What I Watched in December

This monthly post is long overdue so I'm going to be brief and get the list posted. I saw eight (!) movies in the theater in December and I've already written about a few of them so follow the links below to read my thoughts on those.

MISS PEREGRINE'S HOME FOR PECULIAR CHILDREN was a film I was going to skip as I have fallen out of love with Tim Burton and his increasingly shallow films. I was prompted to see this one by a British review that praised it and I'm glad I did. Eva Green is a marvel and the film works very well.

DON'T BREATHE is a good but not great variation on the home invasion idea. It's effective, tense and minutely explores it's chosen environment to terrifying ends.

JACK REACHER: NEVER GO BACK is a very weak sequel to the first Reacher film. Although the action scenes are well handled the connective tissue and story itself are thin and uninvolving.

THE ACCOUNTANT is a excellent crime film and one that skillfully accomplishes many different things. The main character is fascinating as are the various ways he has constructed his world to both survive and thrive. The film holds many surprises and is very well acted.

BAD SANTA 2 is a case of going back to a well that was mostly dry. It's not a bad film but it is too much of a retread of the first even if the new setting and new characters do liven things up a bit. Kathy Bates is great as Thornton's mean spirited criminal mother but she's about the only real surprise the film has up its sleeve. 

The List 

DOCTOR STRANGE (2016) - 8 
DEAD RECKONING (1947)- 7 (lesser Bogart noir)
MISS PEREGRINE'S HOME FOR PECULIAR CHILDREN (2016) - 8
BLACK CHRISTMAS (2006) - 6 (rewatch)
SILENT NIGHT, DEADLY NIGHT (1984) - 7 (rewatch)
A CHRISTMAS HORROR STORY (2015) - 8 (rewatch)
KRAMPUS (2015) - 8 (rewatch)
SILENT NIGHT (2012) - 5 (remake is too cartoonish)
DON'T BREATHE (2016) - 7
ELVES (1989)- 3
JACK REACHER: NEVER GO BACK (2016) - 5 (weak sequel)
SNOWED UNDER (1936) - 6 (fun but too tame little farce with excellent female leads)
CHRISTMAS IN CONNECTICUT (1945) - 7
THE ACCOUNTANT (2016) - 8
STAR WARS: ROGUE ONE (2016) - 8 
MONTANA MOON (1930) - 5 (pre-code drama with Joan Crawford)
DR. STRANGE (1978) - 6 (actually not bad for a 70's TV movie)
ARRIVAL (2016) - 9
BAD SANTA 2 (2016) - 6