What holiday movies are you watching in 2022?

[Jim Kelly]

For the holiday season, I'm determined to watch as many as I can of my old favourites, as well as some I've never seen before.

Watched so far--


PLANES, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES (1987) [repeat viewing]; dir., John Hughes; stars, Steve Martin, John Candy; grade A+

A great movie for the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday gets the season started. Sometimes a comedy, sometimes a horror story. Sort of like NORTH BY NORTHWEST if Cary Grant was Steve Martin and Eva Marie Saint was John Candy.



LAST CHRISTMAS (2019) [first time viewing]; dir. Paul Feig; stars, Emilia Clarke, Henry Golding; grade C-

A George Michael musical is a good idea for a movie. This ain't it.

Apparently, Emma Thompson was asked to write a movie using the Wham! artist's songs. When this was in development, George Michael was still alive and involved with the project. Yet the movie insists on taking the wrong meaning from the lyrics of his songs, which seems like a daft tribute. And it underestimates the viewer's ability to figure out every "surprise" well in advance.

It wants to be LOVE ACTUALLY crossed with IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE but those movies put all their cards on the table from the start, which maybe this movie should have done. Yet that still wouldn't help it in getting so much wrong. I knew this movie wasn't going to be great, but I was hoping for enough cheese to carry me through. It's enjoyable for all the actors in it and for Emelia Clark singing at the very end, but we shouldn't have had to wait that long for that Christmas treat.



BLACK CHRISTMAS (1974) [first time viewing]; dir. Bob Clark; stars Olivia Hussey's hair, Olivia Hussey, John Saxon; grade B

Although a U.S. citizen, Bob Clark did many of his early movies in Canada and using Canadian financing. Which means Canadian actors show up in his movies and they feel very Canadian. The two leads are not Canadian--Olivia was born in Argentina and got her start acting in England, while John Saxon is from the U.S.A. But everyone else is pretty much Canadian--including Margot Kidder and (sort of) Andrea Martin--and the locations are Canadian. If it weren't for the little Star-Spangled Banner on the desk of John Saxon's detective character, it would be entirely Canadian.

This was one of the earliest movies to establish many tropes of the slasher horror movie genre. Olivia Hussey's luxurious hair is the real star of the movie--it must be protected at all costs. Bob Clark would later direct the holiday classic A CHRISTMAS STORY--which many insist on watching every Christmas, yet I've never been able to get past the first fifteen minutes of that movie. Sorry.



12 DATES OF CHRISTMAS (2011) [first time viewing]; dir. James Hayman; stars Amy Smart; grade B-

An ABC T.V. movie with modest goals, made in Toronto, Canada--with many Canadian actors in the supporting cast--this is quite a charming little movie. A time loop plot set on Christmas Eve, it meets the expectations of the genre. The always beautiful Amy Smart fits perfectly into these types of pictures.



DIE HARD (1988) [first time viewing]; dir. John McTiernan; stars Bruce Willis, Reginald Vel Johnson, Alan Rickman; grade A

There's no question this is a Christmas movie: the Christ-like iconography of John McLane; the love story between John and Al that develops through the course of the film, with John falling into Al's arms at the end; the use of Christmas imagery and Christmas music throughout the movie; Louie V. Beeth-Oven's song--"Freude, schöner Götterfunken,Tochter aus Elysium, wir betreten feuertrunken, himmlische, dein Heiligtum!" (from the 9th)--that recurs throughout the picture and plays in the end credits.

Bruce Willis' character learns the true meaning of Christmas as he must walk through broken glass (in bare feet) to the save the ones he loves.



THE CHRISTMAS GIFT (1986) [first time viewing]; dir. Michael Pressman; stars John Denver; grade C+

A CBS T.V. movie, filmed on location in Colorado. In a LOCAL HERO kind of plot, John Denver's character goes to a small town in Colorado, where everyone believes in Santa Claus. A young Jane Kaczmarek plays the love interest. But the little girl, in the role of Denver's daughter, is the heart of the movie. John Denver sings a bit, but the movie could have done with more of his singing.



ARCTIC (2018) [first time viewing]; dir. Joe Penna; stars Mads Mikkelsen; grade B+

Icelandic movie, filmed on location in Iceland (with some extra production in Vancouver) but set in the high Arctic. A man against nature survival story, it's not really a holiday movie at all. And since it's light in the day and dark in the night, it must take place in the spring not the winter. But the weather outside is frightful and the fire is so delightful.

Philosophically it is about humanity and self-sacrifice, so in that sense it is like a holiday movie. Mads Mikkelsen's fight to stay alive in these extreme conditions is tough to watch at times. It makes shovelling snow seem like a minor effort.



MRS. SANTA CLAUS (1996) [first time viewing]; dir. Terry Hughes; stars Angela Lansbury; grade A-

A CBS Hallmark T.V. movie--story, Mark Saltzman; music and lyrics, Jerry Herman; costumes, Bob Mackie; choreography, Rob Marshall. This was an amazing discovery for me, as I never heard of this movie before. It seems like a hidden gem. Too bad it wasn't released as a major motion picture in theatres back in the day. Wonderful singing and dancing, set in 1910, with big musical production numbers--everything one could want in a Christmas movie. Toward the end, it loses some of its steam--but Angela Lansbury shines like a Christmas star in the heavens.



LOVE ACTUALLY (2003) [repeat viewing]; dir. Richard Curtis; stars Hugh Grant and every actor in the United Kingdom; grade A

I thought maybe this year I wouldn't enjoy this movie as much as I have in the past, but then I found myself falling in love with it all over again. The only subplot I don't like (and never have) is the one involving Alan Rickman's character. I realize that Richard Curtis wanted to include every variety of love story in his movie, but I could have done without that one. Also, it seems to me the kinds of love this movie is about are the loves of sex, romance, family, friends and rock & roll--but it's never the big Love that the Beatles were singing about in "All You Need is Love"--it's not the Love of "Put a Little Love in Your Heart" by Jackie DeShannon. Or the Love that George Bailey shows for his fellow man.



UN CONTE DE NOËL [a.k.a. A Christmas Tale] (2008) [first time viewing]; dir. Arnaud Desplechin; stars Catherine Deneuve; grade C+

Set at Christmas, Deneuve plays the matriarch of a bourgeois family in France. However, it never felt much like a holiday movie to me. This was on the Criterion Collection, so you know it must be considered important and it certainly is masterfully filmed and acted, yet it left me cold. I could never seem to care about this dysfunctional family or relate to their circumstances. Interestingly, Chiara Mastroianni--the real life daughter of Catherine Deneuve and Marcello Mastroianni--is cast as the daughter-in-law and not the daughter of Deneuve's character.

Deneuve has been in way better movies.

[krazijoe]

Die Hard
Love Actually
Gremlins

[babyblob]

I have a few Christmas movies That I make sure to watch each year.

Twas The Night Before Christmas - An animated classic by Rankin/Bass. Has some great music and a good story about a town Santa is mad at because of a letter written by a know it all mouse and a clockmakers attempt to make things right.

The Year Without a Santa Claus - A fun story with heat Miser and Snow Miser and a lazy Santa that does not want to work the one day of the year he does anything. Another Rankin/Bass Classic.

White Christmas - A Bing Crosby Classic. I cant say enough good things about this movie. God Bless Danny Kaye

Silent Night Deadly Night - A great cheesy fun slasher movie about a killer Santa

THe Christmas Card - This one I watch with my dad. It is one of those Hallmark type love movies and to be honest I am shocked my dad likes it so much. But he saw it 3 years ago and it has worked its way into the rotation.

We also have a selection of Christmas tv shows that we watch also.

[useridgoeshere]

So far, I’ve watched …
- Spirited on Apple TV+
- A Christmas Story
- Three Wise Men and a Baby on Hallmark
- Christmas Vacation
- Christmas in Connecticut

At some point, I’ll watch Miracle on 34th Street, White Christmas, the Alistair Sims version of Scrooge, and hopefully Scrooged.

[MajorHoy]

Haven't watched it yet, but expect to catch The Thin Man with William Powell and Myrna Loy at some pint . . . I meant "point".

[Gaastra]

Charlie brown christmas
Frosty
Rudolph
Garfield christmas
Pink panther christmas
He-man and she-ra christmas
Scrooged
Muppet christmas carol
Muppet family christmas
Ernest saves christmas
Gremlins
Die hard
Christmas vacation
Christmas eve on seseme street (pre elmo takes over era!)
Santa is coming to town

[BeastieRunner]

Gremlins
Ghostbusters 2
Iron Man 3
Batman Returns
Serendipity
How The Grinch Stole Christmas
Frosty the Snowman
The GotG Xmas Special


I think that's all I watched this season so far.

[Kirby101]

My favorite is still Rare Exports.

[babyblob]

Charlie brown christmas
Frosty
Rudolph
Garfield christmas
Pink panther christmas
He-man and she-ra christmas
Scrooged
Muppet christmas carol
Muppet family christmas
Ernest saves christmas
Gremlins
Die hard
Christmas vacation
Christmas eve on seseme street (pre elmo takes over era!)
Santa is coming to town

You have some great ones on your list. Garfield Christmas.

Christmas Eve on Seseme Street with Big Bird scared that Santa cant fit down the Chimney thanks to Oscar.

And Muppet Family Christmas with not only the Muppet and Sesame street cast cast but the Fraggles as well.

[Gaastra]

Garfield christmas is free on youtube from the studio by the way. (i have the dvd myself) It's on prime also.

[j9ac9k]

I might rewatch "Hawkeye..." I guess that's it.

[Scott Taylor]

So far I watched:

GotG Holiday Special
Hawkeye
Scrooge (musical from the 1970s with Albert Finney)

Going to watch:

A Christmas Carol (Alastar Sim version)
Its a Wonderful Life
Die Hard
Elf
Christmas Story
Violent Night

[Jim Kelly]

More movies since my previous post--



JOYEUX NOËL [a.k.a. Merry Christmas] (2005) [first time viewing]; dir. Christian Carion; stars Diane Krüger; grade A

A movie in French, German and English, based on the inspiring yet heartbreaking true story of the 1914 Christmas peace in the First World War. The characters are from France, Germany and Great Britain (mainly Scotland). In war, the working folk do most of the fighting and dying, at the behest of those with wealth and power.



TRADING PLACES (1983) [first time viewing]; dir. John Landis; stars Eddie Murphy, Dan Ackroyd; grade B-

A pretty good movie, with Jamie Lee Curtis, Denholm Elliot, Don Ameche and Ralph Bellamy in the supporting cast. It starts to go off the rails toward the end. It's amazing what they could get away with in 1983.



JUST FRIENDS (2005) [repeat viewing]; dir. Roger Kumble; stars Ryan Reynolds, Amy Smart; grade A-

The old going back home for the holidays and meeting the people you used to know plot. Ridiculous fun. The running subplot with Anna Faris is icing on the cake.

Shot in L.A. and Saskatchewan--but set in New Jersey.



CHRISTMAS IN CONNECTICUT (1945) [repeat viewing]; dir. Peter Godfrey; stars Barbara Stanwyck; grade A

She can't cook. A comedy of errors featuring some great character actors. Even Superman's Inspector Henderson shows up at the beginning of the movie--that is Robert Shayne as Elizabeth Lane's editor. Stanwyck is his Miss Lane, a good housekeeping columnist who can't cook.



NO MAN OF HER OWN (1950) [first time viewing]; dir. Mitchell Leisen; stars Babara Stanwyck; grade B-

Not really a holiday movie, although part of the movie is set around the holidays. Based on the Cornell Woolrich 1948 novel, I MARRIED A DEAD MAN, the plot has appeared in a few movies, including J'AI EPOUSÉ UNE OMBRE [a.k.a. I Married a Shadow] (1983), starring Nathalie Baye, and MRS. WINTERBOURNE (1996), starring Ricki Lake. I prefer the Nathalie Baye version. The plot was reinvented for WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING, so no lives were lost and more laughs were found.



MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS (1944) [repeat viewing]; dir. Vincente Minnelli; stars Judy Garland; grade A

I wouldn't say this is a holiday movie in particular, as it runs from Summer 1903 through Spring 1904 (when the World's Fair begins), going through all the seasons. But it does feature Judy singing "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" in one of her most powerful performances. Another great scene with Miss Garland is "The Trolley Song." On the other hand, there's Tootie.

Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane wrote "The Boy Next Door," "The Trolley Song" and "Have Yourself a Marry Little Christmas" for Garland in this picture. Other songs are true to the period. Minnelli would soon marry his star--they had one child from their marriage, Liza Minnelli.



THE THIN MAN (1934) [repeat viewing]; dir. W. S. Van Dyke; stars William Powell, Myrna Loy, Asta; grade A

Most of this movie takes place during the holidays, when spirits are high. While there were subsequent Nick and Nora movies, this is the only one based on an original Dashiell Hammett novel--also called THE THIN MAN and also released in 1934. That being Hammett's last novel, unfortunately.

Tarzan's Jane is in this movie, but sadly she keeps all her clothes on. And the Joker also makes an appearance, before he swam through that pool of chemical wastes. However, it's Powell, Loy and Asta that made THE THIN MAN a hit.

I saw this movie the first time many years ago. I read the novel only a few years ago, when I was in Brazil. I was on the edge of my chair, wondering whodunnit (having forgotten most of the movie by then) and captivated by Hammett's rich language. When I returned to Canada, I rewatched the movie and could better appreciate it after reading the book. So I'd recommend anyone read the novel first before having the mystery spoiled by the movie.



SHAZAM! (2019) [repeat viewing]; dir. David F. Sandberg; stars Zachary Levi, Asher Angel, Jack Dylan Grazer, Mark Strong; grade A

This is clearly a holiday movie. There's Christmas content throughout the entire picture. I know it wasn't released in December, but it ought to have been. Ridiculous scheduling. A family movie, great entertainment. Filmed in Toronto, Hamilton and Philadelphia.



MON ONCLE ANTOINE (1971) [repeat viewing]; dir. Claude Jutra; stars Jacques Gagnon; grade A+

MON ONCLE ANTOINE has been called the greatest Canadian movie ever made, receiving honours all over the world. It takes place in a Quebec that no longer exists, before the Quiet Revolution and just before the Asbestos strike (1949), in winter and on the eve of Christmas. At the movie's heart is young Benoit's coming of age story.

On first viewing, what might seem a heartwarming tale of Christmas in la Belle Province is actually an examination of the harsh realities of its past--a nostalgia for misery which would haunt Quebec cinema.



LA GUERRE DES TUQUES [a.k.a. The Dog Who Stopped the War] (1984) [live action][first time viewing]; dir. André Melançon; grade C
LA GUERRE DES TUQUES 3D [a.k.a. Snowtime] (2015) [animated][first time viewing]; dir. Jean-François Pouliot; grade C

During the Christmas break, a snowball fight between two groups of school children escalates. The story is grounded in Quebec culture--as Gilles Vigneault sang in his Quebec anthem, "Mon pays c'est hiver"--my country is winter.

The 1984 live action version has become a family favourite in Quebec. The animated film is beautiful to look at, but it's too fantastical. The original never strains credibility too far, featuring real children in a real Quebec, in real snow.

However, there's a devastating turn of events toward the end which ruins it all for me.

[Odd Rödney]

My wife and I watched Krampus the other night. It was ok, better than doing literally nothing I guess. In my head canon it's a story about the terrible things that happened to Ben Wyatt after he left politics and divorced Leslie.

[Jim Kelly]

My wife and I watched Krampus the other night. It was ok, better than doing literally nothing I guess. In my head canon it's a story about the terrible things that happened to Ben Wyatt after he left politics and divorced Leslie.

I watched that a couple of years ago when I did another big holiday movie deep dive (I can't find the list I made back then). This week, for Nikolaustag (December 6), I wanted to find a Krampus movie to watch, but the ones I'd seen before, including that one, weren't good enough. There was an episode from a T.V. horror anthology that I saw back then, which was fun--I think the story was set in Switzerland with a couple on holiday in the mountains. In Austria, they have Krampus festivals for the children--and it's sort of like Hallowe'en mixed with Christmas. On the real Christmas Day, it's the Christkind who brings presents.