Writer's Block: It's a wonderful life!
Oooh a list! This sounds like an excuse for a list post.
Top Five Holiday Movies (unconventional)
1) On Her Majesty's Secret Service--Only Blofeld would try to wipe out humanity as a Christmas present. Has the worst Christmas song of all time, the execrable "Do You Know How Christmas Trees Are Grown?" wonderful skiing sequences and a dude in a bear costume not played by Nicolas Cage. And it's SET IN THE FRICKING SWISS ALPS! How picturesque!
2) The Godfather--Has a Christmas sequence. So it counts and it's my favorite non-Bond movie--which is to say my favorite movie!
3) Batman Returns. The Nightmare Before Christmas is the best of Tim Burton's holiday efforts. But this one puts Michelle Pfeiffer and Christopher Walken down my chimney, whatever that means.
4) Scrooge--Wrote about this the other day. A Dickens of a musical with a 37-year old Albert Finney as Ol' Ebenezer--in very heavy makeup. This was my first version of Christmas Carol and while the Alistair Sim version is the best, this is still my favorite.
5) Die Hard--The greatest Christmas story of them all, described by the director on the DVD commentary as a remake of "A Midsummer Night's Dream." (I know, cool huh!) It's an action film, a romantic drama, a family reunion drama and it has the best use of the word "Mo--erf--ker" NOT said by Samuel L. Jackson. And it's Alan Rickman's first movie!
Top Five XMas TV specials
1) A Charlie Brown Christmas--The holiday classic with great music by Vince Guaraldi and Linus reading from the Gospel. Classic.
2) Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire I'm tempted to give this spot to "Grift of the Magi" (with a cameo from Gary Coleman) but this is also the FIRST Simpsons ep aired--tho not the first produced. It's a classic.
3) XMas Story: Futurama episode with a psychotic Robot Santa who goes around slaughtering the naughty--that is, everybody. "A Tale of Two Santas" wasn't bad either.
4) Christmas on Sesame Street--Has great songs, subplots, and Big Bird trying to prove Santa is real and nearly freezing to death. I used to imagine him sitting on the roof of my apartment building.
5) Rumpole and the Case of Identity--A Christmas Rumple Episode, complete with carolling. I watch it every Christmas along with the amazing "Sherlock Holmes in the Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle"--a Holmesian holiday story.
Top Five Holiday Movies (unconventional)
1) On Her Majesty's Secret Service--Only Blofeld would try to wipe out humanity as a Christmas present. Has the worst Christmas song of all time, the execrable "Do You Know How Christmas Trees Are Grown?" wonderful skiing sequences and a dude in a bear costume not played by Nicolas Cage. And it's SET IN THE FRICKING SWISS ALPS! How picturesque!
2) The Godfather--Has a Christmas sequence. So it counts and it's my favorite non-Bond movie--which is to say my favorite movie!
3) Batman Returns. The Nightmare Before Christmas is the best of Tim Burton's holiday efforts. But this one puts Michelle Pfeiffer and Christopher Walken down my chimney, whatever that means.
4) Scrooge--Wrote about this the other day. A Dickens of a musical with a 37-year old Albert Finney as Ol' Ebenezer--in very heavy makeup. This was my first version of Christmas Carol and while the Alistair Sim version is the best, this is still my favorite.
5) Die Hard--The greatest Christmas story of them all, described by the director on the DVD commentary as a remake of "A Midsummer Night's Dream." (I know, cool huh!) It's an action film, a romantic drama, a family reunion drama and it has the best use of the word "Mo--erf--ker" NOT said by Samuel L. Jackson. And it's Alan Rickman's first movie!
Top Five XMas TV specials
1) A Charlie Brown Christmas--The holiday classic with great music by Vince Guaraldi and Linus reading from the Gospel. Classic.
2) Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire I'm tempted to give this spot to "Grift of the Magi" (with a cameo from Gary Coleman) but this is also the FIRST Simpsons ep aired--tho not the first produced. It's a classic.
3) XMas Story: Futurama episode with a psychotic Robot Santa who goes around slaughtering the naughty--that is, everybody. "A Tale of Two Santas" wasn't bad either.
4) Christmas on Sesame Street--Has great songs, subplots, and Big Bird trying to prove Santa is real and nearly freezing to death. I used to imagine him sitting on the roof of my apartment building.
5) Rumpole and the Case of Identity--A Christmas Rumple Episode, complete with carolling. I watch it every Christmas along with the amazing "Sherlock Holmes in the Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle"--a Holmesian holiday story.