Balladeer’s Blog’s Sixteenth Annual Christmas Carol-a-Thon continues with this eeriest of all the versions to date!
A CHRISTMAS CAROL (2012) – This adaptation of A Christmas Carol was a noble effort to try something different that was not just a gimmick. Ignore the negative IMDb reviews which accuse this adaptation of using “Elizabethan language.” They’re off by a few hundred years, since in reality the dialogue follows that in the Dickens novel of 1843.
This 2012 version of A Christmas Carol boasts absolutely beautiful cinematography. Its emphasis is on the eerie nature of the story and has the look of a horror film much of the time. It has assorted flaws which I’ll cover as we go along but I almost hate having to cover the negative aspects of such a brave experiment.
I will take a hundred creative attempts like this, which may fall short but are trying something new, over one more soulless item which updates the story to the modern age but has no emotion to it. Continue reading
FIRST QUARTERFINAL – The BENEDICTINE COLLEGE RAVENS traveled to face the FRIENDS UNIVERSITY FALCONS. A 10-0 1st Quarter lead for the Ravens became a 17-7 score going into Halftime. The 3rd Quarter ended with Benedictine College up 24-15 before they went on to eliminate the Falcons in the 4th 24-18. 
SECOND QUARTERFINAL – The COLLEGE OF IDAHO COYOTES were on the road against the undefeated MONTANA TECH OREDIGGERS in this game. At the Half, the Coyotes were clinging to a mere 14-13 edge over Montana Tech. An enormous 3rd Quarter for the College of Idaho put them on top 34-13, then a 4th Quarter rally for the Orediggers fell far short in a 41-26 loss. 
GENE HACKMAN: R.I.P. – HIS BEST 1970s ROLES – With the passing of actor Gene Hackman I examined some of his best roles in 1970s movies 
THE TELEVISION GHOST: REALLY, REALLY FORGOTTEN TELEVISION (1931-1933) – Much earlier than most people realize, television broadcasts were already hitting the airwaves, including this horror anthology series. 
MOTOR PIRATES (1906) – My review of an early silent sci-fi film short featuring a high-tech, armed and armored vehicle and its criminal designers. Click 
ASTREA: STRONGWOMAN OF ITALIAN SILENT FILMS – Before Gina Carano, Sigourney Weaver or Milla Jovovich came this butt-kicking action starlet from Italy 
ADVENTURE COMICS Vol 1 #48 (Mar 1940) 
NOTE: Over the years, changes would make it so that Miraclo granted Rex Tyler the strength of 50 men. Due to parental concerns about promoting drug use since Rex popped Miraclo pills, for a time it was changed to a Miraclo RAY that would increase Hourman’s strength. Other times it was retconned so that Hourman’s costume was enchanted and it was the source of his powers. 
THE PETTICOAT REVOLUTION – On December 5th, 1916 the “Petticoat Revolution” occurred in Oregon. Women had been allowed to vote in the state since 1912 and in the town of Umatilla several women ran stealth candidacies for municipal offices. 
UNDERWATER HOUSE (1899) – Written by Frank Bailey Millard, this short story was first published in the March 1899 issue of The Black Cat magazine. 
IT’S CHRISTMAS, CAROL! (2012) – Well, to borrow from another holiday, I hold these truths to be self-evident – 
All that said, I won’t be able to use my usual format for my reviews of A Christmas Carol since Marley and the Christmas Ghosts are all played by one person. And it’s not a case of a comedian or a chameleon-like thespian so skilled at crafting characters that it’s a showcase for their talents. (Picture Robin Williams doing different personae for the Ghosts, for instance.)
WILDSIDE (1985) – This Forgotten Television item was a short-lived series that had the elite Old West secret agents appeal that 
MABEL NORMAND: HER SILENT FILM COMEDIES FROM 1910-1915 – The pioneering comedienne who blazed cinematic trails and had a long collaboration with the iconic Fatty Arbuckle and Mack Sennett. 
SUPERHEROES FROM INDIA – Reading superhero stories as a kid served as a gateway to some of my adult passions like mythology and opera, so I will always have a soft spot for them. This blog post looked at some Indian superheroes from the 1960s onward. 
BRUCE CAMPBELL AND SAM RAIMI SHORT FILMS: 1974-1982 – Bruce, Sam and the rest of their Michigan Mafia when they were making youthful short films. My reviews of Cleveland Smith: Bounty Hunter, The Blind Waiter, Holding It, Attack of the Helping Hand and more 
A CHRISTIAN CAROL (2016) – Balladeer’s Blog’s 16th Annual Christmas Carol-A-Thon continues with this look at a religious-themed variation of A Christmas Carol. Directed by Stan Severance and written by Wesley T Highlander, A Christian Carol follows in the footsteps of the 1983 production The Gospel According to Scrooge.
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