M3gan | Movie Review

What better way to unwind from the holiday season than a movie about a murderous robotic doll? I have been looking forward to this movie but was it worth it?

Gemma (Allison Williams) develops robotic toys for children. When her sister and brother-in-law are killed in a car accident, her niece, Cady (Violet McGraw), comes to live with her. Seeing that Cady is having difficulty transitioning to life without her parents, Gemma gives her the robotic friend prototype she is working on, codenamed M3gan. M3gan is perfect - she listens, she teaches, she protects. But maybe she is a little too perfect.

While M3gan isn’t the perfect movie, it is a lot of fun. On the positive side, M3gan isn’t the scary Chucky-style doll killer we are used to. Instead of a serial killer doll, we are faced with an AI who is fulfilling their duties to the extreme. This isn’t anything new. We see it in movies like Wall-E or Alien. In M3gan’s case, her duty was to protect Cady’s emotional and physical well-being. When those things are threatened, M3gan removes them. As a result, we actually cheer on M3gan’s murderous tendencies for the most part.

Thankfully, I don’t think there are too many negatives to the movie. Lydia (Amy Usherwood), the therapist that comes in to evaluate Cady, is awful. There is a scene where Lydia wants to watch Gemma play with Cady but then she contradicts everything she says. Lydia says to let Cady lead the play session (basically telling Gemma to not tell Cady how to play with a toy) then she, herself, tells Cady how to play. I understand why Lydia has to exist in the movie. I think it would have been better if she wasn’t so intolerable the first time we meet her. It makes all of the other interactions with her cringey.

I also wish that Gemma’s co-workers, Tess (Jen Van Epps) and Cole (Brian Jordan Alvarez), were used a bit better. We only ever see them in the robotic lab. Considering that M3gan is now out in the world, they could have made the trip to Gemma’s house to give feedback on how they think M3gan is progressing. As it is, they have to make calls on M3gan’s behavior solely based on what Gemma tells them. They get biased information instead of getting the information for themselves.

With all of that in mind, I still highly enjoyed M3gan. It was a great story about attachments children make and the role parents play in their lives. I will probably watch it again when it comes to a streaming service.

I Believe In Santa | 2022 Christmas Movies

Now that I have finished all of the usual network Christmas movies, I’ll finish out the year with some from Netflix (and maybe other streaming channels) that I didn’t get to. I’m starting off with I Believe In Santa.

Lisa (Christina Moore) is a writer who hates Christmas. Tom (John Ducey) is a lawyer who loves Christmas so much that he still believes in Santa Claus. After five months of dating, Lisa just found out about Tom’s beliefs. Will they be able to find a way to compromise or is this the end of their relationship?

I want to start off with noting that this is definitely an allegory for Catholicism vs atheism. Yes, they do talk about religion in the movie but the only specific religion they mention is Muslim. Santa is definitely supposed to be a stand-in for big-g God.

With that in mind, I still found it to be a charming movie. There were the usual discussions about faith - how do you prove it if you can’t see it - but it didn’t come off as preachy, the way most faith movies do. I think it’s because there is no “Santa has a plan” type reasonings here. Instead, it’s basically “It’s real if you believe it is real.” Which is a much better reasoning for faith.

While I do think this I Believe In Santa is a movie worth watching, it isn’t the best movie out there. There are a ton of unnecessary montages and the production is a little lacking. But for a movie about religion, I thought it was well handled. And Lisa’s daughter, Ella (Violet McGraw), is a great reason to watch, if you still need one.

A Christmas Mystery | 2022 Christmas Movies

It’s time to dip our toes into something a little more family friendly. HBO Max has given us A Christmas Mystery. But what could be so mysterious about Christmas?

In the town of Pleasant Grove, OR, a boy found a string of sleigh bells on the night of Christmas Eve. The magical sleigh bells helped the town prosper and grow over the next 100 years. Three days before the 100th anniversary of the Ringing Of The Bells, the sleigh bells were stolen from their display at the local museum. The police believe that George Bottoms (Drew Powell) is the culprit. But Violet (Violet McGraw), the sheriff’s daughter, thinks it was someone else. Now Violet has to search for proof that someone else stole the bells.

This was an adorable mystery movie. It had the same vibe as a Nancy Drew book except Violet was helped by her best friend, Kenny Bottoms (Santino Barnard); his brother, Harrison (Leonardo Cecchi); and her sister, Maddie (Lauren Lindsey Donzis). I liked that Violet didn’t guess the villain correctly the first time. Especially since the clues led her to the incorrect choice to begin with. The true villain did need a little legwork to get to the end result but that is OK. It’s better when it’s not super easy to guess the bad guy.

I don’t know how interesting this movie would be for most adults. It is definitely geared toward tweens or young teens. But if you grew up reading Nancy Drew or Encyclopedia Brown, you might find a bit of fun nostalgia here. Either way, it is a cute way to spend an evening.