It’s that time of year again, it’s getting dark earlier and what can we do with all these extra-long evenings? Watch Christmas movies of course! But with the plethora of holiday cinema to choose from, how do we decide which films are worth our limited viewing time? To aid in this decision, I have composed the following list of Christmas movies that should have a little something for everybody. We start with the classics, you shouldn’t have any problems finding several of these airing on any given night in the week or two leading up to Christmas Day. It’s a Wonderful Life – Possibly the most beloved and acclaimed holiday movie of all time. Frank Capra’s tale of of what might have been is still one of those movies that holds up despite it’s age. Miracle on 34th Street – Whether it’s the 1947 original or the 1994 remake, this is another movie that doesn’t lose it’s gooey goodness with repeated viewings. The tale of Santa on trial and the power of believing never gets old. And the yuppie-centric John Hughes remake is worth watching if only for the performance of Sir Richard Attenborough. How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1966) – Forget the Jim Carrey foolishness. If you want pure, unadulterated, Dr Seuss fun then there is only the 1966 TV special by the legendary Chuck Jones. A Christmas Story – The classic tale of Ralphie Parker and his quest to get the Red Rider BB Gun for Christmas – “You’ll shoot your eye out.” A Charlie Brown Christmas – The quintessential made for TV holiday special. Charlie Brown, Snoopy and the whole Peanuts gang learn the true meaning of Christmas. In recent years, a new crop of Christmas movies have come along that should also be given fair consideration. Firstly there are the family-friendly choices. The Santa Clause – Tim Allen is forced to become the new Santa Claus in this new holiday favorite. The movie begins on a rather dark note with the accidental death of the old Santa Claus but it quickly glosses over that and turns into a family treat. The Polar Express – On Christmas Eve, a doubting boy boards a magical train that’s headed to the North Pole and Santa Claus’s home. Based on the best-selling children’s book, this movie definitely a modern classic. A pioneering effort in motion-capture animation. And it’s got Tom Hanks, who doesn’t love Tom Hanks? National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation – A Griswold family Christmas, what’s not to love? Chevy Chase is in prime form. Jingle All the Way – An indictment of western commercialism of Christmas or Arnold Schwartzenegger in a silly holiday romp, you decide. Either way it’s worth seeing at least once if only to see Arnie punch a reindeer. The Nightmare Before Christmas – Another modern classic. Often debated as to whether it is a Halloween or Christmas movie, it’s fits fine as either. The story of how Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King of Halloween finds Christmas Town and makes the holiday his own. A stop-motion trip through the unconventional mind of Tim Burton. Elf – The story of how Buddy, the most unlikely of elves saves Christmas. With anybody else playing the lead role, this would have been just another holiday movie that fades into obscurity in a year or two (anybody remember Santa Claus: The Movie with Dudley Moore?). Will Farrell brings Buddy to life with his trademark energy, commitment and spot on comedic timing. Watch it. 8 to 80, you will end up laughing. For the more adult audiences we have a few choices as well. Bad Santa – A miserable conman and his partner pose as Santa and his Little Helper to rob department stores on Christmas Eve. But they run into problems when the conman befriends a troubled kid. It’s Billy Bob Thornton as Santa Claus, ’nuff said. Rated R. Scrooged – Bill Murray is a Television executive with no conscience or morals who gets the Christmas Carol treatment while trying to organize a star-studded live broadcast of the Dickens classic. Rated PG-13 but contains quite a bit of adult humor. Love Actually – Hugh Grant, Liam Neeson, Colin Firth, Emma Thompson, Keira Knightley, Bill Nighy, Laura Linney, Rowan Atkinson, Billy Bob Thornton and Hans Gruber…I mean Alan Rickman all in one movie written and directed by Richard Curtis. Eight stories of love interwoven through the five weeks leading up to Christmas in London. Of particular note are the performances of Keira Knightley watching the wedding video and Emma Thompson’s tour de force emotional breakdown to Joni Mitchell’s ‘Both Sides Now”. Rated R. And to finish it out, a few Christmas movies that might not fit the normal mold of feel-good holiday entertainment, but they are definitely Christmas classics in their own right. Edward Scissorhands – The Frankenstein story updated to a modern love story by Tim Burton in his unique style. This marks the first teaming of Tim Burton and Johnny Depp. Why is it Christmassy? There’s snow at the beginning, the end and somewhere in the middle as well… and for some reason, even during the sunny scenes, it just kinda has that holiday feel. Brazil – Tis the season of dystopian futures, harried technocrats and secret police! Terry Gilliam’s reality-twisting masterpiece sees a pawn in an Orwellian nightmare world, a simple bureaucrat, abandon the safety of his normal life to follow a woman who’s literally from his dreams. Once off the beaten path, he meets rebel freelance plumbers and becomes a suspected terrorist himself. What has all this to do with Christmas? Well, it takes place at that time of year – allowing a few bonus swipes at the commercialism the film decries – and also features cinema’s most shocking visit from Santa Claus, as armed police take his place. Rated R. Trading Places – It’s a Christmas-set story where a couple of evil old bankers get their comeuppance, but the Frank Capra comparisons end there.
