2015 – My Theatrical Movie Experiences Ranked

  Despite the growing success of online-streaming, I still savor my experiences in the theater, and those are the movie events I want to look back on. So, here’s my personal ranking of all the 2021 movies I saw in the theater this year, which means some other really good (and bad) films from 2021 won’t make the countdown. Again, this is my own personal opinion, these films aren’t ranked by the quality of the picture, but simply by how each left their impression on me. I saw 9 movies in total, and here's my personal ranking of each one from least to favorite.

 

#9 “The Hatful Eight” 

Good old Quentin Tarantino is back, and he’s brought with him a theatrical recreation of the board game “Clue”, but set in the old West. It’s an intriguing concept at first … but the longer it went on … the more exhausted I got, to the point where I just couldn’t take it any longer. In general, I’ve been around the block with Quentin Tarantino for years, seen all his movies, and always appreciated them on some level, but if I had to rank all of them … “The Hatful Eight” is arguably the one I’ve liked the least. For a rock-solid Western presented by Quentin Tarantino, I think I’ll go back to watching “Django Unchained” again.  

 

#8 “Specter”

I love me some James Bond, and I’ve been on board with Daniel Craig’s series sense “Casino Royal” knocked my socks off back in 2007. Now we have “Specter”, the fourth in his series, and the first that came off feeling like … well … just another 007. Aside from a top-tear opening, nothing about this film really stood out as especially noteworthy or even that memorable for James Bond, but it certainly wasn’t awful either. Just kind of a middle of the road 007 outing, which was bound to happen with a franchise that’s been going on for this long.    

#7 “Hotel Transylvania 2” 

2012’s “Hotel Transylvania” was kind of a surprise Halloween movie I didn’t expect to like, and yet have made a tradition to re-watch during the October season. Now we have a sequel, which I found to be half-way decent, as it recaptured some of the charm from its predecessor, but not all of it. In the plus column, this is a proper progression of the story, and the characters haven’t lost an ounce of their charismatic charms. Unfortunately, while this sequel still has funny scenes, not all of the comedy clicked with me this time, in fact, it almost got too silly for its own good. Also, it for some reason failed to get me in the mood for Halloween like its predecessor did. So, I don’t think I’ll make a tradition of re-watching this one during the October season, but it still packed enough delightful material to make for a passable viewing experience.

 

#6 “Ant-Man” 

One of the lesser-known Marvel comic characters brings his distinctly creative strengths and appeals to the big screen, and the result is a reasonable success without shattering any kind of expectations. While the action is thrilling, it’s less about battles, and more about exiting sequences. With its boundless creativity, imagination, charming performances, and a smart script that can overshadow a noticeable lack of fight scenes, it makes "Ant-Man" a refreshing small scaled superhero adventure.   

#5 “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2” 

It’s been a lengthy, emotional and all-around exiting journey, but now it’s “Game Over” for the “The Hunger Games” franchise, and the result … a satisfying conclusion to say the least. I can’t say it reached the same height’s from where it started, but it’s still exciting, with suspenseful set-pieces, emotional character beats, and even a timely message at the center. In the end, it tied this series together in a fine boa, and it’ll be interesting to see how future YA book adaptions will feel compared to this series.        

 

#4 “Jurassic World” 

The first “Jurassic Park” remains one of my favorite movies, and the sequels, while not great have still remained consistently enjoyable. “Jurassic World” was both a nostalgic return to this franchise, and the first sequel that felt genuinely good, as well as very exciting. The new cast is charming, the creature effects dazzling enough, and the overall experience reminded me why I love dinosaurs in the first place. Throw in a top-tier monster brawling climax, and you get a highly satisfying relaunch. While not on the same high-bar as the original, it’s still a really fun sequel.   

#3 “Avengers: Age of Ultron” 

The novelty of multiple Marvel superheroes in one action-packed adventure hasn’t lost an ounce of its appeal, and once again delivers the goods. We’ve got further developed characters, a menacing new villain, and no shortage of super-powered spectacles. It allows this squeal to live up to the high-quality standards of its predecessor, and in many ways surpasses it. That’s not to say it’s quiet as fresh as the first, and it’s still a simple-note premise, yet the focus is properly placed on the characters, their conflicts, and it makes this sequel feel like a worthy progression of it’s predecessor. 

#2 “Inside Out” 

You know that little voice in your head that always tells you what to do in any given situation ... well, that’s an emotion, or more precisely, one of five distinct emotions that live in your imagination, and have creative influence on how you live each day. That’s the premise of Disney and Pixar’s 2015 motion picture “Inside Out”. From the moment I saw this movie, I felt it really had the makings of a classic, and has something to offer to younger audiences, older audiences, and especially the young at heart. Pixar had been turning out some sub-par material previously, but this was a very strong return to the high-quality films that they’ve done in the past. It was imaginative, colorful, innovative, touching, magical, and for lack of better words ... a truly emotional experience that I look forward to seeing again, and again.         

 

#1 “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” 

It’s not often that my most anticipated movie of the year lands as my most favorite … but in the case of “The Force Awakens” … it absolutely hit the landing, and is one of my new favorite movies in one of my favorite long running franchises. Not only did the Force awaken in this film, it was also a revival of old school "Star Wars", with a great sense of outer-space adventure, the return of practical effects, which are now laced with state-of-the-art CGI, and of course a reunion of our favorite original cast. However, there's just enough new twists, energy, hummer, and a powerhouse new cast of intriguing new characters, which allow the film to stand on its own ... as well as stand tall, and strong as one of my personal favorite installments in the whole film series.

So, concludes 2015 … and may the thrill of the theater continue on!   

 

The Polar Express (2004) (Movie Review)

    Life is full of changes, and growing-up has its up’s a downs. My personal transition from Elementary school to Middle school was kind of rough, and a time when I shut myself out from other things. Strait to the point, this was a time in which the Christmas season meant very little too me, and I had pretty much lost all its magic. Then in 2004 a little animated movie came out called “The Polar Express”, and needless to say, this film helped reignite that warm magical spark, which I had lost. Now “The Polar Express” has never been regarded as one of the great holiday classics, and has received mixed reviews, but it’s got fans, and some would regard it as a “small” yuletide classic in its own right. I’ll admit the movie is far from perfect, but it’s still very special to me, and is personally one of my absolute favorite Christmas movies that I love watching every year. The movie is directed by Robert Zemeckis, who’s responsible for some of my favorite family adventure films including “Back to the Future”, “Monster House”, “Who Framed Rodger Rabbit”, and this film is yet another great one to add to his resume.  

   Naturally, the movie is based on the children’s book of the same title, which incidentally is a book I’m quiet nostalgic for. I remember my parents read that book to me every holiday season. However, even with my love for the source material, I never thought they could do a proper book adaption, especially considering how short, and strait forward the story is. For those of you who don’t know, “The Polar Express” is the tail of a young boy who’s slowly falling out of the holiday season. Then on one magical Christmas Eve, he gets whisked away on a train bound for the North Pole. Through his experience journeying to the Pole, he rediscovered that magic spark, and in a sense had his “faith” restored. As alluded to in the intro, I easily related to the main kid in the story, because that’s how I was, and it was through the experience of viewing the film that I found myself gradually tiptoeing back to my love for the holiday again. Personally, that’s what I take away from this movie ... the experience. Where other Christmas movies have great moral values, or are really funny, or very nostalgic, “The Polar Express” is the only one that makes me feel like I’m experiencing the holiday.

    The storytelling is light as air, and the atmosphere is simply magical. I also respect how this film took the mythos of Santa, and turned it into a challenge of faith, which some kids can probably relate to in their own general way. Having said all that, the movie would probably be stronger if it was a direct to TV special like “The Snowman”, because a theatrical movie needs to be padded out in order to be feature length. While I still love the overall experience of the movie, I’ll admit that the detours are very obvious. There are some action scenes thrown in revolving around the train getting derailed, and those moments do conflict with the films simplicity. To be fair, those action detours are still done well, and can be exciting to watch, but it does feel like the animators are trying to promote a theme park attraction at times. Now for as padded as the movie can get, it at least maintains the spirit of the source material, unlike say the movie adaption of “The Cat in the Hat”, which filled its run time with dry toilet hummer, modern day references, and obvious promotional tie-ins. “The Polar Express” at least sticks to its time period, and is trying to be something meaningful.

   Some may argue that it’s still a little manipulative, like some scenes are added in just because most classic children’s movies have scenes of the sort. Well, clichéd or not, I do love the majority of scenes in this film, in fact, it’s one of those movies I love watching just to re-experience select moments. 

One of the most inventive moments happens when the hero boy loses his ticket, which gets blown off the train, leading into an amazing tracking shot following this ticket as it blows through a mountain side, and back on board the locomotive. Tracking shots are impressive enough in live action, but for the animators to create a long take with no cuts on a computer is really something to admire. There’s also the mandatory scary moment, this time involving a puppet of Ebenezer Scrooge coming to life, which has nothing to do with anything, and is basically just there so the movie can have a scary scene. Maybe there’s a little bit of foreshadowing here, because Robert Zemeckis next animated Christmas movie would be “A Christmas Carol”. There's also a busted marionet of Pinocchio in this scene ... which is another curious coincidence, as Zemeckis would go on to direct a lesser remake of Disney's "Pinocchio". Lastly, while on the subject of the director, it's worth noting that a decade before this movie, he wrote and directed "Back to the Future Part 3" ... which also involved trains. It's fun watching both movies back to back and noticing how many details the director carried from one movie over to the other. Both movies feature a passenger pulling an emergency break, leading into an intense close-up on the noise of the train, and both feature a character pulling the train whistle while stating he "Wanted to do that his whole life".      

   Some of the random moments also help create an otherworldly atmosphere, which makes the train feel all the more magical. For example, the lead boy frequently encounters the ghost of a homeless man, but only the boy can see him. We’re never given any clear answers about this character, but his presence gives the train a more mysterious, yet lively feel. I especially love all the little details, like this one moment in the opening when the boy boards the train, he looks over at his house, and a strong gust of wind gives the illusion that his snowman is waving goodbye to him ... it's little touches like that which give this movie so much personality. 

    For some reason, the scene that always stands out to me the most is when a lonely boy sings about the simple joys he desperately wants to feel around Christmas, which leads into a duet between him and a young girl as they sing "When Christmas comes to Town". 

It may seem just a little corny to have these children signing, but I just love this song, I love the melody, and really love all the colors, and visuals that are displayed in this moment. It’s simply a touching little scene with these two kids, and once again, it just adds a little more magic to the experience. On that note, the music in this film is outstanding! The score is composed by Alan Silvestri, and it's one of the most magical, and breathtaking scores I’ve ever heard. The Polar Express theme song is very catchy, and I also love this song titled “Spirit of the Season”, which definitely puts me in the holiday mood. 

Also, just about every classic Christmas song ranging from Bing Crosby’s “White Christmas” to the Andrew Sisters “Winter Wonderland” can be heard in the film. The only song I didn’t care for was that silly “Hot Chocolate” number, which admittedly made for a delightful scene in of itself, but the song on it's own can get a little annoying. Saving the best for last, the closing song “Believe” performed by Josh Groban is personally one of my favorite modern holiday songs. It’s hard to explain, but this song just lifts my spirit, and really gets me in the “feels”. The song was rightfully nominated at the Academy Awards for Best Original Song, but lost to the song "Al Otro Lado Del Rio" from "The Motorcycle Diaries". Speaking of Oscars, "The Polar Express" was also nominated for Best Sound Editing, and Best Sound Mixing. Yet, for some reason, this movie wasn't nominated for best animated picture that year, while "Shark Tale" was nominated ... what's up with that? 

     Now it’s time talk about the characters, who add another rich flavor to the film. I like that we never learn their names, their just kids with distinct character traits, which help them stand apart from each other. The lead boy is like the everyday person who’s wide eyed, and observes all the magic around him. The hero girl always takes charge, and acts out of pure faith, which puts her at odds with the hero boy, who’s on a journey to rediscover his. 

There’s a “know-it-all” kid, who’s basically a walking dictionary, and finally there’s a lonely boy who though the experience gains the gift of friendship. Each child has their own arc, each identifiable, and I like seeing their friendships bloom over the course of the journey. I especially love that the hero girl is African American, which makes her relationship with the lead boy feel very unique. It would have been so easy for the animators to make her a pretty Caucasian girl that looks like a perfect match for the lead boy, but by giving her a different ethnicity, it makes their friendship feel unconventional, all the more genuine, and it’s even more special considering that the film is set in the 1950’s. 

Of course, I have to mention Tom Hanks, who’s terrific playing various characters throughout the film, ranging from the train conductor, to Santa Clause himself. It’s hard to explain, but there’s something about this films portrayal of Santa that has this real presence to him. I’ve been around the block with different portrayals of Santa in various Christmas movies, and while this obviously isn’t the absolute best, he still feels the most mystical in this film than any other portrayal I’ve seen. While the movie makes it clear that Tom Hanks is simply playing several different characters, I’d still like to believe that their all the same magical entity taking on various forms. That would have made more sense to give Tom Hanks all these roles if there was something connecting them all together. 

       

    Let’s finally talk about the other obvious highlight of the film, which is the stunning 3D animation! While I regrettably didn’t see this movie in 3D, I was still very impressed with the artistry of the film. However, I can still imagine the transporting effect the 3D adds to the experience. The colors and designs in this movie are just wonderful. Plus, there are several individual shots that look like pictures I could frame, and hang on my wall. The setting of the North Pole is arguably my favorite I’ve ever seen in a Christmas movie. Many of the buildings are shrunken down to elf size, and there’s multiple colors coming from the chimneys. There’s a great segment near the end in which three of the kids get lost at the pole, which leads to some awesome locations, and terrific set-pieces. The only time the animation suffers is with the human characters, who occasionally look like marionettes. This was the first animated movie to combine motion-capture performances with the animation, and while it’s distracting at times, there’s still some great detail in regards to the human features, and it obviously can’t over shadow how stunning the animation is overall.

    For me, the best way to describe this film is like going to bed one night, and having this beautiful dream that takes many wild and magical twists, turns ... and then when you wake up, you get this warm feeling that you embarked on this enchanting adventure. From beginning to end, the movie makes me feel like I’m living a dream revolving around the Christmas season, and I really can’t think of any other movie that creates a feel as unique as this. Like I said in the opening, “The Polar Express” is far from perfect, but then again, no movie really needs to be. All that matters is how much you take away from the experience, and in this regard, I received one of the most magical holiday movie experiences I could possibly ask for. The colors are beautiful, the music is fantastic, the premise is unique, the atmosphere is great, and the 3D animation is just dazzling. Honestly, films don’t always need a stellar story, sometimes I just want to experience something, and “The Polar Express” is a film that I look forward to experiencing again and again every year.

Thanks for reading my review of the 2004 Christmas staple “The Polar Express” ... and continue to enjoy whatever Christmas or Holiday Specials you Love! 

My Top 10 Least Favorite Christmas specials

    In the past, I’ve listed my favorite Christmas specials of all time ... but there’s also a Ying to every Yang, so why not look at some of the Christmas specials that I personally can’t stand. Now I’m not saying this is a list of the absolute worst Christmas specials of all time, I can’t do that properly sense I’ve never seen “Santa Clause Conquers the Martians”, “The Nutcracker 3D”, or countless others with a bad reputation. 

I’ve haven't even watched that many Christmas horror movies, so don’t expect something like “Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2” to be on this countdown. I’m not even saying that everyone should hate these specials that I’ve selected ... not at all ... these are just the ones that I personally can’t stand. Some of the select specials on my list are commonly enjoyed, even loved by many viewers, and anyone is in their right to like them. These are just the ones that I've happened to see once, and do my best to avoid watching again during the holiday season ... the ones that I just can’t stomach, and here they are, my own personal top 10 least favorite Christmas specials I’ve ever seen.   

#10 Pokémon: Holiday Hi-Jynx (1998) 

   Yeah, even Pokémon had a Christmas special, one so bad that it was actually banned from being aired on TV. Okay let me explain, it was actually banned do to the controversy surrounding the questionable design of one of the main creatures featured in the episode. That unfortunately didn’t stop this episode from being released on home video with a collection of winter themed episodes. Even without the controversy, this is just a plain silly episode ... and yes, Pokémon is already a silly, if somewhat passable, children’s program. However, this one turned me off even when I was a little kid, and in the height of my childhood Pokémon craze. What can you expect from an episode revolving around the shows silly villains invading the North Pole to kidnap Santa and steel every child’s Christmas present. There’s also a sub-plot about how Santa Claus already can’t deliver the toys on Christmas night because he’s missing one of his boots ... which is pretty pathetic. No message, no holiday magic, it’s a just a cringe episode, packed with announces, and is best left ignored.   


#9 The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause (2006)

   While the original 1994 picture “The Santa Clause” isn’t one of my absolute favorite Christmas movies, I never the less have a good deal of fondness and childhood nostalgia for it. Even it’s 2002 follow-up “The Santa Clause 2” is a delightful sequel in its own simple way, although it’s undeniably more of a guilty pleasure. The third movie however it when the series crashed and burned. Not only were the jokes relying on barebone slapstick, but the plot got too complicated, the tone also got surprisingly cynical, and lacked the warm magic of the first two. While there were some appealing holiday visuals, and the welcomed presence of Martin Short as the villain, it just didn’t stick a landing, and unlike the previous two movies, I’ve never wanted to give it film another viewing.
   

#8 Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer (2000) 

   The semi-popular Christmas song by Elmo Shropshire always seemed to fall into that category of “so bad, it’s great”, at least for me. The cartoon movie based on that song fell into that category of “so bad, it’s bad”, like really bad. I remember when this special first premiered on TV, and I was actually very excited to see it. What I got was one of the most boring, lifeless, and lazy holiday specials I’ve ever seen. They don’t even try to make this a funny tie in with the song, and the whole thing just feels like its on auto pilot. From the dull animation, to the uninspired characters, to the less then stealer script, to the annoyingly spontaneous song numbers ... there’s simply nothing worthwhile about this film. You know you’re watching a quality Christmas movie when it dedicates an entire three minuet song number to “fruit cake”.  

#7 Fred Claus (2007) 

   There’s admittedly a lot of talented people involved in this project, especially from Paul Giamatti who’s actually very respectable in the role of Santa Claus. Unfortunately, all their talents are wasted on this un-funny, contrived, downbeat, and shockingly over sentimental Christmas film. A story revolving around Santa’s human brother may have had some potential, but the film itself just comes off like an unfocused cluster of bad slapstick comedy mixed with syrupy melodrama.      

#6 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: We Wish you a Turtle Christmas (1994) 

  It’s bad enough that the Power Rangers had direct to video Christmas specials, but they at least had the right look and music. This live action direct to video Ninja Turtle Christmas outing somehow sunk even lower, and despite only being 20 minutes long, it feels like hours have been wasted while viewing it. The special is in the style of a musical, and it’s chalk full of terrible songs, annoying puns, stupid jokes, scary animatronics that look like there falling apart, and if you have any nostalgia the Ninja Turtles at all, be sure to skip this one entirely, and just stick with the first live action movie from 1990.     

#5 Scrooged (1988) 

   I know a lot of people like this film, and consider it a funny dark comedy with the always talented Bill Murray, but don’t count me among those people. For those of you not familiar with this film, it’s basically the strait forward story of “A Christmas Carol”, except its set in modern times, and with a nasty business man who already knows the story of Scrooge. Yeah ... it’s kind of hard to get invested in a character who already knows both the story, and what the life changing message is at the end. I also wasn’t too pleased with the films darkly comedic overtone, and boy can this film get annoying, especially in regards to the ghost of Christmas Presence. Personally, I’d recommend skipping this film and instead just stick to any one of the other excellent film adaption’s of the Charles Dickens classic.  

#4 A Christmas Story 2 (2012) 

   An uninspired direct to video sequel to one of the greatest Christmas movies ever made, what’s not to hate? Seriously, “A Christmas Story” is my favorite holiday movie of all time and watch every year. This sequel on the other hand (which no one even asked for) is better skipped and forgotten. Aside from shamefully recreating every joke from the original, making this a G rated teen comedy that’s noticeably laugh free, and lacking all the magic and charm of its predecessor ... no that’s enough reason to call this one of the most shameful Christmas movies ever made.   

#3 Blackadder's Christmas Carol (1988) 

   This special was part of the British comedy series called “Blackadder”. Now if someone is already a fan of this show, and enjoy dark comedy, chances are you’ll love this holiday special. Personally, I’m not of fan of the series, and this particular Christmas special just left a really bad taste in my mouth. Once again it’s a parody of “A Christmas Carol”, and to be fair the set up is a great idea ... at least on paper. Watching the darn thing is another story. This special is the story of Scrooge told in reverse, this time it’s the nicest guy in England who upon getting visited by the ghost of Christmas suddenly becomes the world’s biggest jerk that loves making people miserable. It’s cynical, it’s cruel, and most of all boring and down beat. It’s mostly a long clip show of scenes from other episodes, and like I said, if you’re already a fan of this series, and love its style of dark British comedy, you’ll probably get your times worth out of this. I for one would be much happier if I’d never even heard of it.   

#2 Bad Santa (2003) 

   Oh ... ear poisoning, that’s the best way to describe this film, it’s just ear poisoning, brain rotting, and relentlessly cynical garbage that has absolutely nothing of value, and waists the beautiful gift of life to all who see it. And Yes, I know that’s the whole joke of the film, to be as offensive, rude, distasteful, and fowl mouthed as it could get, just to contrast with its holiday setting. I know there are a lot of people who find this films overly cynical nature and dark approach to be really funny, and many even call it a minor holiday classic ... but it’s certainly not for me. I personally don’t think it’s funny, I can’t stand the characters, or the sexually offensive remarks, or the lack of Christmas spirit, or the ... well, I don’t need to list everything. If your one of the many that enjoy this film, you can have it ... just keep it away from me.    
   

Before I reveal my #1 least favorite, here are some quick Dishonorable Mentions ...

“Home Sweet Home Alone” (2021)

"Mickey's Twice Upon a Christmas" (2004)

“Shrek the Halls” (2007)

"Frosty Returns" (1992)

"Richie Rich's Christmas Wish" (1998)

#1 "South Park‍ '​s "Woodland Critter Christmas" (2004) 

   Much like “Blackadder”, this is a special from a dark comedy series, and if your already a fan of its dark and controversial style of comedy, you’ll probably adore how morbid and off beat their holiday specials can get. I’m well aware that South Park is a beloved comedy series, and this particular episode is a big fan favorite. In fact, I’ve heard many people, even close friends of mine regarded it as one of the greatest Christmas specials they’ve ever seen. For me personally, when I think of a Christmas special that I hated with a passion, and stood out as one of the most unpleasant things I’ve ever viewed, I immediately think of South Park‍ '​s "Woodland Critter Christmas". Just like with “Bad Santa”, I understand that the whole joke is just how off beat and dark it can get in contrast to what we normally see in a Christmas special, and once again, it’s just not for me. 

However, this is much worse, and personally, I think it just goes way too far with how sick, negative, insulting and unpleasant it’s comedy gets. There’s one particular joke revolving around "Planed Parent Hood" that really pushed my hot button. Things only get more distasteful from there as the special highlights the devil, orgy, cult sacrifices, mother killings, Satanism, and a violent gun wilding Santa. Like I said, I’m not a fan of South Park, or its comedy, but it’s not fare for me to call this the worst holiday special of all time, especially sense I already despise the show, and I know it has a large fan base. I can only speak for myself when I say that South Park‍ '​s "Woodland Critter Christmas" is the worst Christmas special that I personally have ever seen.    

Uh-Oh ...I've got a Bonus ...

#0 The Star Wars Holiday Special (1978) 

    I didn't feel right putting this one on my countdown as it really has nothing to do with Christmas at all ... thus, I can't really call it one of the worst Christmas specials I've ever seen. However, it is often regarded as such, and it's definitely one of the worst things I've ever seen in my life-time, so I feel it needs to be mentioned. So here it is, that classic entry in the “Star Wars” cannon that even Gorge Lucas is ashamed of. This special got such a pore reception after it aired back in 1978 that it’s never once re-aired on TV, and never even got a home video release of any form, it’s that bad. With a premise that revolves around Chewbacca’s loud, irritating and incredibly boring Wookiee family (who by the way never speak English or even have sub-titles provided), it makes this one of the dullest and hardest things to sit through. 

Throw in the fact that neither Christmas nor the films made up holiday are barley even focused on, which makes the whole project feel all the more pointless. There’s also no clear direction for this special as it jumps from one random thing like a Jefferson Starship music video to some painfully bad comedy with the late great Harvey Korman. To be fair, there are still some note-worthy highlights including a reunion of the original “Star Wars” cast, and the introduction to the fan favorite Bounty Hunter Boba Fett ... who is awesome by the way. Obviously, that’s still not enough to save this mess of a Christmas special, which already has nothing to do with the holiday season itself.  

Thanks for reading my countdown ... and continue to enjoy whatever Christmas or Holiday specials you Love ... even if they were on my list. 

End