This Christmas Chance - Romance Comedy about Second Chances

This year's holiday season might be some months away, but a good Christmas movie can touch its audience at any time. Thanks to that fact, classic holiday films endure in our hearts for years, even decades, mainly thanks to their characters and a meaning that goes deeper than merry Christmas decoration. This Christmas Chance is a movie that offers the exact same thing, mostly because it uses the holidays to tell a resonating story about making poor decisions and getting those rare, but crucial second chances in life and love. Here is how the film describes itself:

Chance Philips is a successful entrepreneur with a bright future and a dark past. While trying to build his business and right his wrongs, he meets Gabriel Dupree, a beautiful doctor who has a few secrets of her own. The two hit it off but everyone isn’t rooting for the new couple to succeed. The bitter, the broken, and the bad have aligned to destroy the couple’s chance for love and a joyous Christmas season.

The film was directed by William Collins and written by Leah Pride. It stars Benny L Andrews Jr. and Ashley Forrestier, alongside Ali Siddiq, who plays himself. Siddiq, whose unique style of stand-up got its start behind the walls of incarceration and later blossomed into a booming career. In 2022, Ali released a two-hour special called THE DOMINO EFFECT on YouTube. To date, THE DOMINO EFFECT four-part series has over 20 million views, ranking it in the top five most-watched comedy specials of all time. Like the film, Siddiq proves that second chances miracles happen every day.

He, along with the entire crew and cast, makes This Christmas Chance a truly unique film. The same is further enforced by the clear productional quality that puts the film on the same level as a big Hollywood release. But, ultimately, the key aspect of This Christmas Chance lies in the way it tells its story about giving love another chance, even when that chance seems a very distant possibility.

The entire film is available for free on YouTube and Tubi. Watch it right now, right here, and enjoy the holiday spirits in what is certainly going to become a classic Christmas movie!

Movie Review: Rebel Ridge (2024)

There’s no doubt that Jeremy Saulnier can deliver a mean and unusual thriller. Blue Ruin is borderline brilliant, while Green Room does a good job at keeping you interested past its exploitation-level punks vs nazis premise. But, at the same time, Saulnier’s films tend to pay a price for their unique vision. Hold the Dark is a perfect example of this notion and now, Rebel Ridge is likely taking the same bold but faulty formula even further.

The concept of his latest film is very straightforward - a former marine martial arts expert, Terry, goes via bicycle to a local courthouse in a backwater southern US. He wants to bail his cousin Mike out of jail and do it fast, as his life might be in danger inside. That is why Tery feels that he has only a limited time to do the same before potentially deadly harm comes to Mike. But, a chance encounter with a police patrol derlails the entire plan and puts him on a crash course with the entire local law enforcement.

Some have hailed Rebel Ridge as a thinking man’s modern version of Rambo. But, while the main character, played exceedingly well by Aaron Pierre, has the charisma to pull it off, the rest of the cast does not. What’s worse, the script also doesn’t have the fuel needed for a Rambo-like experience.

There is a huge focus on the police and court procedures, which should likely shine a light on the US system’s terror of those with the wrong color of skin or insufficient bank accounts. So, the entire script from start to finish is rooted in some kind of police procedural setup. To make things worse, these procedures take over nearly two and a half hours over the course of the film’s run time, which was completely unnecessary as well. Due to this, the constant but lackluster attempt at social commentary falls short and is more of a burden to the film than anything poignant or meaningful.

Rebel Ridge is a well-crafted film with a clear artistic design behind it, as well as a cast that gave it its best shot. But, Aaron Pierre alone cannot carry the faults that Saulnier embedded in the film’s script before the first shot was even filmed.

Beauty Grace Malice - Powerful Drama about Personal Change and the Empowerment of Growth

Anyone's life is a story of decisions and half-chances, some good, some bad. In the case of the independent film Beauty Grace Malice, the same life belongs to Grace, a woman down on her luck who risks losing the thing she loves the most. However, in the same dark, dangerous, and even violent chapter of her life, Grace also finds a chance to change herself and not just overcome her issues, but grow as an empowered woman who takes over control of her future. Here is how the film describes itself:

Starring TaJa Brittaney as Grace and Marlon Ladd as Elijah, Beauty Grace Malice tells the story of a resilient single mother, Grace, whose life unravels after being framed for a crime by her best friend and lover. As Grace fights to clear her name and reclaim custody of her son, Logan, she seeks the help of Elijah, a private investigator. But Elijah isn’t the stereotypical hero; instead, he serves as a mentor, teaching Grace how to regain control of her own life. Together, they navigate the treacherous world of deceit and betrayal, with Grace emerging not just as a survivor, but as an empowered woman determined to take control of her destiny.

The film, produced by Kris Young at 19 Artists Development and directed by the veteran movie maker, Terry Spears, Beauty Grace Malice dares to look behind the veil of everyday, regular society. Here, it finds and showcases a scene of broken families, crime, addiction, escorting services, and wanton violence. Sadly, these things are also commonplace in the modern reality, but often too disturbing for artists. For the crew in front and behind the camera of Beauty Grace Malice, there is a sense that these topics had to be explored and presented to the audience. Check out the film's trailer right here.

Through a multitude of characters and several developing plotlines, Beauty Grace Malice is clearly a powerful film that blends genres of thriller and drama to great effect. That in particular reverberates with anyone who also desires to see growth and change happen in their lives. At the same time, great art is always bold and there is little doubt that this film strives for the same ideal. The film is distributed by Indie Rights Movies and set for release on Amazon and Google Play October 2024. After the premiere the film will also make its way to Tubi and Indie Rights Movies' YouTube channel. For more information follow 19ArtistsDevelopment.com and once Beauty Grace Malice comes out, be sure to watch it!

Film Review: Hit Man (2024)

 

So many things in Hit Man look like other things. The directorial approach that Richard Linklater takes feels like something that mixes Quentin Tarantino with Guy Richie. The lead man, Glen Powell, feels a lot like young Tom Cruise. The lead female character, Adria Arjona, is reminiscent of the young Penelope Cruise. Thanks to that, from the start, Hit Man works as something you feel you saw time and time again in the past.

Its story, which focuses on a professor-turned-fake-hitman working for the New Orelans PD, is ultimately a “fish out of water” tale, but it too slowly slides into Donny Brasco territory. Wherever this movie and its complete cast turn, there is already something there that pretty much did it in the same way, likely a bit better as well.

That is not to say that the film is not engaging and manages, especially in the start, to grip the audience’s attention. The main problems arise at the halfway point, when the novelty wears off and too many similarities begin to pile up. Linklater is a brilliant veteran director, but even he didn’t manage to steer clear the film away from all of the copycat pitfalls. Unfortunately, the film ultimately rams straight into most of them.