Tom Goes to the Christmas Movies

Some people have lots to do over the Christmas holidays. Not me. I've been to the cinema. Here's what I've seen.

Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny (***) - JB and KG meet fall in rock 'n' roll love and set off to find the pick of destiny that will enable them to win the local talent contest and set them on the road to fame and fortune. It's pretty flimsy, but there are several laugh out loud moments along the way.

Look out for the handful of cameos from the usual suspects (if you've seen Anchorman you know who I'm talking about). If you're not a fan of The D best to stay away, if you are you'll probably enjoy it, though there was a lot more they could have done.

Grounded (**) - Directed by Freaks and Geeks creator Paul Feig, this tells the story of a bunch of kids who get left unattended at an airport on Christmas Eve. It's sort of Home Alone in an airport as the airport security chief, played by Lewis Black chases them all over the airport.

The film really doesn't have enough jokes to sustain as a comedy. At best it's simply likeable, it has enough charm not to be tedious, but it's best avoided. Tyler James Williams from Everybody Hates Chris, is probably the stand out kid, although he seems more to be showing off than putting in a performance.

The only things I can really say I laughed at were the all too short appearances of Bruce McCulloch, Mark McKinney and Kevin MacDonald from The Kids in the Hall and a closing scene cameo from Tony Hale, Arrested Development's Buster Bluth.

Black Christmas (***) - A remake of a 1974 horror film of the same name this serves up all the hallmarks we've come to expect from the recent batch of knowingly cliched horrors.

A bunch of sexy teens attempt to fight off a spree killer in their sorority house. They are hampered by the usual pitfalls such as power cuts and blizzard conditions. Director Glen Morgan produced Final Destination and this film shares a lot of the same sensibilties as that picture. Morgan's wife Kristen Cloke also appears in both.

You can probably guess what's coming a mile away, but it's reasonable fun watching it happen. My enjoyment was spoiled slightly by the young couple sitting behind me who talked all the way through it. The guy also kicked the back of my chair repeatedly. When finally I had no option but to turn round and politely tell him to stop doing it I almost felt bad about it as he looked so terrified, I never heard another word out of him either.

Flags of Our Fathers (****) - Can this Clint Eastwood, the one who has knocked out class picture, (Million Dollar Baby), after class picture, (Mystic River) be the same Clint Eastwood who made The Rookie? Apparently so.

Flags of Our Fathers was everything I've come to expect from Clint, a solid picture, dramatic and moving. It tells the story of the Americans at the Battle of Iwo Jima and in particular the raising of the US flag there.

There are some excellent battle scenes, most easily compared to Saving Private Ryan. The film is told in flashbacks and flash forwards as the three men who raised the flag and lived to come home struggle to deal with their status as US heroes and poster boys for the war effort.

The cast are all really good, Ryan Phillipe shows yet again, after Crash, that he can act, Adam Beach gives a great performance as Ira Hayes and there's also a solid turn by Saving Private Ryan's Barry Pepper.

I'm sure Flags of Our Fathers will be in the running come Oscar time. Eastwood's next film is Letters From Iwo Jima, which tells the story of the battle from the perspective of Japanese soldiers.