TrueJoshNight Truly Dreadful Film

Lancoor A very feeble attempt at affirmatie action

Dirtylogy It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

Helllins It is both painfully honest and laugh-out-loud funny at the same time.

d.rust This showed up after I fell asleep watching a rerun of CSI. I had already consulted the EPG to see that it was all about the guy who invented Christmas. Oh crap. Not another one of those Hallmark whodunit turds about some mid-40s lady who sells Poinsettias in an Ontario town tricked up to look like Someplace USA, solving murders that are hardly likely.No.The movie begins right away, no opening title, no list of actors. I had already shut down the computer, it was cold as hell and I could see my breath in the glow of the screen. And, it was THAT GUY! Gee, I know that guy, that's Dan Stevens who I liked in Downton Abbey, who already did some other crappy Night at the Museum sequel, but I like him. His portrayal of Dickens as a manic, driven author, swamped by piling debts, a household of distractions, a family screaming in utter enjoyment, and besieged by his parents, particularly his father who is beleaguered by petty debts -- is inspired, reminiscent of Rupert Everett in "An Ideal Husband".Dickens' father seems a robust character played by (to my great surprise) one of my favourite actors, Jonathan Pryce. But, as Master Thespian would say in SNL skits: it was ACTING! So, there was none of the "Don't Cry for Me" or "I'm a stickler for paperwork" that we have seen in his work. Pryce is hidden behind a beard playing this lovable old soul.Dickens gets started on his project while we are tickled with obvious clues and visuals suggesting the story is starting to congeal. He struggles with his protagonist's name: Scrunger, Scrimpole, Scumper. I uselessly suggest to no-one in particular what it is, until Dickens finally utters it: SCROOGE.And then I hear the unmistakable voice: Plummer appears, backlit, face in shadow, voice wavering a little with age, but strong in defense of his character's miserly ways.This is a movie with great fun, enjoyable scenes, spinning a tale about an eternal tale we have seen a hundred times in a dozen incarnations, whether Alastair Sim, Mr Magoo or Bill Murray: we know the story. And with this film, we know the story behind making this classic. You'll enjoy it.

Sober-Friend This is a film based on the events that drove Charles Dickens to write one of the most popular books of all time.The film is well made and it seem authentic. The problem is we know this "gamble" will pay off. No suspense but otherwise a good film

kz917-1 I really wanted to like this movie but alas that was not in the cards.Dan Stevens, seen previously as the Beast in the live action remake of Beauty and the Beast merely whimpered as Charles Dickens.It was almost a manic portrayal of Dickens whose life seems to be falling apart.Sad to say skip this one. One present to leave under the tree.

beorhhouse This film does for Dickens what no other film has ever done. It gives insight into his masterpiece A Christmas Carol. Not that insight is needed, but it is much appreciated notwithstanding. There are similar elements of the ridiculous film Pandaemonium here (over-excitedness and hyper-emotion), which is why I only give it a 9/10. Still, this film is a delight for the whole family, even if the aged waiter in the public house vulgarly (and comically) wrestles with a wine bottle held between his legs until the cork pops.