Christmas Flicks! What We Watch

Bad Santa

A Christmas Story
Christmas Evil
Gremlins
Nightmare Before Christmas
Die Hard

-all get me in the mood.

Scrooged. Bill Murray rules over all.

'The Ref'. Christmas isn't complete for us without it. Make a nice Tom and Jerry, open up a tin of mom's Christmas cookies, and watch Denis Leary go insane with Kevin Spacey and Judy Davis. This movie is to Christmas what 'Plains, Trains, and Automobiles' is to Thanksgiving.

Die Hard
The Ref
The Thing
Edward Scissorhands
Gremlins
Wonderboys
Bad Santa
and sometimes Nightmare Before Christmas

It just really depends how much time I have at the holiday. Last year was Gremlins, Wonderboys, The Ref, and Gremlins.

It's A Wonderful Life, though I've been watching it on Thanksgivings since I was a little kid as well.

Most of mine have already been mentioned so:

Grinch (animated and not)
Elf
Charlie Brown
Tokyo Godfathers

Might add Joyeux Noel. That was great.

"Silent Night, Deadly Night" and "Black Christmas". All I need to be in a properly festive mood.

Christmas Vacation
Die Hard
Die Hard 2
King Kong
The Thing
Gremlins
Ghostbusters
Lord of the Rings Trilogy (family duty)

Black Christmas better works on Halloween.

For Christmas-themed movies, my two required viewings are Nightmare Before Christmas and Miracle on 34th Street. Watching those with a nice cup of egg nog and a warm fire after the semester's over puts me right back into a good mood, which is just what I need this time of year.

It does my heart good to see how many of us revere Die Hard for the Xmas holiday. Ho-ho-ho.

Cannibal Holocaust.

Just Kidding.
National Lampoons Christmas Vacation and Black Christmas are the films i watch every christmas.

Thanks to Spike TV, it doesn't feel like the holidays without the Bond movies anymore.

Rankin & Bass' Rudolph the Red-Nose Reindeer... I watch it probably a dozen times every December, especially now that I have a kid. Burl Ives singing makes all the troubles and cares of my day drift away.


http://www.burlives.com/Fun.htm

Because there's snow and ice in it? Does it take place at the North or South Pole? Because if it's the North Pole, Santa's Workshop is looking at some serious infestation.

As for me, color me a bit of a traditionalist:
It's a Wonderful Life
A Christmas Story
National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
Elf
Yogi's First Christmas
Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer
Santa Claus is Coming to Town
A Year Without Santa Claus
Frosty the Snowman
Opus 'n' Bill: A Wish for Wings that Work
A Charlie Brown Christmas
Olive the Other Reindeer
Scrooged
Muppet's Christmas Carol
Mickey's Christmas Carol
A Pinky and Brain Christmas

and Peter Scolari aside, The Polar Express.

By the by, have any of you ever seen "The Life and Times of Santa Claus"? It's this really trippy Rankin and Bass special wherein Santa Claus is lying on his death bed and all of the woodland spirits convene a meeting to discuss whether or not to grant him immortality. During their meeting, they discuss the titular life and times of St. Nick. I remember it traumatizing the hell out of me as a little kid.

For me, Scrooged has been the one constant for the past decade, although this year I'm adding Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang, Bad Santa and Die Hard to the queue.

I also manage to watch what I call the "good parts" version of Love Actually, which are the Liam Neeson, Emma Thompson, Hugh Grant, and Bill Nighy subplots. The rest can go take a flying duckleap at a wonderfuck as far as i'm concerned.

However, I'm a TV guy at heart, and I've already begun to put together my playlist of great Holiday-themed television:

Veronica Mars-"A Very Echolls Christmas" (Season 1)
ER-"Blizzard" (Season 1)
The West Wing-"Noel" (Season 2)
Sports Night-"The Six Southern Gentlemen of Tennesee Tech" (Season 1)
Buffy the Vampire Slayer-"Amends" (Season 3)
The Office-"Christmas Party" (Season 2)
Scrubs-"My Own Personal Jesus" (Season 1)
House, MD-"Deception" (Season 2)
Twilight Zone-"Night of the Meek" (Season 2)

Sure, it's one of the few R/B specials to not hit dvd yet. I loved it as a kid. Theres a Mike Ploog graphic novel adaptation floating around that's pretty neat. http://search.barnesandnoble.com/boo...79450763&itm=8

Book was originally written book by Wizard of Oz creator, L. Frank Baum.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lif...of_Santa_Claus

The Awgwas reminded me of Thundercats villains (also Rankin & Bass).

Here's a clip: http://youtube.com/watch?v=yzPbDzzIM1g
King Awgwa is voiced by Earle Hyman (TC's Panthro)!
There's a giant Chinese dragon and a 3-eyed giant!

Also, Muppet Christmas Carol gave the world Singin' Michael Caine (better than Singin' Bill Pullman, but not by much), and for that, I will be forever grateful.

Emmet Otter's Jugband Christmas.
The RIVERBOTTOM NIGHTMARE BAND earned that prize money I tells ya!

Scrooged (probably my favorite Christmas movie ever)
Elf
How The Grinch Stole Christmas (animated)
Charlie Brown Christmas
The Ref
National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation

And strangely, I don't harbor the huge love that most people do for A Christmas Story. My wife's sister adores the film, as do most people I know. It's funny, and got great moments, but it's not a "must see" for me. Same with "It's A Wonderful Life".

A Christmas Carol - George C Scott version
Charlie Brown Christmas
Rudolph
X-Files - "How the Ghosts Stole Christmas" (S6)
Friends - "TOW Phoebe's Dad" (S2)
West Wing - "Noel" (S2)
It's a Wonderful Life

I laugh at Christmas Story everytime and find something new with every viewing. Some sadistic side of me loves hearing Ralphie's brother, Randy, scream "I can't get UUUPPPPP!!!" or hearing the ratted-out Schwartz get the beatdown from his enraged mother on the phone.

Darren McGavin (yes! Carl Kolchak!) is pitch-perfectly awesome as The Old Man.

My family and I quote this movie year-round.
"Not a fingah!"
"Drink your Ovaltine?"
"How do the piggies eat?"
"It's a major award!"
"Fra-jee-lay. Must be Italian."
"So help me God, yellow eyes..."

It doesn't hurt that my buddy looks like Scut Farkus.

TRADING PLACES is a favorite of mine.

Does that mean you look like Grover Gill? "Hey you! Yeah, you! Git ovuh here!"

Also, Darkmite, I agree with you 100% on Emmet Otter. Just last night, I told my wife that we had to pick it up on DVD.

Great idea for a thread. I was thinking about starting one myself, simply to espouse the merits of DIE HARD. It is indeed very heartwarming to see it given so many props by you guys. Also, thanks to DIE HARD, "Ode to Joy" is now my favourite Christmas carol, regardless of the fact that it has nothing to do with Christmas.

Then there's...

SANTA WITH MUSCLES - notoriously low-ranked on the IMDB, this festive fuckheap stars Hulk Hogan as arrogant billionaire "Blake Thorne". While playing paintball with his servants, he loses his memory, and awakens believing he is Santa. He combines his newfound Santaness with his exisiting muscles and becomes Santa With Muscles, a new hero determined to save an orphanage or something.

RITCHIE RICH'S CHRISTMAS WISH - I saw this one around Christmas and had a good time, thus it holds warm memories for me. Ritchie (played by 7TH HEAVEN's very own David Gallagher) enjoys Christmas. He possibly makes wishes. I can't remember a whole lot about it, except that there's a magical washing machine which bestows wishes upon children, and Ritchie's evil rival wishes for flying powers, which he uses to his advantage in the climactic battle sequence agains Ritchie. A pulse-pounder.

MST3K for all holidays

Episode: 321- Santa Claus Conquers The Martians
featuring the great song "PATRICK SWAYZE CHRISTMAS"

Episode: 521-Santa Claus
featuring the PC song "Merry Christmas...If Thats Okay?"

__________________________________________________ _______________

My teeth aren't green, but I am ridiculously short... and since I am Nick's (my buddy) assistant, I tell people that I'm his "Grover Dill" for people who ask me what I do at work. So yeah.

FYI on Emmet Otter dvd/s:
http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Emmet_Otter's_Jug-Band_Christmas

A Christmas Carol, with George C Scott. I always make time late one night to put this in. One of my favorites.

Home Alone. It's on TV alot and I always watch it. Still makes me laugh out loud.

A Christmas Story. Who doesn't.

Movies I also enjoy around the holidays because Christmas is a part of them:
Die Hard
Leathal Weapon
The Dead Zone

And of course Christmas Vacation and Elf.

Does the prequel 'Before the Poseidon Adventure' count?

Oh my lord, I totally had forgotten about that Emmett Otter Jugband shit. I just fell on the floor and had a total mind and body flashback to 1983.

I can't believe that nobody has shown any love for A Claymation Christmas Celebration yet! It has dinosaurs, dancing walruses, Quasimodo, and the California Raisins, all gathered together to provide Christmas entertainment to children of the 80's. What isn't there to like?

I just rented Silent Night,Deadly Night and I actually liked it.I watched a few scenes from the sequel and laughed hard.How calm was he when that car just misses him?

girl:*gulp* UH-OH!

I can't believe no one has mentioned Miracle on 34th Street yet. (The classic version, not the horrid remake, obviously)

And why, precisely, does it suck? Seriously.

Bad Santa and Die Hard are already mentioned, but they're worth mentioning again. "I could stick you up my ass, small-fry!"

Let's add THE ICE HARVEST to the mix. I know it's very new, but it looks poised to become a Christmas favorite for me.

Purely regurgatory, but...

Black Christmas
A Christmas Story
Silent Night, Deadly Night
Bad Santa
The Grinch Who Stole Christmas

I still wish that the 1972 'Tales from the Crypt' film would find its way to DVD; the original psycho Santa story "All Through The House" is a favorite of mine, and it doesn't hurt that Joan Collins looks great in it (incidentally, I ripped that segment off for a short story I wrote in the 3rd grade).

It's A Wonderful Life
Gremlins
Nightmare Before Christmas
Miracle on 34th Street