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On Demand picks

December 9, 2010

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ELF (Comcast Movies: All Movies) In an exciting demonstration of mild restraint, Will Ferrell plays a human who’s been raised at the North Pole as an elf and heads to New York to meet his workaholic biological father (James Caan). Naturally, the movie is headed for big-time family-flick healing, but director Jon Favreau doles out sentiment without a whole lot of schmaltz. (PG; runs through Jan. 3) WESLEY MORRIS

HOME ALONE (Comcast Movies: All Movies) As the boy accidentally left home alone by his vacationing parents, Macaulay Culkin is better than cute — he’s clever and laconic. Kids will like watching him defend his house from a pair of bumbling crooks, but adults may tire of seeing the same joke replayed endlessly. (PG; runs through Jan. 3)

MATTHEW GILBERT

THE GODFATHER (Comcast Movies: All Movies) The seminal family-values film of the 1970s. It’s Francis Ford Coppola’s grand operatic take on the Mafia as one of the few American institutions that can be depended upon after Watergate and Vietnam. Marlon Brando anchors it, bringing Old World gravity and dignity to Don Corleone, who became the role model for real-life capos. James Caan supplies heart and raw energy as Sonny, and Al Pacino unfailingly embodies the cool ruthlessness of Michael, destined to take over the family business. (R; runs through Jan. 3)

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