It’s rare that a film targeted toward the Christmas holiday can manage to not only capture the magic of the holiday spirit and its intent, but the beauty of the human spirit. George Seaton’s iconic “Miracle on 34th Street” isn’t just about Christmas and the spirit of the yearly event, but the kindness of the human soul and the remarkable things we’re capable of when our hearts are in the right place. It’s interesting to note that though “Miracle on 34th Street” lives on as a family film and a holiday movie, George Seaton’s picture stands on its own as a raucous comedy, and one that will draw laughs thanks to some great slapstick and hilarious one-liners that still manage to hit their marks.
Director Sacha Gervasi’s treatment of the life of Hitchcock is very much in the tone of Tim Burton’s “Ed Wood.” I gather there will be numerous comparisons and parallels drawn, as this new look at Hitchcock’s career is very much like Burton’s own tribute to Ed Wood. There’s the breaking of the fourth wall, the satirical look at filmmaking, the focus on the madman behind the director, the glimpses at studio politics, and ultimately the way women affected these two famous directors. This time around Alfred Hitchcock is worn by Anthony Hopkins who doesn’t quite convince as the rotund director, but has a ball as the perpetually repressed and lovelorn creative genius who expressed his inner most desires and fears through his own creative work. For Hitchcock aficionados, “Hitchcock” doesn’t quite inform you of facts about the man’s life that you haven’t already seen or read before.
In the year 2000, after M. Night Shyamalan premiered his innate storytelling ability with the surprise supernatural thriller “The Sixth Sense,” he pretty much dashed expectations with a follow-up film that no one was expecting. Initially considered a poor follow-up, M. Night Shyamalan really approached a film that could well within his storytelling parameters, and he did so with a subtlety and humility that’s finally being appreciated. “Unbreakable” is a rather underrated masterpiece, and one that really does pay homage to the comic book mythology that society generally looks down upon. By approaching the comic book mythos with a straight face and a somewhat surprising dramatic dignity, M. Night Shyamalan adds a realism to the superhero origin story that’s deliberately paced and absolutely compelling to witness.