Bad Santa

Billy Bob Thornton plays a thieving, degenerate Santa.

"...and stockings, glad tidings and goodwill toward men, comes Bad Santa. And the first words out of the mouth..."

Nov. 28, 2003 Movie Review by Kimberley Jones

Bad Santa 2

A tired sequel that's more offensive than transgressive

"...a nutshell (or roasted chestnut), is the difference between Bad Santa and Bad Santa 2...."

Nov. 23, 2016 Movie Review by Marjorie Baumgarten

Holiday Viewing: Bad Santa

Foul-mouthed fun for the holidays

"...and stockings, glad tidings and goodwill toward men, 2003’s Bad Santa introduces itself with all the Christmas cheer of..."

Dec. 15, 2017 Screens Post by Kimberley Jones

Sad, Bad Santa

Wild Bill's 'Honky Tonk Holidaze' – 'Bad Santa' gone Cheech & Chong

"...in a corner of the garage. A noosed baby Santa hangs out of a closet in the hallway. No..."

Dec. 13, 2013 Music Feature by Chase Hoffberger

Bad News Bears

This genial remake is Billy Bob Thornton’s game all the way.

"...as the World Series. Michael Ritchie’s 1976 film The Bad News Bears, about the travails of a band of..."

July 22, 2005 Movie Review by Marc Savlov

Bad Teacher

Cameron Diaz productively sidesteps her good-times-gal image to play this human cancer who lays waste to everyone who gets in her way.

"...bitchy stoner and supposed educator, shouldn't sell herself short: "Bad teacher" barely scratches the surface of her accomplishments. She's..."

July 1, 2011 Movie Review by Kimberley Jones

Bad Words

Jason Bateman plays a grown man who finds a loophole to compete in a kids national spelling bee, but the reasons are only known to him.

"...In Bad Words, Jason Bateman demonstrates that he is in full..."

March 21, 2014 Movie Review by Marjorie Baumgarten

Bad Samaritan

David Tennant plays Hannibal Lecter, which is less fun than it sounds.

"...Lesson seemingly learned with Bad Samaritan, which is not (unfortunately) an off-brand Bad Santa..."

May 4, 2018 Movie Review by Richard Whittaker

A Bad Moms Christmas

The raunchy moms are back with some Christmas spirit(s)

"...and more of a holiday special shitshow spectacular, A Bad Moms Christmas explores many of the same tropes as..."

Nov. 3, 2017 Movie Review by Danielle White

The Luv Doc: A Bad Case of ZTSD

The Luv Doc has a fat Santa's bag of helpful advice

"...also very often have questionable taste in interior design, bad lighting, sketchy internet connections, poor personal grooming, and terrible..."

June 12, 2020 Column by The Luv Doc

Dial Code Santa Claus Is This Year's Christmas Surprise

You better watch out for this Pere Noël

"...of Paris, Thomas (Alain Lalanne) was coming face-to-face with Santa – only this Father Christmas is a crazy homeless..."

Dec. 21, 2018 Screens Feature by Richard Whittaker

Barney Miller: The Complete Series

Gift Guide: Concrete-jungle dicks of Barney Miller

"...of detectives working for the 12th Precinct in big, bad New York City, don't be alarmed by the pilot..."

Dec. 2, 2011 Screens Feature by Wayne Alan Brenner

Mr. Woodcock

Mr. Woodcock is funny for exactly five minutes, with the kind of subversive humor that boosted Billy Bob Thornton, but the rest is just a self-pitying, half-hearted retread.

"...the third in Thornton’s unofficial “exhausted-contempt” series – after Bad Santa and Bad News Bears – in which he..."

Sept. 14, 2007 Movie Review by Josh Rosenblatt

Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale

Quite the opposite of treacly holiday fare, this European import features one very bad Santa.

"...Finland, this small, dark gem out-Scrooges Scrooged and makes Bad Santa look like a feel-good film. Rare Exports depicts..."

Dec. 10, 2010 Movie Review by Marc Savlov

Bigger Stakes

Richard Linklater on remixing 'The Bad News Bears'

"...week prior to the theatrical release of Richard Linklater's Bad News Bears last Friday, locating an unrented copy of..."

July 29, 2005 Screens Feature by Raoul Hernandez

The Perfect Holiday

In this lightweight yuletide fluffery, a young girl turns to a shopping-mall Santa to find a husband for her divorced mother.

"...Street: Ben is a singer-songwriter moonlighting as a department-store Santa; his possible paramour, single mom Nancy (Union), is pregnant..."

Dec. 14, 2007 Movie Review by Marc Savlov

Unaccompanied Minors

Calling John Hughes: Former Freaks and Geekster Paul Feig has got your number.

"...neither good enough to be an instant classic nor bad enough to disappear from video stores’ seasonal rental shelves..."

Dec. 8, 2006 Movie Review by Marjorie Baumgarten

Hope Wears a Cherry Red Suit

Santa scholar Carl Anderson talks about the role of Kris Kringle in a time of grief and fear.

"...Santa. From our early years, we see him as an..."

Nov. 2, 2001 Arts Feature by Robert Faires

Krampus

This horror-comedy brings a demon to the holiday gathering

"...Gremlins territory before it finally unleashes the titular Germanic Santa Claws, where things get really nasty. Frankly, we need..."

Dec. 11, 2015 Movie Review by Marc Savlov

Christmas With the Kranks

Holiday pap and circumstance.

"...denuded of genuine holiday charm that it ranks with Santa Claus Conquers the Martians as one of the most..."

Nov. 26, 2004 Movie Review by Marc Savlov

The Polar Express

Chris Van Allsburg’s magical tale of the Christmas Eve re-education of a Santa-doubting adolescent gets the motion-capture treatment.

"...magical tale of the Christmas Eve re-education of a Santa-doubting adolescent teetering on the brink of disbelief gets a..."

Nov. 12, 2004 Movie Review by Marc Savlov

After a Fashion

Stephen is all about the holidays. Hide your peacock feathers!!!

"...with therapeutic facials, food, spirits, and plenty of shopping. Santa Claus will be on hand for photo ops, noon-3pm,..."

Dec. 10, 2004 Column by Stephen MacMillan Moser

There Ain't No Sanity Clause: Nasty Videos for Your Inner Naughty Child

Counter-programming Christmas with bad cheer and body counts

"...more upon us, grinning with suspect good cheer and bad cable knit scarves. And, even more taxing to cinephiles,..."

Dec. 19, 2011 Screens Post by Marc Savlov

My Favorite Martian

"...take, fills in for the late Bill Bixby as Santa Barbara television producer Tim O'Hara, who one night witnesses..."

Feb. 12, 1999 Movie Review by Marc Savlov

Cellular

Feels like a B-picture, but a smart, finely tuned one that wouldn’t have been out of place in Roger Corman’s mid-Seventies stable.

"...The Perfect Score’s Evans is here as Ryan, a Santa Monica youth who finds himself on the receiving end..."

Sept. 10, 2004 Movie Review by Marc Savlov

Crazy Heart

Jeff Bridges scores in this performance as a fading country & western star who has cashed in most of his chips.

"...sorrowful turn as the alcohol-basted and nicotine-stained C&W has-been Bad Blake. It's a performance that's magnificent in its road-weariness,..."

Jan. 8, 2010 Movie Review by Marc Savlov

Gigli

"...East Coast hood accent, and what’s it doing in Santa Monica?) There is one small saving grace to be..."

Aug. 1, 2003 Movie Review by Kimberley Jones

The Call of the Wild

Buck the dog makes another trip to the Yukon, this time with CGI assistance

"...as the pampered pet of a well-to-do family in Santa Clara County, Calif., and ends up a wolfish creature..."

Feb. 21, 2020 Movie Review by Steve Davis

Tyler Perry's A Madea Christmas

The auteur from Atlanta dons his Madea drag once more to spread holiday cheer.

"...nature, she is as out of control as a bad storm. Yet, she seems somehow ill-conceived. Sometimes she is..."

Dec. 20, 2013 Movie Review by Louis Black

Variations on Carol of the Bells

Mermen, movies, and Whitney pulled me under for Christmas

"...that nearly burst my spleen from laughter in The Santa Clause rocked as well. The Ghost of Christmas Future..."

Dec. 24, 2012 Music Post by Raoul Hernandez

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