8-Bit Christmas
Published 2021-12-24
Film info
- Title 8-Bit Christmas
- Director Michael Dowse
- Year 2021
- Run time 1hr 38m
- Genres Comedy, Family
- Tagline How far would you go to score the ultimate gift?
- Cast Neil Patrick Harris
A humorous and heartfelt look back at the adventures of childhood. Set in suburban Chicago in the late 1980s, the story centers on ten-year-old Jake Doyle's herculean quest to get the latest and greatest video game system for Christmas.
Live blog
| Time | Comment |
|---|---|
| 1:12 | "I get more calls on your phone than you do." |
| 2:54 | That Nintendo is huge! |
| 4:09 | "The year was... the late eighties." |
| 7:49 | I am jealous of this kid's basement game room. |
| 11:01 | Serial renovators are so annoying... I would probably be one if I could be bothered though. |
| 15:18 | The mountain game is like training for Pyramid on Gladiators. |
| 18:55 | That dog flap is so huge, how can you get insurance? |
| 23:27 | I love the mum getting her kids to mark her students homework. |
| 25:39 | Did people actually learn the Dewey Decimal system? |
| 34:39 | The dad is hilarious. Completely useless at parenting in the best possible way. |
| 37:36 | Also, the little sister is an evil genius. |
| 47:00 | He's not wrong about your brain turning to mush. |
| 49:53 | "I heard you might have come into a little cabbage?" Weirdest sentence ever. |
| 1:02:13 | "What do you mean you don't get it? It's a very clear 15-point plan." |
| 1:07:40 | Now I'm wondering what my favourite letters of the alphabet are in order. |
| 1:23:20 | Aw, she gave him a cookie! |
Thoughts
Aw, this was a nice film. I wasn't completely sure what to expect really, the title makes it sound like it's going to be a bit Wreck-It Ralph and deep diving into tech nostalgia. There's an element of that, but it's more of a traditional 'what I learned at Christmas' story, with Neil Patrick Harris very capably and engagingly narrating the story.
I liked it, I think if you lived through those moments it will mean an incredible lot, and there were definitely some moments that were almost painfully accurate and funny in equal measure. The kids were fun and it came to a heartwarming/breaking ending with a bit of a saccharine message, but you can forgive it.
Rating: 3 / 5
