Last Christmas (2019) ft. Alonso Duralde

[00:00:00] Hi, I'm Brandon I love 2019 Christmas movie. I'm Dan I despise 2019 Christmas movies I'm Alonso and wham pocalypse now and this Is the Deck The Hallmark Podcast! Deck The Hallmark it's his podcast La la la la la And friends host his podcast La la la la la

[00:00:26] We hope you like this jolly podcast La la la la la Well hey all you George Michael heads out there You know they're coming out of the woodworks to tune into this episode That's right It's always funny in the banana stand Oh

[00:00:43] Do you guys know about wham pocalypse? No Every holiday season You've probably seen where people in the US It's that thing of how long can they go without Hearing Mariah Carey sing Wham pocalypse is the equivalent of that And it's more popular in the UK perhaps

[00:00:59] Which is how long can I go without hearing whams last Christmas That is tough So I asked Brandon Those are the two right So our last Christmas is all I want for Christmas Correct? Kinda yeah The inescapable To at the top of the mountain

[00:01:17] We were talking about during the movie You hear a lot of wham in George Michael Not just last Christmas It's a jukebox musical In a lot of ways There are some bangers in there that I didn't remember It had been a while So that was exciting

[00:01:33] Do you like the song last Christmas Alonzo? Is that my favorite? But I mean I'm not mad at it Bad or mild Which one Oh I have to pick one I mean Mariah No question But I'm not grumpy about either one of them

[00:01:51] I know people love to be like Give me that over like Josh Groban any day You get it We can't get copyright claimed if it's 8 bit right? Oh my god We can't get in trouble for this I think I'm picking I'm picking last Christmas

[00:02:13] At this point in my life No give me Mariah there This is from the last Christmas Nintendo game they put out with this movie Not very popular as it turns out You just get hit by a car Spoiler alert Not since the E.T. video game

[00:02:33] Merry Christmas in July Once again to you Alonzo How is it going for you so far? You know you're not in the holly jolly spirit yet Yeah you know like Dealing with Dave has really kind of put his foot down

[00:02:47] About not wanting to hear or see any of this Right now But you know Marriage is compromise I love this from Dave White I'm with him here He's like I love Christmas but just not I want to miss it Let me miss Christmas But I'll tell ya

[00:03:07] They've given us like Shovelfuls of vintage Hallmark movies Including like Some better ones that don't pop up a lot Like Crashing Through the Snow is up there now And Snow Bride I'm only human We're diving into one tomorrow Finding Santa from 2017 The year before we started this show

[00:03:29] And it is one that's been Thrown It's tough at this point to find ones that we haven't reviewed That are not considered classics I don't know if this is a classic But we have been recommended this movie This is Jodie Sweetin right? Yeah it's cute it's fun

[00:03:45] Not a classic Not a classic but good says Aaron My list of classics was about this long But it's good it's fine You're on the board of Hallmark classics Yes so it's not a classic But it's good This is not Christmas in July It is Bramblefest month

[00:04:03] It's Bramblefest month That's what it is right now And we're very excited because we're a mere week and a half away Is that really true? Unbelievable You bet it is buddy And this is the only song that's going to play This version at Bramblefest over and over again

[00:04:23] I think of Bramblefest and Christmas in July As being you know Hand in hand Sure I'm very excited What's the thing that you're most excited about for Bramblefest this year Alonto Hmm You know Off the record conversations with Jax Those are always fun

[00:04:43] You know what I think I'm most excited about That's where she's overly nice to people That like you know Celebrities that we don't get to hear are overly nice New ones I think I'm most excited About the live Lifetime game show Palooza which Alonto

[00:04:59] Will get to partake in this time Which is going to be a lot of fun I get texted regularly How did you not know who this person was I'm like Sorry I love a game show and Patrick Serrato gets me So yeah it's going to be great

[00:05:15] I also think I'm excited about Seeing Alonzo dance at the Silent Disco I think I'm excited about that There's a lot of things I'm excited about Now Alonto This isn't happening at Bramblefest but you're going to be on a Diss list with us? Have I heard that correctly?

[00:05:29] Yes I have been asked and I said yes And you said yes I don't want to say it But it's going to be awesome It's a great category The great thing about Alonzo is he'll fight back

[00:05:43] You know what I mean like Ryan Popol is just going to be like Brink it Dan it's my list Brink's on it Alonzo's going to fight back which is going to be great Oh this is a show about opinions Ok good Alonzo loves lists I've always said that

[00:05:59] The diss list was actually his idea This list was his idea He said people don't make enough lists He loves lists We should go through The diss list should just be every year that he wrote a top 10 for the rap And just be like

[00:06:13] Every episode is us digging into his top 10 Going this movie sucks Hey if it means you guys have to go watch all 10 of those movies Then yes I'm in That's true because some of those are deep cuts Alonzo's diss list is him Bringing his top 10 Favorite Alonzo lists

[00:06:29] This list I think I really crush it This list didn't age as well Look if you guys ever returned to the serial Well I think you left some really great ones on the table Wow Serial part 2 I do appreciate

[00:06:43] Everyone knows serial season 2 isn't as good as serial season 1 I love this about Alonzo These are the critics that I like Are the ones that Are the ones that Are the ones that Their list aren't just jam packed with stuff That someone in America couldn't have seen

[00:06:59] Unless they sought it out Like yeah you've got some stuff like that on there But like if little women was your favorite movie that year It was your favorite movie You're not going to sit there and go well it can't be my favorite movie

[00:07:09] Because it wasn't shown in two theaters On 35 millimeter And so I appreciate that It doesn't go sad enough Alonzo I appreciate that Because that gives me an opportunity To think that you care about movies And not just seeing things That other people can't see Go figure

[00:07:29] But you know those critics You know who I'm talking about Sure and look I defend those choices I was just looking through today My Facebook memories Years ago I got to go to this festival That's happening right now In the Czech Republic called Carlo Vivari

[00:07:45] And they do really amazing International films And I saw a Mexican film And I was like wow This is a pleasure It's mine that I really liked And I went and looked it up on IMDB And there are four reviews One of which is mine

[00:08:03] So it's like no one saw this movie But it's really great So you know sometimes yes as a critic You do get to see the stuff That sits between the cracks And I think when people put those on list They mean it They're not just being like yeah

[00:08:19] Dan now knows though Because of those lists how I feel everyday About life and movies But I can remember like the secret in their eyes Argentinian film I believe Is not a low budget anything But it I think it got nominated for best Foreign film that year

[00:08:37] But it finally got to Greenville And I remember going to see it And just was blown away Like I loved it And I would have never Gotten to Greenville so I appreciate it Just don't watch the terrible American remake I did and it was so disappointing So disappointing

[00:08:55] With great actors That doesn't sound like us On this the Monday after 4th of July Slandering the name Let's talk last Christmas Shall we? I do at some point want to hear Alonzo's list of good American American remakes that are better than the foreign one

[00:09:13] Better might be stretching it but there are some good ones For sure Departed and Cousins That's what I was thinking in my head Yeah there's a French comedy called Cousin Cousine That was remade with Ted Danson And Isabella Rossellini called Cousins That I like a lot

[00:09:31] Wouldn't necessarily call that a better one There's Crandall Surprise which everyone knows is a remake of You know what movie is? Christmas with the Cranks American is better than Les Crismontes Cranks Which is a movie that I don't think anyone should watch In any circumstance

[00:09:45] I'll tell you in the Christmas Art Mixed Nuts is a terrible remake Of a pretty funny French comedy called Santa is a Stinker Is the sort of polite English Translation There's a much more vulgar English translation Le Père Noël et une ordure

[00:10:03] I'll let you look that up Now we gotta bleep it For our French audience If you're French in a minivan with your French kids I'm sorry I'm so sorry for you French person with kids in minivan Right now A stain on the otherwise Spotless history of Decaholm

[00:10:23] Je m'appelle I'm sorry If you're watching on Philo Philo Philo Let's talk last Christmas November 8th 2019 is when it came out to the theatres I saw it And it went a little Something like this We're in Yugoslavia In 1999 And a young Kate is singing

[00:10:47] A solo in the church choir Flash forward to 2017 And Kate is still singing but this time Just to herself at a bar She hooks up with a fella And then the next day gets thrown out Of that place by the fellas Girlfriend who shows up unexpectedly

[00:11:03] Kate is pretty miserable She works at an all year Christmas shop and hates how Many people butcher George Michael songs Fair You talking about this Oh man She would love this And so She's having a tough time And everybody thinks she should be a little happier

[00:11:29] To be alive including her boss Because Kate was on the verge of death last year At work one day She strikes up a conversation with a dude named Tom Before bird poops in her eye She auditions for a play Is told that she sucks She's sad

[00:11:47] And bumps into Tom again And they end up walking for a while They're walking and they're talking She crashes with her friend For what she hopes is going to be for a while But it ends up just being one night Because she sits on a paper Thing

[00:12:03] So she gets to work The next day and she realizes that the shop has been broken into And it's all because of her She forgot to lock up last night When she left very quickly to make the audition So Reluctantly having nowhere to go

[00:12:17] She heads back to her mom's house Kate spends More time with Tom Who makes deliveries on a bike He's always on a bike He's volunteering at homeless shelters At first she kind of mocks him You're just so weird You're doing dumb things

[00:12:35] But after Tom disappears for a while She ends up going and volunteering Herself at the shelter And she finds out that she actually loves him Looking for him Oh wait what? Wait what? Looking for him After having a giant messy blow up With her family

[00:12:55] They're all mad at each other Now she bumps into Tom And he comes up about how she got sick last year Needed a heart transplant And how she really Wants to be a better person than she is But she's struggling So she begins to really work at it

[00:13:11] She begins to raise money for the shelter She encourages her boss to go out with this guy And she makes up with her sister And Just as things are going great She ends up getting into a fight With Tom because she wants to get more serious

[00:13:25] And he's like I can't be there For you Can't depend on me I love you I meant it She uh She feels bad about how she loves things And wants to make things right So she goes to his apartment and it's at this point

[00:13:41] That she finds out from a real estate agent That the person who owns the apartment Has been dead for a year And it's at this point that it all becomes Very clear to Kate That Tom was never really there in the first place

[00:13:53] Tom was the organ donor whose heart Was received a year ago And all the Bruce Willis Whoa hey I haven't seen that either Since he hasn't seen all the great movies Last Christmas he gave her his heart Literally last Christmas Um and so

[00:14:13] She goes to the secret garden that he showed her And he's there Kisses her again and fools her again Ghost Tom And tells her that That Tom is always going to be hers And it's at this point that we see

[00:14:27] The bench that they were sitting on is his memorial bench Yeah look up I want a memorial bench one day Well I mean let's live first No I want one while I'm living You want a memorial bench while you're still alive Memorial bench or statue Listen some people

[00:14:43] Some people have done enough For society and I think For a statue yes A memorial implies that you're dead Right Yeah what if we had a nod from Alonzo What if we try to change it Takes one person one bold person Brand were you remotely

[00:15:01] Forgettable I would say sure But given that I think we have to wait for you To be dead yeah and he's saying that like You're gonna die first which is the best You know what I mean just from the standpoint of

[00:15:11] It also made it seem like he's actively waiting For the news to come I'm trying to give you a compliment that you are You are currently unforgettable As a living person Alonzo wakes up every morning checks his phone And goes oh man

[00:15:25] And also you will likely bury me No Alonzo and myself will bury you Kate goes Through with the big Christmas show at the shelter And it is a big success And she goes on to celebrate Christmas with her family The movie ends with Kate writing in her diary

[00:15:43] Sitting on Tom's memorial bench And she is as happy As she can be and that my friends Was last Christmas We did it We're gonna take a quick break We're gonna come back and we're gonna break this movie down With four segments here on Deck the Hallmark

[00:16:10] Well hello everybody Merry Christmas to ya We're talking about last Christmas The 2019 theatrical release We didn't get to this In 2019 if you can believe it We didn't I didn't even get to it in the theaters I saw it on the VOD

[00:16:30] Let's break this movie down with four segments We're gonna start with a hot take And show exactly how we felt about this movie And I'm gonna start with you Alonzo did you see it back in 2019 I imagine that you did

[00:16:42] What'd you think of it then what'd you think of it now Yeah I dug up my review And what I said at the time and I think still holds Is that you know In the same way that You know if you're a

[00:16:54] If you're a musician your Christmas album Is not necessarily your best work Or your most memorable work But you know it's you dig it out every December And enjoy it anyway This is not Paul Feig's best work I don't even think it's his best Christmas movie

[00:17:08] Because I'm a big fan of Unaccompanied Minors But it's got a lot of charm And it's got a lot of the things that we watch Christmas movies for In terms of redemption arcs And holiday cheer So the sort of I don't think

[00:17:24] There's been a movie since Love Actually That makes London seem like such an Attractive Christmas destination So yeah it's It's good I think it's fun I'm not over the moon about this movie And I wish I were

[00:17:38] And I think if I were a bigger fan of George Michael And Wham I might be because When they do the songs That I know and really like those Parts of the film kind of perk up for me So maybe if you are into these folks

[00:17:50] And are enjoying this on the Jukebox musical level Then yeah I'd say it delivers absolutely I Liked the movie when I saw it Back in 2019 and I still like it today It is a bold move To take this song and go What if we just do it literally

[00:18:08] And they did it Kudos to them Do I wish they didn't do it? Maybe Maybe I do maybe I just wish this was a standard romcom With these two leads that are just like So I really like them together And you know

[00:18:22] And I imagine that was a lot of The complaint back in 2019 Was you know I thought this was going to be a romcom And what I got was oh my gosh Is this six cents? I got six cents and I don't want to get six cents

[00:18:34] At Christmas and so A fair complaint would the movie Have been better if it was just a romcom with these two And her Falling back in love with the holiday season or whatever Probably would have But I appreciate the attempt And I still like the movie nonetheless

[00:18:50] There's some really solid Christmas feels in this movie And Yeah I'm happy that I watched it again This is not going to be A yearly viewing but I could see Myself watching this again in another five years Dano? Yeah I would say I'm not mad

[00:19:06] I'm disappointed I think The reality is you've got a great Cast and you've got a Great setting London at Christmas time I mean come on Emma Thompson, Amelia Clark Henry Golding, Michelle Yeoh The list goes on There are some good scenes that don't add up

[00:19:24] The sum is kind of Not as great as the parts in that sense But then the twist of it all You know a lot of people figured out the twist In the trailer there was this whole thing When the trailer happened and the reddit took it

[00:19:36] And Paul Feig was like what are you guys Doing but I do think I don't even It's not conjecture to me This movie didn't Sate my desire to see this movie I wanted to see a romcom With Henry Golding And Amelia Clark and the rest of this cast

[00:19:54] A much more straight forward Like there was a movie called Return To Me with David Duchovny where They do this premise But they just tell you at the beginning They don't hide the premise Yeah I just saw that movie for the first time actually

[00:20:08] It is a little bit melodramatic But it's not a bad movie And I feel like this movie would have been better Served had it been just a straight forward Romcom instead of a high concept twist Situation or they would have just let you Know at the beginning

[00:20:22] And Amelia Clark doesn't know That Henry Golding is dead but the audience can Know and that gives it You get some of those jokes like when she's changing And she's like cover me Those jokes hit the second Time you watch them

[00:20:36] And if you're watching it the first time I think it's a better movie If they don't try to be Play a little sleight of hand with you There's definitely feels most of the wait what's Are taken away by the twist And it just it has some

[00:20:48] Good scenes but at the end You're just kind of I didn't care that it wasn't There were funny parts I didn't care that it wasn't an Uplifting romcom it was a serious heart Like heart string movie that didn't bother me But it bothered me that it

[00:21:00] Felt like a failed attempt at a Worst movie and so yeah Disappointed when I saw it the first time Less disappointed this time I guess But still basically the same same thing Is it a hot take that I think David Ducovny is freaking awesome David

[00:21:14] Ducovny is underrated I think he doesn't Like I like I Watched Return to Me While I was in Florida last month for the First time and I'm like this guy's freaking Awesome I heard obviously I've seen the next Files but Pete Holmes his podcast he did

[00:21:28] Like two hours on Pete Holmes his podcast and he Talked about how in auditions throughout his Life he's like you know I've seen People like you're just not giving us enough And he's like no this is the part This is like he's very like

[00:21:40] Very sure of himself and confident He's like no you when you act And you're really a person you listen you take Beats and blah blah blah and so that's The thing that's kept him from being I guess Interesting I want to see his new movie

[00:21:52] Have you seen Reverse the Curse have you seen it I have not I saw the movie that he did With Meg Ryan it was okay Was that last year that was the last year yeah I'm trying to think of it I don't know

[00:22:02] I don't have time for it He made a movie that was It was a father son movie about Yankees Red Sox and it yeah I know about him but I came out under The radar And I I've got to watch it Right I do

[00:22:18] Want to throw in an actual hot take here and Maybe a non popular One but I Don't love Emilia Clarke in this movie Okay because I think

[00:22:28] And then follow her on this arc to becoming a better person, which is kind of the whole point of the film and I Don't know There's something about that performance. It doesn't doesn't grab me in and I just I find her as annoying as the other characters

[00:22:43] Do although I do then enjoy the arc that she goes on but I kind of feel like there was somebody else who might have Been engaging enough where I would be on board for the whole thing

[00:22:52] But the rest of the ensemble I think are great. And obviously there's a lot of Comedians and small roles here, which is the thing that Fiege does as if going back to unaccompanied minors We're like Rob Delaney pops up. Yeah, you know what?

[00:23:06] Humble request for whenever we do the fan Deck the Hallmark wiki page where slots of references and stuff like that If someone could get a count of Alonzo

[00:23:18] Mentioning on a company in minor and just like a running count and then you just take a shot every time Paul Feig and Paul Yeah relevant to this

[00:23:28] Minors, yeah, it is relevant. I and I first of all, how dare you though? I adore Amelia Clark full basket oranges We learned a new Victorian words right in Victorian in the Victorian era a basket of oranges means a beautiful woman and

[00:23:48] Aaron said I wouldn't I wouldn't get it into the podcast somehow, but Oh, well, yeah, Amelia Clark, I love I think it's an interesting take though because I do think it's almost

[00:23:59] Impossible for her not to be charming, which I don't know is what they're going for at the beginning Like I don't know my problem. This is gonna be an even more scalding take My problem is Emma Thompson and it's not wait before you say anything else

[00:24:14] Emma Thompson can do no wrong. She's amazing If she wants to be in every movie she can be in every movie but part of this story is a Child of immigrants and she doesn't know what her culture is, right? She's a third culture kid. She lives in London

[00:24:31] She's from Yugoslavia at home. She her parents are Yugoslavian out in the world She's British and she has to find kind of what she is and her identity The problem is is Amelia Clark is the most British. She is

[00:24:45] Very British on the scale of one to all British she is all like and so the problem is is it doesn't ring true when she goes home and Emma Thompson's doing a middle II like a Eastern European

[00:25:00] Accents and it's like why not let Emma Thompson Emma Thompson will be great as Amelia Clark's mom Like as a British Amelia Clark's mom now you lose some of that immigration story, which is an important part of this But Emma Thompson hates immigrants and we've said it as

[00:25:16] Yes, amazing Emma Thompson would be amazing as Amelia Clark's mom in that role and instead I feel like she's doing a bit Like she doesn't feel Yugoslavian to me at all in this movie So if I take issue with Emma Thompson here is in her screenplay

[00:25:35] More than her. I think a performance is great like and I'll get to it in all the fields No, I I totally buy her as as somebody who survived the former Soviet bloc there somebody mentioned

[00:25:48] Modern family to me recently and I was like I need to watch more of those episodes because I remember that was isn't I? So I was thinking so I just I started watching it this this week and this reminds me of a scene where cams at this

[00:26:02] Kid kids are learning how to do things. He's like talking to another parent and And she's talking about you've seen any movies and he's like, yeah, I just saw devil's a devil works product and she's like

[00:26:14] What do you think about Meryl Streep? I thought maybe it was a miscast He's like trying to be like cool about he's like It cuts to his interview and he's like how dare she

[00:26:28] Listen hear what I'm saying now what I'm not saying. I love Emma Thompson like love Emma Thompson want to be very clear That's not how it came across to me. It's not how I came across He hates immigrants. Would you?

[00:26:40] Cars gonna I mean if Emma Thompson's gonna do what she's doing then Amelia Clark is miscast because Amelia Clark does not strike me as a third culture kid a kid that grew up with two cultures and

[00:26:51] Kind of somewhere in like she strikes me as like she grew up on the mean streets of London Like she is full like full London. I mean do do I strike you as a three culture kid?

[00:27:01] Yeah, you have a very like my wife's a third culture kid and like there is a very like there is something very proper about Third culture kids. They just are like in and I know that that's a generalization

[00:27:12] But Amelia Clark strikes me as someone who is like died in the wool London her whole life in this movie And that's why I didn't not buy her as a child of immigrants. Okay, we go not great

[00:27:24] Danny you have to keep one and get rid of one Emma Thompson or immigrants Okay, Wow immigrants do so much for us Wow what about immigrants Everybody It's time for all the fields we're talking about whether to give us those feels Alonzo

[00:27:48] well, okay, first of all the shop Santa's shop like I think one day brand and I are gonna retire from the podcast game and we're just gonna open one of those right before Brandon I

[00:28:05] Will drop that under a tree somewhere and and Bran will find my by my beautiful corpse. I love I love that shop I love the just the excess of it because that's just like Christmas encapsulated

[00:28:17] Again, the London of this movie. I love I love the fat man squeeze I love the fact that a homeless shelter has more lighting than Rockefeller Center

[00:28:25] I love like just the it's it's it's insane. But like, you know that it just it becomes a place you you want to go Nobody could say the line all my friends were murdered like Emma Thompson and turn it into a laugh line and she does

[00:28:42] That to me is like, okay. That's how I buy you was Eastern European because you made that line funny About in this movie Again going back to songs songs. I know better than other songs. I know I love a montage to freedom 90 like yes

[00:28:58] Yes, give it to me all day every day Playing I was like what song is this? It's a banger and I I literally put the app up to figure out the name of

[00:29:09] The song I was like this song's great. So that's where I was. I forgot I was alive in 90 This movie reminds me how much I love George Michael I did the songs are bops for sure

[00:29:23] Yeah, no question and I gotta say they nailed the they nailed the ending like the big finale You know talent show followed by the family dinner totally works 100% it does that's the the performance at the end is is my feels from a

[00:29:40] The version of last Christmas is great. Yeah To the way that it looks it was that it was everything and so if that scene doesn't give you Christmas feels

[00:29:51] I don't know what's wrong with the year. You're you I don't know Mitch probably someone who doesn't like Emma Thompson We're probably not like that scene but and or immigrants especially and so yeah, that scene is is

[00:30:05] Great great scene. Yeah. No, in fact this movie goes from I can't believe I watched it too. Okay because of Because they really do stick the landing when the curtain opens up It's just beautiful. The version of the song is beautiful. The family dinner is beautiful

[00:30:22] And then also London feels for me I if I had not been to London this year I would have told you that the London seems empty in some scenes in this movie like it seems very well decorated But there's not many people but having been to London

[00:30:35] Kind of my experience like crowds were their crowds, but there's plenty of alleys and streets You can walk down that it's kind of empty and it was I loved every second of it. I love the quiet scenes in London I love the scenes that were packed the decorations

[00:30:49] Beautiful made me want to go back There you go. Let's take a quick break. We'll come back with the way what and what the hallmark here on deck the hallmark Everybody we're talking about last Christmas the 2019 theatrical release Starring unfortunately Emma Thompson and Amelia

[00:31:14] Let's unfortunately for Alonzo a million cars, that's right What I love about what Paul Feig did here like he does in his other movies namely namely spy Let's get to the About what we what made us go away?

[00:31:41] Movie it is a tough movie to do seeing as how they do six since yeah, and so it's tricky But do you have any Alonzo? Yeah, you know the store was one of my feels but the store is also Gigantic massive two employees. Yeah two employees

[00:31:58] We did nobody else works there But the woman who owns it and the very unreliable character of played by Amelia Clark and it's like wow That's a lot during like high season. Yes December yeah at the very least you would maybe do two employees in June

[00:32:15] But but like in December you got to hire some seasonal help got to yeah Like somebody's got to come in in vacuum or something. I could say yeah that was bananas And then yeah

[00:32:25] The twist is the the big honking weight one of this movie and again like that trailer came out and was like oh, okay Like it was so obvious and then Polfi got mad at people drink because

[00:32:41] It's a movie called last Christmas and it's a line of the song like we totally get it what you know It would they didn't even try to obscure it. And so then the trailer came out like in the summer

[00:32:52] So I was like, alright, so this is the movie where he it's a heart transplant and he gave her his you know So anyway, yeah as it's presented in the movie Had it caught me by surprise in any way

[00:33:03] I suppose maybe it would have worked but it just was had been so telegraphed by that point I was thinking about how to make this twist work in this movie and have you seen scrubs? I Have not okay. Well, there's a

[00:33:16] You know exactly what I'm talking about. So the way I think without really get no love It's a it's like one of the best episodes of TV ever What they could have done is is they could have made them childhood friends

[00:33:29] I grasp and dead the whole time Zach Raff has not been dead the whole time They could have made them childhood friends And I think it like a thing like the what's the movie we watched with Danica McKellar under the under the Christmas table?

[00:33:41] Yes, whatever that is. Yeah Yeah that one love the Christmas table They they could have done a bit like that where they show them every year and then you see them hanging out in present day

[00:33:50] And then at the end she read like she's known it the whole time But she kind of realizes she just misses him like it's like I wanted to I like we never fell in love I think that could have worked but you're 100% right from the trailer

[00:34:04] It's like wait a minute. Like wait, what are we doing here? I mean within the first 10 minutes the second time that he Bumps into her by accident in the street in London. You're like this is crazy

[00:34:18] There's it has to be this and I think if they hadn't made it a secret like if they had just been up front about It because heaven knows there is a history of ghosts in Christmas movies You know

[00:34:31] Bringing a character to to find the redemption and and to become a better person They could have just thrown that at us up front and then it wouldn't have been this cutesy like a hazing, you know So yeah, that that's that's the big way

[00:34:46] They should have been kids, you know at some point they would have been like unaccompanied minors or something Yeah, like unaccompanied Paul Figg we're having fun. We're having a good time

[00:34:56] Towards the beginning of this movie. She's hopping from house to house or you know couch to couch or whatever and she lands She lands flat to flat even a flat. Yeah. Ooh, there you go. Thank you and she lands out one of her friends place and

[00:35:12] Gets kicked out after she sits down on this paper They've been working a lot working on it, you know, it's been working on this thing it's a lampshade a lamp paper lampshade and I like I understand on her. I understand me Matt. I think it is

[00:35:28] Adley at the very least somewhat on him 50-50 minimum minimum because that thing on the couch You can't you can't you know what people do a lot of times on couches is sit and should she have seen it?

[00:35:42] Probably, you know, but well, she doesn't roll over from the back. Yeah He's working on that thing at the table at the table where it belongs Just keep it on the table. We both brain and I were like brain you were like

[00:35:54] We can't believe if judge Geno is doing personal injury court here Actually knowing just you know But it's at least 51% On them for putting a project like that on a couch You can't especially she saw you working out at the table. Yeah, right

[00:36:18] So it's not I mean, it's just not her fault entirely at the very least and then at the end of the movie she gets on stage and She you know the the The what is it things open up curtains curtain you got it

[00:36:35] That's the word open up and she goes I knew the lighting would be crap And then she turns on her Christmas lights on on her body. The problem with it is the lights could not be less crap There is a spotlight on her

[00:36:50] It's a joke is that was it a joke I think it's okay. It's a joke It's a mom and dad. Is this a joke if it's a joke, then I take it away

[00:36:59] It's just it was the lighting was really good. And so it was confusing to me and so I will leave now and I will pass over today. Can we get those body lights for bramble fest?

[00:37:11] I mean this the least we could do that's not true. We could do a lot less than we have So one of the reasons that all the internet caught on to the big twist in this movie was in the trailer Henry Golding is

[00:37:22] In the same outfit in every scene and oh, there's that it was a dead giveaway and that's famous because Bruce Willis Wore some version of the same exact outfit for the entire movie and no one caught it

[00:37:34] Very very very famously really well done good filmmaking blah blah blah, which is why it's weird in this movie I'm in one scene Henry Golding decides to Don a purple sweater the whole movie He's wearing long coats some sort of gray something and you could make an argument

[00:37:51] It is the same on movie and then there's one scene where it is clearly not the same clothes Why why what it was the biggest weight what record scratch to me to go I thought they were sticking with this this whole thing and then

[00:38:07] Apparently this ghost can change clothes and decides to only do it once all movie long So it has to do laundry too, man. Yeah, we all have laundry. Yeah, we all laundry day. It's a ghost laundry day I did see them live. Oh I

[00:38:22] Only have one more and then a lot too much too much smoke. Yeah too much smoke I Have one more because we've already talked about the twist and the and the lampshade which are the two other big ones to me

[00:38:33] But it's early in the movie when we're supposed to believe he's alive. He's like I'm gonna take you This is my secret little garden and they sit on a bench. He's like hardly anybody knows of this Well, why is it packed?

[00:38:43] Because every other bench is taken by someone aside from one bench like you look out and every other bench has someone on it If you're telling me and I know that there's only four or five people in there, but if it's secret to go somewhere

[00:38:57] You can't say, you know, it's look this is secret off the beaten path pretty much every bench is taken I don't know how secret that is. I think it's pretty much known at that point I would say not secret, but maybe five four people

[00:39:12] Who are always there no matter the hour they're always there It's not for what the homework's where we wonder what could have been maybe Melanza what he's still wondering about well, yeah, Dan kind of touched on it earlier when we were talking about the staffing

[00:39:24] I really want to get a feel for the vibe in Santa's store come August Like I think these Christmas all-year stores I know they exist and they they do good business but I just like London in the summertime can be like just so kind of muggy and

[00:39:39] Like I really want to know what it's like having to wear the wooly green elf costume and be surrounded by that much Christmas jazz at that time of year just to see how does that play?

[00:39:51] Um, so like there is some elements of if like if you think about it too hard you're left with questions Which is what happens with him being not real being a ghost So the what the the one that like leaps out to me is her when

[00:40:08] He they go to his apartment for the first time and it's just like the elements of that Like is like he got the key But he's also a ghost that's a

[00:40:20] That is a physical object that he is now holding and is using that's right to get into his place the the laws of ghosting What are the murky? What are the law? I think that makes the sixth sense so impressive as a movie that does hold up

[00:40:39] Regardless of what you think about Shyamalan is because you watch it once you see the twist you go back you watch Don't catch it the whole movie and they don't break any of those rules ever

[00:40:49] Yeah, you go back with a fine-toothed comb and it all works. But yeah this one I think they were less concerned about the nitty-gritty of that kind of thing. Yeah, don't worry

[00:40:57] I got the key like for sure, of course physical object. No problem for me in this here universe I mean he can touch a bike, but I guess maybe it's a ghost bike and

[00:41:06] No one cuz no one else can see the bike. It's right. Nothing right, but you do like unless the Door was just unlocked to begin with the keys not real. I don't know

[00:41:18] Yeah, he could just maybe put his hand through and you know undo the tumbler from the other side Dana so mine is Henry Golding He's fantastic. We were talking about it's just not fair to look like that and to talk like that

[00:41:34] And and I then said out loud Why isn't Henry Golding James Bond and then I googled that exact question Why isn't Henry Golding James Bond and as little as four days ago?

[00:41:46] Henry Golding said we're unprompted. No one cared to ask because apparently he was rumored a couple years ago But unprompted Henry Golding said I would love to one day be a part of the James Bond universe. So I

[00:42:00] Guess there's a chance Henry Golding could be James Bond and I think it'd be a great choice be here for them I'm in I think that would be a great James Bond. He's great. Yeah

[00:42:10] He's great. Yeah, like if you haven't seen I mean, you've probably seen crazy rich Asians But like he did an indie film called monsoon That he's really amazing and he's got some fun stuff in some of the guy Richie movies of late. Yeah. Yeah, he's great

[00:42:23] He was in that one. He was fun. Yeah, dude, he's great and he would be a great bond I think it's a no-brainer for sure. He could wear a tux like nobody's business Yeah, and I again I do want it on the record everybody don't send me emails

[00:42:36] Send Alonzo email cuz he hates Amelia Clark and send Dan emails cuz he ate Emma Thompson and don't send me any me I thought everybody here was perfectly casted

[00:42:46] This isn't this isn't me this is them this is the them thing not me thing sometimes us real film critics, you know Of the film library a canopy pod Exactly, right. Yeah, exactly, right. There's a reason why I'm not on there because I'd be like

[00:43:04] It's great. Everybody's great all time. I have dozens of hours of real film criticism podcast Dozens. Yeah, and Alonzo has a few more than that. So what? Well, we did it next week we're heading back to 2002 for a movie that not only have I somehow never seen

[00:43:23] I also didn't know was a Christmas movie. It's catch me if you can mmm It is Yes, 100% of Christmas movie this this movie seems like a movie that I not only should have seen but will love so

[00:43:40] I'm very excited about yeah, I I've not seen it since I think it came out But I remember hearing that it was shot in like 25 days or something crazy like really sure Yeah, I haven't seen it since maybe that was terminal one of those

[00:43:52] He made both of those really close to each other and one of them was shot in like no time at all And if it's this movie that's impressive because I think it's like two and hours

[00:44:00] Might have been terminal like all one set pretty much. So this was two hours terminal. I don't want to revisit Never seen it. Yeah, you're not missing much. That's why here speaking of Eastern European accents by from there, holy moly

[00:44:17] They should have had Tom Hanks as Amelia Clark's dad in this movie This this movie has xenophobia just coming out of there This movie has Christopher Walken and Martin Sheen

[00:44:29] Yeah, it's a fun time I'm gonna have a hard time I'm gonna have a hard time Steven Spielberg directing come on Guys, I haven't seen things. Okay, you can email you about that. Have I

[00:44:42] Here's the one thing that my big takeaway from catch your hand, I love a good jazzy animated opening credit sequence I mean Numbers it wasn't 25. It's 52, but they shot a hundred and forty seven different locations in 52 days

[00:44:59] Wow directed by Steven Spielberg. That is a that is a magic trick I don't know how they did it but brand you have seen catch me if you claws so now you can compare the two I sure have any of that. I love the qualities about par

[00:45:12] Is there a straddle sash or no? I think there's more than that There's more than that if I remember correctly We'll be back next week with that. We'll be back tomorrow with

[00:45:23] Finding Santa you can check that out and check out our show and so much more on file of file TV slash DTH We'll be right tomorrow until then first. I wish you a Merry Christmas The hallmarks of bramble jam podcast is produced by Aaron Shay

[00:45:37] For more information on deck the homer you can go to deck the hallmark Comm for information on the deck the hallmark family You can go to bramble jam plus dot-com deck the hallmark is presented by philo TV for a free trial of philo

[00:45:48] Go to philo dot TV slash DTH You're about to hear some ads that help keep the lights on here in the old studio Thanks for listening or don't listen. It's really up to you at this point. It's at the end of the show

[00:46:07] I mean you're listening to me. Hi But here they come I promised her come. Yep. Here. They are Happy day