Double feature: This one is, admittedly, a no-brainer. But how many apter double features for this time of year are there?
“Elf” and “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial” are two heart-expanding films chipping away at cynicism and aiming to fill its erosions with wonder. Both slyly acknowledge- and temper – their cloying potential by designating a jaded-beyond-his-years boy as a representative of the audience’s defenses. Michael and Elliott, respectively, disarm us with their world-weariness, only to more powerfully undermine our own by giving in to their innate sweet joyfulness. With some help from an unusual creature from “up north,” of course.
(Creative Commons licensed original images courtesy of “ChrisM70” and “Jenny Leigh” at Flickr)
Make it a Double...Feature 