Wish Dragon (2021)

While others may or may not watch another animated family feature with "Wish" in the title around now, I opted for something a little more popular if less discussed. Mainly I chose it because it was one of the few movies on my Netflix list that promised to be both cheerful enough for the season and not too insipid. A 98-minute runtime isn't bad either.

In a modern Shanghai slum, Din Song (Jimmy Wong) has been working in food delivery -- at the expense of his education, to the outrage of his mom (Constance Wu) -- in order to afford an appearance upper-class enough to gain entrance to the 19th birthday party of aristocrat Li Na Wang (Natasha Liu Bordizzo), who was his best friend before her father (Will Yun Lee) forced her to move away so he could chase his economic dream. One day, an eccentric customer (Ronny Chieng) pays Din with a jade teapot, which turns out to contain a dragon, Long (John Cho), who's obligated to grant the bearer three wishes. Din has a fair idea of how to spend one wish, but he'll have to watch out for some thugs hired to grab the teapot.

They Shall Not Grow Old (2018)

A preview had intrigued me ahead of this documentary's release, but then I forgot. Seems nobody in my circles was talking about it, despite Peter Jackson directing (not that my circles frequently discuss documentaries). Only when Netflix announced that it would stop streaming did I jump at the chance. A 99-minute runtime for the theatrical cut helped.

There is no main narrator herein. Instead, we get recorded recollections from various British World War I veterans (who, ironically, sound like they did grow old) overlaying video, photos, and editorial cartoons. We don't learn any names before the end credits, so it manages to be generally anonymous yet decidedly personal.

Fallen Leaves (2023)

I had never seen a Finnish flick before. My dad and I decided this was one of the more promising entries in the AFI European Union Film Showcase. A runtime of 81 minutes may have contributed to that assessment.

In Helsinki, Ansa (Alma Pöysti) and Holappa (Jussi Vatanen) both have trouble keeping jobs and making ends meet, Holappa because of his alcoholism, Ansa more from bad employers. After a couple happenstance encounters, they quickly develop an interest in each other. But for reasons that are unclear to me, they don't exchange names, which makes connecting a little difficult when they get even less lucky. Ansa also considers heavy drinking a dealbreaker.