MERRY CHRISTMAS! Christmas Carol-A-Thon 2019, Balladeer’s Blog’s TENTH Annual Christmas Carol-A-Thon, comes to a close with a review of this 2019 item.
2nd CHANCE FOR CHRISTMAS (2019) – (Special thanks to Balladeer’s Blog reader Lee Ann for recommending this Carol to me.)
Directed by Christopher Ray, this is an adaptation of the Dickens classic and sets the story in the present-day. The Scrooge stand-in is a Country Western singer named Chance Love (Brittany Underwood). My fellow Carol enthusiasts will immediately be put in mind of A Diva’s Christmas Carol, reviewed previously here at Balladeer’s Blog.
2nd Chance For Christmas shrewdly stakes out its own territory so that it stands out from the Vanessa Williams flick about a pop starlet named Ebony Williams. In addition the film shrewdly used a numerical designation for the first word in the title rather than spelling out “Second” ensuring it will be listed ahead of movies whose titles begin with any letters at all.
Brittany Underwood does a very good job as Chance, the mean-spirited and selfish singing starlet who abuses everyone around her. Every step of the way Underwood is up to the demands of the storyline and manages her comedic parts well, always the toughest challenge.
In fact nearly all the comedy bits in 2nd Chance For Christmas are well-written and well-executed, so I will avoid any spoilers regarding the jokes so as not to ruin them for first-time viewers. Continue reading
DARK SHADOWS: A review of the Phoenix storyline from Dark Shadows 
KILLRAVEN: WAR OF THE WORLDS – The first part of my ongoing look at the 1973-1976 Marvel Comics science fiction series about heroic rebels fighting Earth’s alien conquerors. CLICK 
GLADIATOR: AN OPERA VERSION OF THE 1930 PHILIP WYLIE NOVEL – An opera about a man granted paranormal abilities by science. CLICK 
A CHRISTMAS CAROL (2015) – This 59 minute rendition of the Dickens Yuletide classic is often referred to as “the Colin Baker version.” Too bad Baker can’t sue somebody over that, since he had nothing to do with this laughable production beyond portraying Charles Dickens and narrating the story. 
Soon the image improves to conventional standards (well, sort of) and the sound improves to 1950s television levels. Unfortunately, this is a 2015 production, not a 1950s presentation, and the weak, amateurish sound work will plague this Carol the rest of the way. 
YELLOWHAIR AND THE FORTRESS OF GOLD (1984) – A review of this movie’s attempt to cross Indiana Jones with Spaghetti Westerns. CLICK 
EVEN MORE MEDAL OF HONOR WINNERS FROM THE PHILIPPINE WAR (1899-1902) – Another installment of Medal of Honor winners from a forgotten war. CLICK 
GOLDEN AGE JUSTICE SOCIETY – Reviews and recommended revisions to the 1940-1945 run of the very first superhero team in history: The Justice Society of America. CLICK 
THE CHANCELLOR MANUSCRIPT – My review of the Robert Ludlum novel. CLICK 
CHINATOWN CONNECTION (1990) – A review of one of the most hilariously lame “buddy cop” movies ever made. 
CURSE OF THE CRYING WOMAN (1961) – My review of this Mexican horror film, just in time for the release of La Llorona. CLICK 
AMERICA AS PART OF THE ALIEN FRANCHISE – A humorous look at the similarities. CLICK 
THREE NEGLECTED SWASHBUCKLER NOVELS FROM ALEXANDRE DUMAS – Reviews of Georges, in which a master swordsman fights slavery in Mauritius; Captain Pamphile, another anti-slavery tale from Dumas, this one about a pirate captain; and La Dame De Monsoureau, about a 16th Century rogue and his bed & battle adventures. CLICK 
MARDI GRAS MASSACRE (1978) – A review of a classically bad seasonal slasher movie which featured human sacrifices and inept police work during Mardi Gras. CLICK 
POST-APOCALYPSE MOVIES – Balladeer’s Blog’s reviews of 1980s imitations of Mad Max. 
ADAM WARLOCK, THANOS, GAMORA AND DRAX – A review of the 1975 tale of Adam Warlock tangling with the Magus and his 1,000-world empire. Featuring the VERY FIRST appearance of GAMORA. CLICK 
THE FOOL KILLER – Balladeer’s Blog’s exhaustive examination of 19th and 20th Century Fool Killer folklore, beginning with the Fool Killer Letters in the Milton Chronicle in the 1850s. 
Time for another post in Balladeer’s Blog’s TENTH annual orgy of entries on various versions of THE Christmas tale. The Charles Dickens classic has a certain unquenchable charm that ensures it will continue to be adapted for at least another few hundred years. 
ALIEN OUTLAW (1985) – A review of this vintage B-movie with a butt-kicking heroine. CLICK 
FLASH FOR FREEDOM – A review of another of George MacDonald Fraser’s Harry Flashman novels. CLICK 
THE GUTHRIE THEATER PRESENTS A CHRISTMAS CAROL (1982) – Stage performances of any story getting filmed for video are pretty hit and miss, but this production is much more of a hit than a miss. The Guthrie Theater Presents A Christmas Carol was filmed at the famed Minnesota theater of the title and aired on The Entertainment Channel in 1982 before being released on VHS. 
HARRY FLASHMAN NOVELS – My reviews of George MacDonald Fraser’s series of Flashman novels have been very popular items. January saw three items: 
ROBERT GINTY MOVIE MARATHON – Six of the most psychotronic movies from the one and only Robert Ginty. 
FACULTY LOUNGE FASCIST ROUNDUP: JANUARY 21st – Yet another look at the Theater of the Absurd known as the United States “Educational” System. CLICK 
GENTLEMAN JEKYLL AND DRIVER HYDE (1950) – One of Canada’s most bizarrely entertaining Driver’s Ed shorts. CLICK 
THE PARSIFAL MOSAIC (1982) – My review of the Robert Ludlum novel. CLICK 
Balladeer's Blog 