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Best Christmas movie? (Diehard excluded...)

Joe T.

Joe T.

Member
IISANDERII said:
The Family Man.

Can’t believe it’s 18 years old.
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That one's definitely a guilty pleasure of mine, Brett Ratner and Nicholas Cage not exactly critics' favorites. Not sure if it's my favorite, Home Alone may have an edge, but it's always on my mind when I'm thinking of Christmas movies.
 
Musky_Cheese

Musky_Cheese

Banned
Why is the question “what’s the best Christmas movie excluding the greatest Christmas movie of all time...Die Hard”?
 
Alx

Alx

Member
Musky_Cheese said:
Why is the question “what’s the best Christmas movie excluding the greatest Christmas movie of all time...Die Hard”?
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As funny as it may be to say "lol Die Hard is totally a Christmas movie" (at least the first time), I can't remember a single reference to Christmas in the movie, except for the "Now I have a machine gun, ho ho ho " joke. It would be the exact same movie at any other time of the year.
 
EverydayBeast

EverydayBeast

thinks Halo Infinite is a new graphical benchmark
Alx said:
As funny as it may be to say "lol Die Hard is totally a Christmas movie" (at least the first time), I can't remember a single reference to Christmas in the movie, except for the "Now I have a machine gun, ho ho ho " joke. It would be the exact same movie at any other time of the year.
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John M. flew to LA to be at that party specifically for Christmas.
 
Akuza89

Akuza89

Member
Either.

Nightmare before Christmas (which is still debated to this day if it's a Halloween or Christmas movie...)
or
die hard.....oh wait.

home alone 1 and 2 .... the rest can disappear into dust.
 
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DunDunDunpachi

DunDunDunpachi

Patient MembeR
Home Alone, White Christmas, or It's A Wonderful Life.

Jim Carrey's The Grinch, The Holiday, and The Santa Clause are fun if I'm in the right mood.

Jingle All the Way is a yearly torture tradition.
 
Alx

Alx

Member
phaeb said:
John M. flew to LA to be at that party specifically for Christmas.
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It was a company party (and he only wanted to see his wife), it could have happened for any other reason. There was nothing christmassy about it.
 
Super Mario

Super Mario

Banned
There are so many (one of my favorite parts of Christmas). These are musts for me:

- Christmas Vacation
- Elf
- Bad Santa
- The Santa Clause
- Jingle all the Way
 
Nymphae

Nymphae

Banned
Die hard is not a Christmas movie, merely a movie set during Christmas time. Is Lethal Weapon a Christmas movie? No, so I don't know why everyone has a hard on for Die Hard being a christmas movie.

Best one is Home Alone.

Every year I watch A Christmas Story, Christmas Vacation, A Christmas Carol, and Home Alone 1 & 2. I also purchased A Muppet's Christmas Carol last year and will be adding that to the yearly list.

Bill Murray's Scrooged is ok, but there's something about it I just don't enjoy and I can't put my finger on it. I almost never watch that one, I put it on last year and didn't really care for it.
 
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pramod

pramod

Banned
Trading Places

Dan Akroyd as a homeless drunk Santa threatening to shoot up some bankers how can you beat that.

I guess if you can include animation the default unanimous answer would be A Charlie Brown Christmas.
 
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bitbydeath

bitbydeath

Member
Bad Santa brings all the Christmas cheer I need.

Tb1Y52H.gif
 
Codes 208

Codes 208

Member
My go to’s have to be ELF, Jim Carrey’s HtGSC and Christmas Vacation.

And an honorable mention of Nightmare before Christmas. It’s technically more of a Halloween movie, but it also kinda works as a Christmas movie lol.
 
Alexander DeLarge

Alexander DeLarge

Member
Not even being edgy but Krampus is great. Give it 20 years for culture to catch up and I'm sure it'll be considered a cult classic.
 
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petran79

petran79

Banned
The Snowman, a 1982 UK animated short

Also one of the many Peanuts movies had Snoopy ice skating but I am not sure which
 
Doom85

Doom85

Member
Top 5:

1. National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
2. Home Alone
3. How The Grinch Stole Christmas (original animated special)
4. The Muppet's Christmas Carol
5. The Santa Clause

I also really enjoy A Christmas Story (my enjoyment has been reduced some by the massive overexposure), Nightmare Before Christmas, Home Alone 2, and both the Peanuts special and Garfield special. Black Christmas (original) and Krampus are great spooky Christmas movies. I do enjoy Elf but only the first 2/3, its final act with Santa is just not as fun or original.
 
Nymphae

Nymphae

Banned
Boss Mog said:
Not true
Die-Hard-Machine-Gun-Ho-Ho-Ho.jpg

Let's not forget the christmas music:
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My criteria for being a Christmas movie is pretty simple. Is it about Christmas? Die Hard is not about Christmas. It is set during Christmas time. So is Lethal Weapon but it is literally never discussed as a Christmas movie. Because it isn't one, on account of it not being about Christmas.

I love Die Hard, and I love Christmas movies. I have never once put on Die Hard during the holidays.

If Die Hard is a Christmas movie, so is Batman Returns. It's set during Christmas, opens on Christmas eve, has many Christmasy elements, and ends with Merry Christmas. But lets not be stupid here.

A good rule of thumb might be: if the basic plot can be summarized without needing to mention the holidays or Christmas, it's not a Christmas movie.
 
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gioGAF

gioGAF

Member
Probably "Christmas Vacation". I always watch it during the holidays and it never gets old, "Can't see the line, can you Russ?". "A Christmas Story" is also up there, it just gets beat out because Chevy Chase was so money in his heyday. I consider these 2 hold up well to multiple viewings and are of a generally good disposition.

I dig "Bad Santa", but that is darker, I like "Family Man" as well, Nic Cage for the win for once. "Home Alone" is great too.
 
Ichabod

Ichabod

Banned
Alexander DeLarge said:
Not even being edgy but Krampus is great. Give it 20 years for culture to catch up and I'm sure it'll be considered a cult classic.
Click to expand...

This is my pick as well. I echo your sentiment. It was an instant classic for me when I saw it on the big screen and I watch it every year during the holidays.
 
LordRaptor

LordRaptor

Member
Nymphae said:
A good rule of thumb might be: if the basic plot can be summarized without needing to mention the holidays or Christmas, it's not a Christmas movie.
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It's a wonderful life - a man is feeling suicidal and a guardian angel shows him what the world would have been like for the worse without him - therefore not a christmas movie?

Charles Dickens A Christmas Carol - a miser learns the error of his ways by being visited by the ghosts of past, present and future - therefore not a christmas movie?

Home Alone - a kid gets left behind when his family go on vacation, and has to defend the property with makeshift traps against some burglars - therefore not a christmas movie?
 
Nymphae

Nymphae

Banned
LordRaptor said:
It's a wonderful life - a man is feeling suicidal and a guardian angel shows him what the world would have been like for the worse without him - therefore not a christmas movie?
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Ok the rule of thumb might not be the best way to determine it's official Christmas movie status lol (but you picked a pretty shitty example with A Christmas Carol.) But the more simpler determination I put forth works best - ask yourself if it's about Christmas. Is Die Hard about Christmas at all, or is it just set at Christmas? No one ever tells me how it's about Christmas or the holidays, merely that it is indeed set at that time and oh wow there are a few Christmas props. What a Christmas classic!

I actually haven't seen It's a Wonderful Life, but while you might be able to pedantically describe these movies while avoiding any mentions of their largely Christmas related content, it's obvious when you watch and ask yourself if they are about Christmas or holiday spirit, that they are, and Die Hard is not.
 
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Red Crayon Aristocrat

Red Crayon Aristocrat

Member
cr0w said:
Shockingly, I'm going with A Christmas Story. I never get tired of it.
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A Christmas Story would be my pick too and I never get tired of it either even though boy howdy they've sure tried to even make me sick of it (we really don't need 24 hour marathons)

I remember when I first saw it as a kid in the 90s, back when it was a rising cult phenomenon and not quite as ubiquitous as it is today, it felt like an in-joke, the Christmas movie for people that didn't like the typical Christmas movies, that mystique has been lost now, but it doesn't change the fact of how great a movie it is.

It strikes a perfect balance of not being too syrupy but also not being too cynical, of subverting the whole idea of Christmas in the first place while also being a genuine celebration of it.

And for me personally, one thing I love about the movie is I have a strange affinity for early 80s period piece movies, the grit and down to Earth vibe of early 80s movies in general was a perfect match for movies with historical settings that made it feel like you were seeing the actual past being depicted and not a Hollywood facsimile of it.
 
Nymphae

Nymphae

Banned
John Lee Packard said:
It strikes a perfect balance of not being too syrupy but also not being too cynical, of subverting the whole idea of Christmas in the first place while also being a genuine celebration of it.
Click to expand...

Well said! I really enjoy the voice of the narrator, and the casting was really great.
 
ThatStupidLion

ThatStupidLion

Member
latest


the goat.


personal runner up:
Emmet Otters Jugband Christmas



SO many good ones though:
A Garfield Christmas Special
Gremlins
Polar Express
Rudolph
Elf
Home Alones
Christmas Vacation
Jim Carreys Christmas Carol
The Holiday & the family stone (my wifes faves)


I really wish there were some great Krampus movies though. too much santa out there.
 
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AV

AV

We ain't outta here in ten minutes, we won't need no rocket to fly through space
Gremlins. It gets better every time.
 
Space Runaway

Space Runaway

Member
I don't have that one specific favorite movie though I enjoy the majority of stuff listed here.

Now if you counted Christmas specials, then it would easily be Pee-Wee's Christmas Special. I must absolutely watch that every year.
 
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