Advantages: Some funny moments. Disadvantages: Not enough funny moments because of the sloppy writing.
Did you know Santa Claus had a brother? A big brother named Fred to be precise. But Fred has always lived in the shadow of his younger sibling who would grow up to be the very model of giving. Fred has gone the other way and makes his living as a repo man. But when he finds himself in jail, the only one that can bail him out is Nick. And he does so on the understanding that his big brother will work at the North Pole in the run-up to Christmas. So Fred heads north where his rabble-rousing ways jeopardise Santa's workshop as a nasty bureaucrat is looking for a reason to shut it down.
As director David Dobkin previously helmed "Wedding Crashers" I was expecting something sharper than your usual family Christmas movie. But this film wasn't all I hoped. It's fine when Vince Vaughn is being allowed to run off at the mouth, but the rest ...
afy9mab 29.12.2007
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Fred Claus
Advantages: great talent, amazing and unique plot, nice length Disadvantages: not too humerous
), but under one condition; Fred goes to the North Pole to do some work for Santa to make up for it.
Fred agrees, and sets off for the North Pole, unable to tell his angry girlfriend why he is leaving, and turns away from Chicago, and the little orphan boy who he had made great friends with, 'Slam'. Unfortunately, during this festive period when Fred is supposed to be helping the elves make all the toys, only weeks before Christmas, Santa and his workshop in the North Pole are under evaluation by a revengeful agent named Clyde, who plans to do what ever it takes to shut him down. Being the typical inconsiderate soul that he is, Fred does not make the 'three-strikes' business easy for Santa to keep to when he creates all sorts of havoc (not always intentionally), and Clyde happily goes off, prepared to shut the workshop down on Christmas Eve ...
Amy69 05.12.2007
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Fred Claus
Advantages: Great funny film. Disadvantages: Not suitable for under 10's
Nick did was perfect.
As he grew older, Nick?s generosity continued and eventually became a saint and ? as we had expected became known as Santa Claus.
We were told that as a saint Nicholas and all his family stayed as they where and so as we?re brought into the 21st century Fred Claus was alive, well and a dubious character living in Chicago.
When Fred?s dubious lifestyle leads him to phoning the North Pole to get help and money from his little brother, he is forced to go to the North Pole to help Santa, leaving his British girl friend, Wanda, behind.
Fred?s arrival at the North Pole coincides with the visit of an efficiency expert that ?the board? have sent to justify the whole concept of Santa Claus. The official, Clyde, had the authority to shut down the North Pole and fire Santa!!
Just how does Fred fit into the life style ...
seanbond87 11.12.2009
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Fred Claus
Product Information for "Leaves Of Grass - Fred Hersch" »
Product details
Title
Leaves Of Grass
Performer
Fred Hersch
Genre
Jazz Instrument
Sub Genre
Piano
Release Date
04/04/2005
Original Release Year
2005
Label / Distributor
Palmetto / Proper
Guest Artist(s)
Hersch, Fred Ensemble
Producer
Fred Hersch; Matt Balitsaris; A.T.
Pieces in Set
1
Studio / Live
Studio
Stereo
Stereo
Format
Performer
EAN
753957210724
Additional notes
Album Notes
Lyricist: Walt Whitman . Personnel: Kate McGarry, Kurt Elling (vocals); Erik Friedlander (cello); Bruce Williamson (clarinet, alto clarinet, bass saxophone); Tony Malaby (tenor saxophone); Ralph Alessi (trumpet, flugelhorn); Mike Christianson (trombone); Fred Hersch (piano); Drew Gress (bass instrument); John Hollenbeck (drums, percussion). Producers: Fred Hersch; Matt Balitsaris; A.T. Michael MacDonald. Fred Hersch has consistently proven himself to be not only an adroit, imaginative pianist, but also a captivating interpretive talent. While many jazz musicians are content to rework the same standard tunes year after year, Hersch has applied himself to composers diverse as Rodgers & Hammerstein, Lennon & McCartney, and Bill Evans. With LEAVES OF GRASS, Hersch's compositional gifts take a front seat--he's recorded original material before, but never on the scale of LEAVES. With LEAVES, Hersch sets the classic poetry of Walt Whitman to music, in a sprawling multi-part suite or (in classical-music terms) oratorio for a medium-sized group and two singers. Those expecting "swing" in Hersch's usual classy manner may be a bit disappointed--Hersch is rather subdued, with swing supplanted by pointed, quirky ensemble writing recalling two major American composers named Charles (Ives and Mingus). Kurt Elling's singing is front-and-center, alternately wailing and sailing like a jazz vocalist and thundering with the authority and depth of an opera singer. LEAVES OF GRASS is a commanding listen, but well worth it for those treasuring Whitman's poems and Hersch's inventive compositions.
Album Reviews
Down Beat (p.66) - 4 stars out of 5 - "While the cadence of Whitman's words often take the singer far from his swinging comfort zone, the direct nature of his delivery and innate theatricality allow him to embody the lyrics."
JazzTimes (pp.72-3) - "[T]he poems seem to grow from and reflect upon one another as the music gracefully shifts between awestruck pastorales, proud celebrations and magical nocturnes, with a few flickers of genre thrown in along the way."
Titles on disc 1
1.
Riddle Song (overture)
2.
Song Of The Universal
3.
Whoever You Are Holding Me Now In Hand
4.
Part I (I Celebrate Myself)
5.
Part II (A Child Said What Is The Grass)
6.
Part III (A Learner With The Simplest)
7.
Part IV (I Exist As I Am)
8.
Part V (I Am He That Walks)
9.
Part VI (Through Me Forbidden Voices)
10.
Part VII (Now I Will Do Nothing But Listen)
11.
Part VIII (I Believe A Leaf Of Grass)
12.
Part IX (I Fly Those Flights)
13.
Part X (My Lovers Suffocate Me)
14.
Part XI (Why Should I Wish To See God)
15.
Mystic Trumpeter
16.
At The Close Of The Day (instrumental)
17.
To You/Perfections
18.
Sleepers
19.
Spirit That Form'd This Scene/On The Beach At Night Alone (interlude)
20.
After The Dazzle Of Day
Ciao
Listed on Ciao since
12/02/2006
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