Monday, December 22, 2008

Top 5...

...Christmas movies according to moi:

5) Bad Santa



Billy Bob Thornton was fantastic in this role, and more importantly, I loved this movie because it wasn't your typical Christmas flick. Traditional holiday fare with a heaping dose of realism and a sprinkle of sarcasm for good measure. A cynic's dream come true.

4) The Family Stone



Okay, this movie could have been better, but it really touched me in a lot of ways. I've been in the shoes of Sarah Jessica Parker's character (minus the chignon and business suits) on a few occasions and it's never easy. Plus, who doesn't like watching Diane Keaton spaz out like only she can? I didn't expect to like this movie as much as I did. I bawled like a baby at the end.

3) A Christmas Story



Yes, yes, it's overdone, I know. But it's a classic and I'd be a phony baloney if I didn't include it in my faves.

2) Emmet Otter's Jug Band Christmas



This has been my second favorite Christmas movie for as long as I can remember (top two have been the same since I was a kid). Jim Henson was an amazing individual and this movie might possibly be one of his greatest works. A timeless classic. In fact, a good friend just shared this with her two little daughters for the first time recently and they both loved it. I have to remember to show this to Lola when she's a liiiiiitle bit older.

1) How the Grinch Stole Christmas



And NO friggin' way do I mean the Jim Carrey version. BLASPHEMY!!! I'm referring to the Dr. Seuss version here. When I was a wee one, I owned this story on vinyl and listened to it so many times I had it memorized. I still know it by heart. It's the greatest Christmas story and a damn great animated movie, too. Wow, and to think this was done back in 1966. Boris Karloff's narration is the cherry on top. A+++!

I'd love to know what your favorites are. Wanna play?

7 comments:

Jaimee McClellan said...

I just love The Family Stone. I could watch it over and over. It's my ideal Christmas (minus the terminally ill part) but being trapped cosy indoors (in a house like) that with family...oh, the adventure!

Emmet Otter is way up there too :)

Hey, keep an eye on that mailbox!

shoshonasnow said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
shoshonasnow said...

I messed up the links the first time.

not really movies, but....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gW3rznLI_g

and

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FtkMlciohSg&feature=related

and Christmas Story is still my all-time favorite. We put it on every year when my husband and I open our presents...which is tomorrow!

Elisabeth said...

I ♥ Emmet Otter! I watched that with D allllll the time when she was little (even not during xmas-time lol).

Mine, in no particular order:

Elf
It's just so cute and sweet. I never liked Will Ferrell until I saw that movie. We watch it every year now at least once at xmas time. :)

Charlie Brown Christmas
I love all the peanuts specials, but this one kills me with the sad-sack little tree. It makes me tear up just thinking about it. ^^;

Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer
This is made of awesome just for the Island of Misfit Toys alone. :)

Wizard of Oz & Mary Poppins
Ok, I'm totally cheating by combining these two--and they aren't xmas movies to boot! But I strongly associate them with this time of year. It seems like when I was a kid they would always air those two movies around the holiday season, and I can remember having a big bowl of jiffy pop and watching them with my mum, who liked to make a big production out of it. ^^

How the Grinch Stole Christmas
I adore the animated version, and have loved it since I was little, but--despite all odds--we actually like the Jim Carrey version, too. It became kind of a weird tradition in our tiny family to watch it when xmas is approaching (although it has been replaced by Elf in recent years). In fact, we have tons of stupid in-jokes based on some of his lines in the movie, and use them even during the rest of the year. ^^

By the by...the word verification on here says "logrenip". Which makes me think of ogre nipples. It looks like a French word for it: L'ogre nip.
LOL. Sorry...I have been up almost 24 hours and, you know, sleep deprivation has kidnapped my feeble brain. ^^;

Kate said...

Jaimee, I'm so glad I'm not the only one who loved The Family Stone. I read so many horrible reviews online and it's almost embarassing to admit that I liked it. I just really identified with it on so many levels and it's now in my top 5.

And when Elisabeth mentioned Elf, I got laughing really hard. The movie was okay (the real reason I watched it in the first place is because Artie Lange has a small role in it) but the scene with the little person (Wil Farrell thinks he's an elf) charging at him down the conference room table makes me crack up every time.

Shoshona, I'm off to check out those links now!

Good Girls Studio said...

Loved Family Stone but my favorite is one with Holly Hunter & Robert Downey....can't remember the name of it ...Charlie Brown Christmas is amust see every year too.

Merry Christmas Kate!

Anonymous said...

So I can't decide if I'm 6 or 60. Cartoons and old movies.

#1 The Muppet Christmas Carol. Clever, cute, true to the book for talking fruit and singing mice, and the music, while all new for the movie, is easy to work into an established and traditional repertoire of Christmas tunes.

#2 Scrooge (w/ Alastair Sim 1951). He is creepy enough to be scary in the beginning (and screaming Marley gets me too) and totally awesomely batty at the end. Also, first heard the phrase "Bob's your uncle" here. That's funny. Oh, the English.

The fact that Muppets outranks Scrooge on my list has always made my mother question my judgment. Every year she asks me if I am serious. Yes.

(No particular order after this)
#3 Charlie Brown. Linus' nasally little voice telling us the meaning of Christmas is quite moving for a cartoon.

#4 A Christmas Memory. It's just a made for TV movie (mom taped it a long time ago when it aired), but Truman Capote narrates his own work, and that's kind of cool. The kid playing Buddy is kind of a dork, but that's okay.

#5 A Christmas Story. But there are some ties here (Grinch (cartoon, of course), Miracle on 34th (1947), It's a Wonderful Life, The Bishop's Wife...).

Merry Christmas!