Classic American Movies

The podcast is now a blog! Everything you wanted to know about a movie and then some. They're not all classics or American made, but I guarantee they're all movies. Check out the links below for episodes and more.

Christopher Kelly

I’m just a man who loves movies and loves talking about them. Classic American Movies is my podcast and now review blog! Unless otherwise noted, all writings are by me.

Movie Reviews

Silent Night Deadly Night

Don’t be a Grinch: It’s a blast!

It’s a slasher that’s a remake of a slasher from 40 years ago that was one of the most protested movies in history due to its depiction of Santa Claus as a killer. The original Silent Night Deadly Night is jam packed with cult classic lines shouted like “NAUGHTY!” and “PUNISH!” before victims are hacked to bits by an axe. There’s gratuitous nudity, people being killed with Christmas decor and amazing 80’s music that your grandmother would blush if she listened to it again.

What were you expecting from this movie?

Honest to goodness: I’d really like to know why there is so much hate on this remake. Yeah, there’s a little too much stuffing in the plot; the movie pours on too much of a story, but to its core: Silent Night, Deadly Night is the pumpkin pie on an otherwise lump-of-coal year in movies. If you’ve seen the controversial original and sequel (feel free to cross the 2012 remake off your list), then you have a basic understanding of what’s going on.

_{Rohan Campbell as Billy Chapman}

Billy Chapman (Rohan Campbell, Halloween Ends), witnessed his parents being murdered by Santa on Christmas Eve as a boy after visiting his grandfather. As a young man, he is tormented by a voice in his head which tells him to and when to kill everyday from December 1-24th. After years of killing, the voice guides him to the town of Hackett, Wis (“Oh, I like the sound of this place,” the voice groans). It’s a nice small, quiet town that has a beautiful girl (Pamela, Ruby Modine, Matthew’s daughter, Shameless) who Billy would like to know more.

After watching Pamela for a little while in a cafe, Billy notices she goes to Ida’s Trinket Tree (great nod to Ira’s Toy Store in the original). He follows and tries to play coy, but … Pamela knows Billy is up to something.

^{Ruby Modine as Pamela}

So, Billy does the logical thing and applies for a job and becomes a stock boy for Ida’s. After working for a while, Billy notices that he isn’t the only one in town who has the hots for Pamela. She has an unruly ex-boyfriend police officer that may be stalking her (Max, David Tomlinson); an older man who likes to get handsy with the younger ladies (George, Tom Young), just to name a few. The Voice notices the unruly people and urges Billy to kill … kill … KILL!

I’m not going to get too far into spoiler territory, but I assure you this movie isn’t rocket science, but I did enjoy the new spin on the original films. Yes, it’s true that director/writer Mike P. Nelson did his own thing here and mainly used the kernels of the original two films. Much like Rob Zombie did with his Halloween remake: It’s very clear we are watching a different take.

SNDN isn’t the over-the-top violence that Terrifier 2 & 3 was (although they are all from the same studio), and that I applaud. Although I liked the first Terrifier movie, it was pretty clear the violence just wasn’t my thing. SNDN has bloodbaths, but it’s not gross. Also, with Terrifier 3, watching someone getting a chainsaw up the rear end just isn’t my bag, man. SNDN hits the right amount of comedy with the violence and adds characters that are likable.

After seeing Campbell in Halloween Ends, I didn’t think much of him, but his character depth shows us a man on a mission. Not out of want, but out of necessity to quiet the voice. The Voice (which we discover the who and where of it, but I don’t want to spoil that), acts as a fatherly figure throughout Billy’s life, but it must be fed every December. It teaches him how to shave, who to avoid and how to behave in public. It is sort of charming and warm-hearted, although The Voice wouldn’t be there if it weren’t for the parental deaths. Because Campbell is reacting to nothing, SNDN shows his acting range beyond a one-note or a wig covering his face (The Monkey). His Billy is no hunk, but one could see his charm in being a young, quiet serial killer.

Modine’s Pamela brings energy last seen in Alicia Silverstone from the 90’s. As Pamela, she is a dominant force that commands what she wants, but knows when she’s crossed the line. Pamela is described as having “explosive personality disorder” lovingly by her father. She’s beautiful, protective and has a morbid curiosity for serial killers. Lucky for her, Billy just drifted into town. As with Cambpell: At no point did Modine look or feel like she was acting. These looked like two kids in love (or at least infatuated). This is likely one of the causes for the hate: A love story in SNDN, but I felt like it worked. Why can’t Billy be in love? He’s not some mindless killer hell bent on revenge. True, he does suffer from many on many personality disorders, but he is human and he deserves to be loved. Just like everyone else does …

Unsurprisingly, the movie ends with an opening for sequels. Would you have wanted everything wrapped up in a nice package left under the tree? I know I wouldn’t. In recent times, it’s very clear that studios don’t know how to gauge anything. Somehow Terrifier became a massive success. Tubi movies are making money in theaters and the world stopped caring about superheroes. SNDN isn’t going to win an Oscar and it’s likely it’ll barely break even at the box office. However, it was a good popcorn munching Christmas slasher time. Relax, grab some cocoa and candy canes. It’s not punishment.

Side note:

I interviewed Eric Freeman, star of Silent Night, Deadly Night 2 years ago. He was such a nice guy, we remained friends and I spoke with him the other day. Check out my interview here.

Silent Night Deadly Night is now playing in theaters

Written and directed by Mike P Nelson

Starring: Rohan Campbell, Ruby Modine

Genre: Horror, slasher horror

Runtime: 96 mins

by Christopher Kelly December 18, 2025December 18, 2025

Reedland

Not bad, just needed a stronger editor.

What does guilt do to a man?

Johan is a regular man, with a regular job and a regular life. He could have done nothing to prevent the guilt and by all accounts is not responsible. So why is he so bothered by said guilt when he isn’t guilty?

Johan (Gerrit Knobbe) is, amongst other things, a reed cutter. While performing his job in the wetlands of Northern Netherlands he discovers a dead girl (“Dorpskind” or “Village Girl”, in German as she is credited as, played by Lola Van Zoggel). Not really sure what to do, he calls the emergency number, and the police take information and say they will solve the crime. Johan looks after his granddaughter Dana (Loïs Reinders), who looks to be around the same age as “Dorpskind”. Up until this moment, neither Johan nor Dana knew their small rural area was capable of this kind of atrocity. Although Dana didn’t know the dead girl, she can’t help but notice something is off with her grandfather. Johan thinks about his life, the girls’ life in relation to Dana and what the dead girls’ family must be going through.

Who was the “Dorpskind” and what did she do for this to happen to her? Johan can’t help but think that the parents of the girl he discovered are destroyed because they won’t be able to do what he and Dana are currently doing: Living. Johan’s guilt turns to obsession and he wants to solve the crime of the “Dorpskind”. But will his obsession make him right? There is a dirt bike trail that leads to where the girl was and that was behind the Petter farm. Their son, Morris (Cor Hendriksen) rides a dirt bike. To be honest, Morris is kind of a jerk. But, would he kill?

_{Dana (Loïs Reinders) and Johan (Gerrit Knobbe) in Reedland.}

Sven Bressner nailed casting Knobbe as his lead because Knobbe isn’t an actor, he’s a reed cutter. The pain and longing to help in a self loathing mind is read through Knobbe’s beaten down gait yet friendly steel-eyed expression that has us thinking: What happened to you? Bressner’s wide angles in an open field tell us the story of the lonely Johan who wants us to know him, but does he want to have a conversation?

Bressner hands us a straight story told in an elaborate fashion. Although the movie was about where you’d expect, the bulk of the film comes from B-roll. A small talk leads to minutes of driving that leads to minutes of walking that leads to Johan working. There’s a lot of internal dialogue and not much being stated. You feel Johan’s pain, and see his loneliness, but you never hear what’s bothering him. Does Johan want to solve the murder or does he have to? Could he have been the killer? Is it possible Morris is lying? Reedland is the Netherlands’ official submission to the 98th Academy Awards and it begins its limited release on December 12. It’s not the wise cracking, bone splitting action that we would imagine. What we have is a thought-provoking in-depth glance at a man who does the right thing without being prompted. From a lifetime of hard work, just doing is second nature. Is Johan right or wrong?

The answer to everything is somewhere in the reeds.

Christopher Kelly

Reedland opens on December 12 in Los Angeles at Laemmle Theaters

Written and directed by Sven Bressner

Starring: Gerrit Knobbe

Genre: Drama

Runtime: 119 mins

by Christopher Kelly December 12, 2025December 12, 2025

Die My Love

Give it a few days before making a final call.

After making their busting-through-the-walls movie last year with The Substance, Mubi is back and they’re throwing more arthouse on the table. Lynne Ramsay’s latest movie Die My Love is a hard hitting flick about a woman spiraling into madness due to postpartum depression. It’s stacked with stellar performances, off-the-walls moments and a cat-and-mouse storyline when there is no cat or mouse. I don’t always agree with the critics, but Love is one of those movies you have let marinate in your mind before making a judgement.

There you have it: The whole thing about Love that everyone is wondering about but is too afraid to ask. At first I was pretty confused why everyone was on board with the movie when I really didn’t care for the characters and felt the directing style was too pretentious for what the movie is. Afterall, this isn’t splitting the atom. However, after taking a few days to process, I thought about what I watched and it grew on me.

_{How it started. Grace (Jennifer Lawrence) and Jackson (Robert Pattinson)}

Jackson (Robert Pattinson) is in a sweet but difficult spot. His uncle has passed away and in his will, he left Jackson his home in the woods. Grace (Jennifer Lawrence) is kind of split on the idea, but a free house is a free house. The two immediately start making love and nine months later, a little baby joins their house of love.

The duo have a hard time adapting to being parents and continue their pre-baby lives: Drinking all day, playing music, dancing and generally forgetting they have a baby. Jackson soon starts to realize that the family needs money for things so he gets a part time job, leaving Grace with the baby. During one of his lunchbreaks, Grace calls Jackson to see what he’s up to and immediately thinks he must be cheating on her because she’s a gross mom and not some sexy burger slinging waitress.

Karl, the motorcycle neighbor (LaKeith Stanfield), drives past the house daily and starts to see that Grace is in need of manly attention. Karl drops into second gear and leaves Jackson in the dust. Or does he? Jackson might be cheating, Grace is mentally unstable, so the smartest thing to do is get married. That’ll solve all our problems. What could go wrong?

_{How it was.}

Love is a movie I really didn’t like at the moment and it took me a few days to collect my thoughts. In the theater, I texted my friend and he agreed with me on how bad it was. After a few days, I changed my mind. As a father myself, I have a little experience with postpartum depression. No, my wife didn’t go full Grace, but we both had issues adjusting to our new roles in the world. We were now in the backseat of our own lives and our child was first and foremost. Had I been in my teens or early 20s, instead of nearly 40 when I became a dad, I probably would have had a harder time. Now, my life is a “shit or get off the pot” motto. I don’t care for things I loved in my 20’s (aside from movies and coffee) and things I didn’t know are more priority. Director Ramsay is a mother as well, so I imagine there’s some personal connection to Grace.

Jackson wants to do right, but when your world is upside down, who’s to say what is right-side up? Five minutes ago Grace was slamming vodka and Jackson is an idiot? Grace wants to go back to a time when she was carefree and had no responsibilities. Is Karl a real character? Does it matter? Is Jackson a bad guy? All he wants to do is hang out and dream.

Unlike Nightbitch, I felt that Love really showed all sides of postpartum and not just through the eyes of a woman struggling to go back to a time without a child. In that movie, which is about the same subject, the main character is a married mom and the conclusion is that her life is better as a single mom, as long as her ex-husband pays the bills. Although I haven’t read Die My Love, the novel by Ariana Harwicz, audiences have considered it her best in “unfit mother” novels. Taking that approach, I wouldn’t say Grace is unfit, but she clearly didn’t want to have a baby, let alone get married.

Love comes off as an in-depth psychedelic ride into madness when there’s no accurate way to tell the story. How do you explain parenthood to those who aren’t? How do you get rid of a free house when you’re homeless? Why get a job when your biggest expense is diapers?

The answers to everything are in the stars, mmmmaaaaannnnnnn …

_{How it’s going.}

Die My Love is now playing in theaters

Director: Lynne Ramsay

Writers: Enda Walsh, Lynne Ramsay, Alice Birch

Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Robert Pattinson, LaKeith Stanfield

Genre: Drama

Rating: R

Runtime: 119 mins

Christopher Kelly

by Christopher Kelly November 21, 2025

So I’ve finally made a blog

It really was inevitable. My reviews were getting too wordy for Instagram and I wanted to say more. I know most people didn’t have an issue with it, but I did. I like being wordy. In fact, it’s one of my downfalls. Also, I’m greedy and I want to own my words. What’s a real bummer is that you don’t actually own anything that’s on social media, so I decided to take the plunge and drop $96 a year and create my own blog. So I could be more wordy and … ownership.

If you’re already an avid reader of my posts, then thank you for coming onto the blog. If this is your first time, then allow myself to introduce myself: I’m Chris Kelly. I love movies and I love talking about them. As far back as I can remember I’ve loved going to the theater and watching films. Yes, I know I could have spent my time being more productive, but I loved the cinema. The darkness, the smell and the exciting movies! It’s all so surreal. I couldn’t say which was my favorite movie growing up, because I loved them all. From the far out 60’s hippie flicks to the ridiculous action 80’s cinema to the indie world and beyond: I love ’em. Now that I’m an adult, I figured I would create my own blog. It’ll be filled with reviews, thoughts, friend’s posts (as I am friends with writers) and more.

The reviews will be longer and more in-depth; the podcast will stay the same. In fact, just about everything will be the same. Although I like posting my reviews to Instagram, they really needed to be longer and

I hate being constricted to so many words and now I can write out what length I think the reviews should be. Not only that, but I can write out more things and invite others to join in on the fun! I’m very new to the blogging world, so bear with me as I learn as I go.

If you’re a fan of movies and reading movie reviews then you’ve found the right place. This blog is based on my podcast of the same name and the reviews I was putting on Instagram and Facebook. So, kick back, check out my thoughts and hit me up for a chance to write for this blog.

Christy

Stream if this is your thing. ****This review contains spoilers, however, it isn’t anything you can’t find with a Google search**** There’s a rising trend in female athlete movies. They all seem to be very hollow. Last year’s Queen of the Ring about Mildred Burke, the first female wrestler in the 1930’s-50s, was such a…

by Christopher Kelly November 12, 2025

Black Phone 2

Stream it, if you really want. Remember all the way back in 2007 when Blumhouse started making noise with “You have to vote on this movie to have it shown in your area” style of distribution? Although the name had been around for several years at that point (Blumhouse’s inception was in 2000), no one…

by Christopher Kelly November 4, 2025November 4, 2025

Good Boy

Check it out. When I hear there’s a movie that puts a new spin on an old genre I immediately roll my eyes. It’s not that I’m some geezer who hates what the kids are doing these days, but all the “new spin” style of films are usually terrible. Let’s spice things up a little…

by Christopher Kelly October 24, 2025October 24, 2025