The Annual Holiday Movie Thread!

[zippypinhead]

What's on your holiday season watchlist this year, friends?

 

[zippypinhead]

The TV stations where I live started up early this year. On Thanksgiving one channel played the 1951 Scrooge starring Alistair Sim (the best version) and they've already played The Grinch and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.

 

[AmberCutie]

I might actually give this a try since I enjoy the cast members

 

[zippypinhead]

I might actually give this a try since I enjoy the cast members

Gives me Die Hard vibes, except it's actually a Christmas movie. Bring it lol.

 

[THE MOLLIE MARIE]

I might actually give this a try since I enjoy the cast members

Yes my sibling and I were talking about this, I'm a bit interested. Which is far more interested than I am in most holiday media.

 

[zippypinhead]

Speaking of David Harbour, it's become a bit of a tradition to save Stranger Things seasons for holiday season viewing. I just started 4 tonight.

I'm also really stoked for the new Willow series on Disney. I have a strong holiday connection to the movie because our family got it from my grandma in a Christmas care package when I was a kid.

 

[zippypinhead]

Here's a question that might help spice up the thread:

Does anyone have any shows or movies that aren't explicitly holiday movies, but that you associate with the holidays and are part of your holiday season viewing?

I already mentioned Willow, and it seems that plenty of people, myself included, treat Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter like holiday movies. Nothing like hunkering down, and watching some fantasy fare around Christmastime, I guess. I'm sure there are others that might come to my mind if I give it some thought.

Anyone else?

 

[AmberCutie]

plenty of people, myself included, treat Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter like holiday movies.

OOOH yes, it used to be tradition for Jawbs and I to watch the whole LotR trilogy on New Years Eve! I know it's after xmas but still feels holiday enough to mention.

Now that there's the Hobbit movies included in the whole mix it might not be feasible anymore lol. We haven't done that tradition since like 2007'ish. (oh lawd that just made me realize how long I've been married and how old we are now, YIKES! haha)

 

[theforestdame]

I'm hoping to see the Guillermo del Toro version of Pinocchio soon! I think it's not technically an xmas movie, but it's only just been realised in cinemas here so I'm definitely counting it as one!

Also when the Dark Crystal reboot came out that immediately made it onto my yearly-holidays rewatch, so I've just started that again

 

[MDouble00]

Our family staples are:

A Christmas Story
Silent Night Deadly Night
Santa's Slay
Bad Santa

So those 4 will all be watched throughout Christmas day.

I plan on seeing violent night this weekend have heard nothing but good things about it.

As a family we will probably watch the Christmas story Christmas new movie on HBOMAX.

Outside of that my mom and I will probably watch a few random Christmas themed horror movies on Tubi. We're the reason that silent night deadly night and santas slay became family staples

 

[BikerBabeBonnie]

I'm thinking I'll watch:

Nightmare before Christmas
Live action Grinch
Edward Scissorhands (not exactly holiday but i count it for xmas)
Home Alone (All of them lol)

I haven't seen "love actually" and it seems to be a holiday movie so I'll have to add that to my list.

 

[Ozzie_]

I haven't seen "love actually" and it seems to be a holiday movie so I'll have to add that to my list.

It has become a movie that many love to hate. (I love it, and I must watch it again this year)

I am actually a sucker for a half decent rom-com, and LA being a British one makes it even better for me. The cast for this is also pretty damned good. And I do not think that Richard Curtis has ever made a bad movie.

 

[zippypinhead]

Love Actually was on my Christmas watch list for a bunch of years, and I still think most of the stories are charming or poignant. The only part that really, truly gets under my skin is the famous/infamous "Andrew Lincoln holding signs" scene. I hope that's not a spoiler, you probably already know it -- it's a meme at this point.

Edward Scissorhands (not exactly holiday but i count it for xmas)

I have it on my list of holiday movies, too. It's a story told by a grandmother to her granddaughter about why it snows in a place where it doesn't snow (plus, half the movie takes place during Christmas.) It's gotta count, right?

OOOH yes, it used to be tradition for Jawbs and I to watch the whole LotR trilogy on New Years Eve! I know it's after xmas but still feels holiday enough to mention.

Now that there's the Hobbit movies included in the whole mix it might not be feasible anymore lol. We haven't done that tradition since like 2007'ish. (oh lawd that just made me realize how long I've been married and how old we are now, YIKES! haha)

I think The Hobbit is better than most people give it credit for, but it's still not on the same level as LoTR. I don't know that it really needs adding to the "traditional viewing" roster. There are also fan edits that aim to cut the fat considerably.

I've never actually seen the extended cuts of LoTR. I keep meaning to, but my brain really fights against the prospect of spending more than like an hour of devoted attention to one thing, let alone twelve hours. But it seems like I'm in a good head space to sit and watch stuff right now, so I'm going to give it a shot.

 

[Hiunds]

Watched the Sound of Music last night, which is one of those non-Christmas movies I associate with the holidays

Regarding Love Actually, it is a mostly good movie in my opinion, with some really outstanding movie moments. The Andrew Lincoln storyline is a clunker and borderline disturbing though. Definitely worth a watch if you haven’t seen it. I particularly like the Colin Firth storyline and the climax of it is one of my favorite movie scenes ever

Not movies, but I am re-watching the short Hawkeye series on Disney Plus, which takes place during Christmastime in NYC. I also enjoyed the Guardians of the Galaxy holiday special - very funny

 

[Vixxen81]

A Christmas Story

Every year.

 

[MarieElise]

I'm giving A Xmas Karen a try. I believe it's on youtube w ads.
Here's a link if anyone else is interested...

 

[Deleted member 57737]

I'm also really stoked for the new Willow series on Disney

I've tried it because I love the original movie. Had to stop after 30 minutes. Its that bad. So I watched the old movie again to make sure I remember the right thing, awesome. Here in Germany the movie "Little Lord Fauntleroy" is considered christmassy. Its a beautiful old movie.

 

[Hiunds]

Bad Moms Christmas with Mila Kunis, Katherine Hahn and Kristen Bell is funny - and on Netflix

 

[zippypinhead]

I've tried it because I love the original movie. Had to stop after 30 minutes. Its that bad. So I watched the old movie again to make sure I remember the right thing, awesome.

It's a jarring change in tone, to be sure. For a show that calls back to its source material so heavily -- the point of actually showing flashback clips from the movie itself remarkably often -- it's perplexing that it doesn't do all that much to keep the tone and themes of the movie alive. It actually is a great illustration of a problem I have with so much media these days (a topic I'm tempted to make a devoted thread to) which is the lack of likeable or interesting characters. First and foremost, the movie is fun, and the characters are all likeable. The heroes are easy to root for, and the villains are unmistakably villainous. The show features a cast of characters that are like 90% insufferable assholes and bratty shitheads -- if they have personalities at all. Even Willow himself is this tired, boring old guy. And the only interesting or likeable characters who do make it on screen have ended up being killed off, so that sucks too.

That stated, there are few sparks there that show potential for what it might have been. The visit to the Nelwin village was fun (if a bit hamfisted, and where's Meegosh, and Vohnkar, and even Burglekutt? It's only been twenty years in-world!) The way they treat sorcery as a process is interesting. Instead of an attempt at an epic quest featuring a party of dickheads from a middling WB drama heading a place never before mentioned to save some vanilla himbo, it would've been really cool to just have a cozy fantasy about Elora Danan hanging out with Willow and learning magic and meeting brownies and stuff.

Oh well. I don't think it's the worst. I just wish it was better. I'll keep watching to the end of the season, and hope at least one likeable character appears and survives to the end of an episode.

 

[Ozzie_]

It actually is a great illustration of a problem I have with so much media these days (a topic I'm tempted to make a devoted thread to) which is the lack of likeable or interesting characters.

Really? I thought it was just me!

I don't want to derail the thread, but for years there's been so many shows / movies that seem to be populated by completely unlikable horrible characters. There's enough shit and terrible people in the real world, why on earth would I want to watch them be horrible, unlikable (and often have success as reward for their terribleness) for entertainment?

 

[inertvolcano]

 

[Deleted member 57737]

I don't want to derail the thread, but for years there's been so many shows / movies that seem to be populated by completely unlikable horrible characters. There's enough shit and terrible people in the real world, why on earth would I want to watch them be horrible, unlikable (and often have success as reward for their terribleness) for entertainment?

This makes me think about "natural born killers" where there is literally no "good" character. I this case it was an important part of the film, so you leaned to like the serial killer pair. Today I wouldn't watch it anymore because I got more sensitive concerning brutality in movies. ...
If there was a thread about that like @zippypinhead hinted, I'd definitely jump on in

 

[AmberCutie]

Gives me Die Hard vibes, except it's actually a Christmas movie. Bring it lol.

Yes my sibling and I were talking about this, I'm a bit interested. Which is far more interested than I am in most holiday media.

sigh

While David Harbour was an adorable Santa, the movie was terrible. The trailers/ads for it did not correctly depict the actual movie.

 

[zippypinhead]

sigh

While David Harbour was an adorable Santa, the movie was terrible. The trailers/ads for it did not correctly depict the actual movie.

That's too bad. My interest kinda waned after seeing a couple of reviews of it, even though the reviews seemed overall positive. In my middle age, I find myself looking for more earnest holiday movies (including Earnest Saves Christmas, come to think of it, lol.)

BTW, I'm taking a cue from you, and decided I wanted to watch LoTR this week as more of a New Year tradition.