The Holdovers

"Cozy and heartwarming story, I love an unlikely friendship (and Paul Giamatti!) Wasn’t blown away, but will keep in the Xmas rotation"

"⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Paul Giamotti just won the Golden Globe for this performance. Let’s face it, he’s great in everything he does but especially when he’s portraying a downtrodden underdog. There’s a sadness and melancholy to his character, which is pretty much the tone for most of the film. I feel like it was almost an homage to 70s filmmaking and captured the time period fairly well. I almost expected a young Ryan O’Neal or Timothy Bottoms to show up. I realize anyone who might read this has no idea who those guys are. But look ‘em up..you’ll see lol. So anyways..I don’t think it necessarily matches the brilliance of those old films, it felt like something was missing for me, but it was still pretty good and nice to see something different like this. "

"I wanted to like this movie. Paul Giamatti does a phenomenal job, as always. But there's not much else to write home about. The story moves at too slow of a pace and kind of wanders in different directions at points. I can appreciate the acting but the story doesn't have enough meat on the bone for me. 5.5/10"

"I really must be turning into an uncouthly snob because while this was ok, it would never be on any of my end of year lists. I mean, it really does get a lot better after the first 45 min was just teacher Paul Giamatti (really good) being a ******** to high school students. I’m being too hard on it. Some really superb acting and they nailed it the 1970 aesthetic. Good, watchable movie. "

"A moving (and surprisingly cozy) Christmas movie! Paul Giamatti’s performance as a curmudgeon history teacher who learns to loosen up is the best of his career! The director captures the 1970s boarding school vibes spectacularly."

"A story about connection of an odd assortment of characters. Paul Giamotti is a smart history academic who refuses to play the political game and is punished with baby sitting the students who have no place to go during the holidays. He and a student and the school cook end up on a road adventure, where they learn more about each other. Sweet but not saccharine. "

"This is probably the best thing Giamatti has done since Sideways. "

"Cozy and heartwarming. I enjoyed watching this movie from the excellent performances to the cinematography. "

"👍👍👍👍👍 I approve."

"Absolutely loved this film. A heartfelt yet comfortable character-driven drama that sees a teacher and a student open up over the course of the winter holidays. Reminded me heavily of character-driven dramas from the early 1970s (especially HARRY AND TONTO, with a touch of DEAD POETS SOCIETY). Fantastic direction, screenplay, and acting (Paul Giamatti especially stands out in a nomination-worthy performance, with Da'Vine Joy Randolph and Dominic Sessa also delivering outstanding performances). I especially love how the overall aesthetics (especially cinematography and production design) are reminiscent of the early 1970s films too. Deserves Oscar nominations IMO. Highly recommended."