Tödliche Weihnachten

This movie was one of the bridges to the contemporary action movie that has no plot at all and is unabashed about that fact. It is the melding between the 90s attempt at plot and the ever-increasing tendency for all violence all the time with some hot babe shots thrown in. Viewed from the perspective of today's movies with their plasticine-looking heroes and heroines, Davis and Jackson come off as nostalgically genuine and charming.

There are some real laugh out loud moments in this movie, though, and there's a sense of joy in the script and the performances, as if they were having a good time. Action movies/TV today seem like somber enterprises where everyone takes themselves much, much too seriously. (Jennifer Garner projects, for example.)

The movie is a lot of fun and pretends to be nothing else. It was even advertised at the time as a fun movie (tho I've just now watched it, I've seen the previews recently.) I don't understand the poor reviews that seem to compare it to great, serious filmmaking when it was not even marginally aimed at that genre.

"The Long Kiss Goodnight" is an enjoyable and very cool action thriller, and a career breakthrough for Geena Davis. The plot is very familiar to that of The Bourne Identity but so what. The fight scenes are a real treat for the eyes and the plotline is strong enough to keep you engaged for the 2 hours.

It's directed with a slick sense of style and avoids most action cliches. Geena Davis is great as an action chick and gets past her usual "good wife" role. Samuel L. Jackson is good as usual as the supporting player. The film's baddie is overly cheesy though and you can tell what's going to happen to him.

It breaks away from the usual run-of-the-mill actioners such as Commando and On Deadly Ground and is definetly one of the best actioners in years. Good fun and good popcorn entertainment. 7.4/10.

A lot of 'The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996)' is decidedly silly, especially when it comes to its over-the-top, tonally jarring and generally just outright ridiculous action sequences. The heroes are essentially indestructible, despite the heavy beating they both endure by the film's end, to the point that it becomes quite ludicrous they'd survive the events they do (indeed, the original script was much darker and even included a major death, which was shot but recut because of audience testing). However, there's generally a knowing vibe the the flick, one that's marked by Shane Black's signature witty banter and some almost ostentatious performances, and this allows the picture to remain fun regardless of its occasional tonal issues, its cartoonish action scenes and all its unkept mayhem (seriously, the flick has quite the body-count). It has an almost satirical feel that's compounded by the several scenery-chewing monologues, tried-and-tested genre cues and people who refer to themselves as spies with a straight face. 6/10

I disagree with the reviewer who said this film is not for the "cerebrally-minded." I happen to be somewhat the cerebral type, and I think this is a great film; I love it and have seen it many times.

For me, the great things about this film add up to a woman with a full-on assertive, resourceful personality. Of course the drama is all about the wonderful mother and teacher discovering something else true about herself - and learning to merge the two once she "remembers herself." In the end, her love for her daughter and the tender nurturing person she is merges with the resourceful assertive person who is willing to fight and not give up. Even her daughter has taken on the "don't give up" when Mom is down. I would think there's a part in many of us women that can relate to all of this. And that might explain the box office failure and the rerun hit: women had to discover what I imagine was billed as a pure action film

Samuel L. Jackson is his own type of hero, flaws and all, and nobody could say enough about him. He's another complex character: down-to-earth with a street reality perspective, lower than the average poor man's detective and fairly desperate himself. And yet heroic in the clinch and full of his own kind of love and respect for what he values in women. He's just the man to take her on, and let her know when she's -not- okay. The characters pair in a sort of perfectly out-of-the-box way. So, this "cerebral type" says that this is great writing in terms of characters and storyline. And the violence is an integral part of those characters and story, not added flash or excitement that doesn't tell us anything about their lives or the urgency of their experiences.

And, last but not least, this is a comedy! Great dialogue (and I don't know who else could have played it like Jackson). So take that glitzy action as part of what makes a comedy work here!

I was about to go to sleep while I flicked through the channels one last time and happened to catch the beginning of "The Long Kiss Goodnight"- perhaps I missed the first minute or two. But I remembered I had marked the movie to watch and thought what the heck- I'll watch. I can honestly say that I really enjoyed those two hours. The scene with the truck was definitely fun, and at the same time terrifying (as you know the purpose of the truck and who's in it, I won't spoil it for anyone). The humor was great too, and the acting of the four leads (Davis, Jackson, Zima and Bierko) was quite enjoyable- as is this entire film.