There are some astonishingly good time-lapse animations in this very heavily abridged version of the famous Charles Dickens Christmas story. It helps that Alastair Sim reprises his characterful role from 1951 and what now ensues is an engaging and quickly paced version of the tale of the miser who has four visitations early one Christmas morning. One from his erstwhile, now late, business partner then three that reflect his childhood, his present and the potential for his future - and it's that last part that makes him realise that, well we know the rest. The script retains much of the salient points from the story (though I don't know I've ever seen the miners or lighthouse keepers before) and we whizz along without losing too much of the powerfully touching sentiment of the narrative. I thought the "Scrooge" character looked quite like Maurice Denham and I did enjoy this.
Scientists and US Air Force officials fend off a blood-thirsty alien organism while investigating at a remote arctic outpost.
A man receives a mysterious e-mail appearing to be from his wife, who was murdered years earlier. As he frantically tries to find out whether she's alive, he finds himself being implicated in her death.
Matilda Wormwood is an exquisite and intelligent little girl. Unfortunately, her parents, Harry and Zinnia misunderstand her because they think she is so different. As time passes, she finally starts school and has a kind teacher, loyal friends, and a sadistic headmistress. As she gets fed up with the constant cruelty, she begins to realize that she has a gift of telekinetic powers. After some days of practice, she suddenly turns the tables to stand up to Harry and Zinnia and outwit the headmistress.
When their plane crashes, 25 schoolboys find themselves trapped on a tropical island, miles from civilization.
Albert is the story of a tiny Douglas fir tree named Albert who has big dreams of becoming Empire City's most famous Christmas tree. When the search for this year's tree is announced, Albert believes he has found his calling and hits the road with his two best friends, Maisie the persistently positive plam tree, and Gene the abrasive and blisteringly honest weed, to fulfill his destiny. With a few prickly situations along the way, and Cactus Pete out to stop him, Albert learns the true meaning of Christmas.
Drowning in tinsel and lights every Christmas, Michael and Caroline Anderson throw the year’s biggest party at their house. But this year, with Michael jobless and Caroline’s store struggling, that tradition may end. The Andersons decide to host a very different kind of party and, in the process, rediscover what’s most important about the holiday.
14-year-old Joe is the only child of Jeanette and Jerry — a housewife and a golf pro — in a small town in 1960s Montana. Nearby, an uncontrolled forest fire rages close to the Canadian border, and when Jerry loses his job (and his sense of purpose) he decides to join the cause of fighting the fire, leaving his wife and son to fend for themselves.
Erik Blake has gathered three generations of his Pennsylvania family to celebrate Thanksgiving at his daughter’s apartment in lower Manhattan. As darkness falls outside and eerie things start to go bump in the night, the group’s deepest fears are laid bare.
In a futuristic city sharply divided between the rich and the poor, the son of the city's mastermind meets a prophet who predicts the coming of a savior to mediate their differences.