Tis the season to go out and shop for loved ones and for people who your parents are gonna guilt you into buying stuff for even though you barely know them. After you're done with the mall and the traffic, you wanna come home and unwind with a good movie.
"Let's see what's on TV tonight. 'It's A Wonderful Life'? SEEN IT! 'Christmas Story'? I can quote that in my sleep by now! 'A Christmas Carol'? It's been remade 500 times I'm sick of that story and just wish those ghosts would kill Scrooge already! ARRRGH!! I HATE CHRISTMAS!! I'M GONNA BURN THE HOUSE DOWN AND BECOME JEWISH!!"
Whoa! Hold on there Mr. Finklestein. Before you denounce your faith and religion I, Jason Soto, am here to help you find a Christmas movie that isn't the same ol' song and dance. I'm 26 years old and I've seen "A Christmas Story" at least that many times (if not more). And don't get me wrong, "It's A Wonderful Life" and "Christmas Carol" are good movies and stories, but...DAMMIT! I need something new and refreshing!
So I have come up with at least 6 movies that are Christmas related but aren't your typical holiday fare.
1. Die Hard-Many people possibly don't realize this entire movie takes place on Christmas Eve cause they just think about Bruce Willis running around a skyscraper and killing bad guys. But prior to the killing, Bruce's character John McClane is invited to L.A to visit his wife at her workplace during a Christmas party. And there's also the scene where John sends one of the bad guys he just killed down an elevator and when the totally awesome Alan Rickman finds him, he finds a message on his shirt that reads "NOW I HAVE A MACHINE GUN! HO! HO! HO!" And when you think of Christmas, you think of machine guns. (Or is that just an Indiana thing?)
2. Die Hard 2: Die Harder-And the sequel takes place EXACTLY one year later, on Christmas Eve. Except this time, we're in Washington D.C and there's an airport involved. This movie isn't one of my favorites (Die Harder?)in the series but it's pretty action packed and when you need an action packed Christmas movie (and you exhausted the other possibilities), this is your movie.
3. National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation-Why this doesn't replace A Christmas Story as a modern day Christmas Classic is a mystery. This is probably THE BEST Christmas comedy movie out there.
4. Scrooged-And there is this one. I know I mentioned that "A Christmas Carol" has been remade a thousand times, but this is possibly one of the best ones out there. Bill Murray is the Scrooge character and three very different ghosts show him the true meaning of Christmas.
5. Lethal Weapon-Going back to the action genre, this film also takes place on Christmas. As a result of this, anytime I hear Jingle Bell Rock, I think of the opening of this movie and picture a girl jumping to her death. How nice, huh?
6. Gremlins-You know this takes place on Christmas because of the famous story Phoebe Cates' character tells about her dad playing Santa and being found dead in the chimney. Plus Gizmo is a Christmas gift, which goes to show you that last minute shopping is a bad, bad idea.
So there you have it. I hope these movies help you get through the holiday season without having seeing and hearing the same lines and scenery over and over again. And don't stress out, it's the holiday season.
So Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, whichever you find less offensive!
-Jason
No comments:
Post a Comment