Author: Jeff Mitchell

12 days of not-so-Christmassy Christmas movies: ‘Gremlins’

Jeff Mitchell

“Gremlins” (1984) – Director Joe Dante has a history in horror with “Piranha” (1978) and “The Howling” (1981) under his belt, so he’s a natural fit for “Gremlins”.    “Gremlins” isn’t a brutal trip into terror, but a PG-excursion into a group of cuddly little teddy bear creatures called mogwais that chirp, squeak and sing a bit too.  What’s not to like?  Everyone should have a mogwai.  Just don’t feed them after midnight, because if so, they will change into impish lizard-like devils that cause lots and lots of trouble.…

The Phoenix Critics Circle’s favorite is ‘The Favourite’

Jeff Mitchell

The Phoenix Critics Circle hosted its annual awards party on Dec. 14 at the Phoenix Film Foundation office, and the critics and their friends and family enjoyed a festive night of food, drinks, movie conversations and debates, and of course, the awards! Yorgos Lanthimos’ “The Favourite” won Circle’s Best Picture award and also picked up Best Screenplay as well. Ethan Hawke and Melissa McCarthy won the top acting awards for “First Reformed” and “Can You Ever Forgive Me?”, respectively, and here is the complete list of winners. BEST PICTURE The…

12 days of not-so-Christmassy Christmas movies: ‘Edward Scissorhands’

Jeff Mitchell

“Edward Scissorhands” (1990) – Twenty-eight years after Tim Burton introduced his modern-day Pinocchio story about an artificial boy (Johnny Depp) who has scissors for hands, “Edward Scissorhands” still brings the tears. Burton does include a lot of satire, as he regularly pokes fun at suburbia throughout the picture, but he delves into Christmastime in the second half, and it seems that every single modest home in the camera frame dons festive lights. This fairy tale isn’t really a Christmas movie, but the holiday makes its mark, and especially when Edward…