Haha!)

Lastly, we have David and Natalie.

David and Natalie at a Christmas show, publicly revealing their relationship.

David is the Prime Minister, and Natalie works for him. He fell in love with her, and at first, he tried to get rid of her (transferred her to a different job) so that his growing feelings for her will be suppressed. But it did not last long, and he found himself looking for her on Christmas eve, because he found out that she also might have feelings for him. That's when he confessed to her and afterwards, they publicly revealed their relationship unexpectedly.

That's about it for the couples, and these interrelated stories of different couples on the Christmas season showed the different forms of love that can exist in our lives. We have to admit it, Christmas has developed from a celebration of Christ's birth, to also a day that we celebrate our love for our family, friends, and lovers. 

Countdown to Christmas: Just Friends (2005). 4 days left!

December 21, 2013. Saturday, 12:00am (Philippine time).

I'm currently pondering over the Christmas gifts that I will be giving this year. Last Christmas was pretty lonely (gift wise) but still happy since I got to be with my parents. This year, I am giving presents (even though I'm quite broke) to my friends and family! I want every gift to be personalized, and just last Wednesday my friend and I got really tired of going around from store to store looking for gifts. Nevertheless, buying gifts for everyone made me fulfilled contrary to the stressful start of December that I had.

For this post, I will be talking about the movie Just Friends, starring Ryan Reynolds and Amy Smart.

Ryan Reynolds plays Chris, a fat guy in high school whose best friend is a pretty and popular girl, Jamie (Amy Smart). 

You can probably guess that Chris is in the "friend zone." Look at the adorable shirt Jamie got him for their high school graduation. 

Chris was bullied upon everyone finding out about his feelings for Jamie. He wanted to prove all of those jerks who bullied him that he can change and become better than they were. He then went to college, got a job in LA and became successful. 

Ten years after he experienced the most shameful night of his life, he's now a gorgeous fit man who's a big time record producer in LA. Now that he's a handsome guy who's got it all, women like him and he likes them back, but just enough to sleep with them for one night.

Being a record producer, he's assigned with a task to bring their record's new pop singer, Samantha James (Anna Faris) to Paris, but then their private jet emergency landed on a place near Chris's hometown in New Jersey. The screenshot above showed the two (Chris and Samantha) "surprising" Chris's mom by crashing in their home.

Chris is finally conveniently in his hometown, where his old best friend (Jamie) is. He reunited with some old friends in a bar in town and there he also reunited with Jamie. Jamie (as shown above) is now working as a bartender. They got together again and hung out as friends and visited places that they used to hang out in. Chris also found out that Jamie is not just a bartender, but also a teacher.

This is a long shot of Jamie's house which decorations are beautifully and effortfully put together.

All throughout the movie, we can see Christmas decors, Christmas events like singing carols, Christmas parties, and the like, amidst the white, fluffy and cold exterior.

Going back to the story.. Chris and Jamie hung out like when they were in high school, but now that they're adults, anything could happen, right? However, Chris's plan to sleep with Jamie did not work out, probably because he wanted to do that as some sort of "revenge" for his "friend zoned" self in high school and yet he still seems to have feelings for Jamie. Jamie also seemed to want to be with Chris this time despite keeping him in the "friend zone" in high school.

And as chick flicks go, something happened that caused the main characters to be in a fight and reevaluate the things that they've done, and so Chris went back to LA. But then he didn't last long and immediately went back home to be with Jamie, and then Jamie also accepted him. Aww. So cliché right? That's what we love about chick flicks! Anyway, all's well that ends well!

Four days left until Christmas and I still have four more movies to blabber about in this blog!

P.S.

This Christmas countdown will make up for the few weeks that I didn't have a Reel Thursday article. I've been squeezing in some Christmas movies in between reading for grad school to cheer me up a little and that's why I have these movies.