Thargmas Film Recommendations 2013

[TordelBack]

I love Christmas, me, but I also love distracting the kids from me and me from the kids.  Save me the trouble of thinking for myself, recommend me your favourite Christmas movies, in two categories:  kid-friendly and kid-unfriendly.  Obviously I include films that occur at Christmas in this (Die Hard, Home Alone, Gremlins etc.) in addition to ones that have Christmas as a core subject.

My ultimate Christmas movie remains Bad Santa, a film that combines the worst and best of humanity and the season in a simple film full of career-best flinch-inducing performances, topped off with a great soundtrack and a wonderfully happy ending.  But I'm not sharing that one with the kids.

In the family-friendly category it's Nightmare Before Christmas (sorry Steev) and Muppet Christmas Carol.  I also have a huge soft-spot for the original Miracle on 34th Street. 

Convince me to broaden my horizons.

[CrazyFoxMachine]

Yes, Die Hard is a stone-cold Christmas classic and I still get a big kick out of it.

The much mentioned It's a Wonderful Life (soon, unfortunately to be referred to as "the original) is absurdly festive as well - and still genuinely very heartwarming even if you can see the ending coming a mile off.

Me and the missus watch her childhood christmas VHS compilations (converted to DVD) which are, to my nineties mind the most absurdly cosy thing but a lot of it's TV based - the BBC idents from that time .. the Toys R Us adverts. Not all of it is directly festive just comforting... the Grinch Who Stole Christmas (animated), Wind in the Willows (x2), like the nineties Beatrix Potter series that was partly animated, this Peter and the Wolf live action thing with Spitting Image puppets, Ivor the Engine, the Magic Schoolbus, oddly a dinosaur documentary and something about seahorses.

That evokes Christmas in this household - my friend always watches a three-hours kids cartoon vhs with like, Trap Door and Tales of the Riverbank and stuff on it - none of it remotely festive but it's tradition - which is Christmas more than general winter symbolism I suppose.

[Daveycandlish]

RARE EXPORTS. Subtitled but very good, funny film

[Hawkmumbler]

Gremlins fit's my christmas taste every year.

[NapalmKev]

National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation.

Trading Places (the Dan Akroyd/Eddie Murphy version.

Cheers

[TordelBack]

Trading Places (the Dan Akroyd/Eddie Murphy version.

Of course, how could I forget that that's a Christmas movie!  That's now on the list.

Rare Exports sounds good too.

Anyone come across any good little kids' films?  We saw Rise of the Guardians last year, might try and dig that up, it was pretty good.

[Link Prime]

Scrooged every year for me.

I'm also a big horror fan, and the recently released (and re-released this year) Ghost Stories For a Christmas BBC box-set is an absolute gem.

[ThryllSeekyr]

In the family-friendly category it's Nightmare Before Christmas

I have a replica of the Werewolf (Not life-Sized) from the movie. A past acquisition from Ebay and the damn thing keeps falling over. Even after Blue-Tacking it to the top of the console games cabinet where I keep it.

[JamesC]

There are a few really lame and schmaltzy Xmas movies that are still really fun and somehow incredibly compelling. Look out for Single Santa Seeks Mrs Claus (with Steve Guttenberg!) and it's sequel and also The Story Lady with Jessica Lange.

I also like Yogi's First Christmas but it's rarely on these days. Same goes for Merry Christmas Charlie Brown.

National Lampoons Xmas Vacation is good too.

[Daveycandlish]

Go the full schmaltz and watch Alastair Sim as Scrooge - a wonderful performance!

[TordelBack]

Go the full schmaltz and watch Alastair Sim as Scrooge - a wonderful performance!

Every year.  It's ace.

Look out for Single Santa Seeks Mrs Claus (with Steve Guttenberg!) and it's sequel and also The Story Lady with Jessica Lange.

Where do you find these things, James!

[Hawkmumbler]

Some people hate it by i have a soft spot for the Jim Curry A Christmas Carroll. It plods along a bit, but when it packs a punch it bloody well packs a good one.

[JamesC]

Go the full schmaltz and watch Alastair Sim as Scrooge - a wonderful performance!

Every year.  It's ace.

Look out for Single Santa Seeks Mrs Claus (with Steve Guttenberg!) and it's sequel and also The Story Lady with Jessica Lange.

Where do you find these things, James!

I have a channel called Xmas24 which shows nothing but Xmas films!

[CrazyFoxMachine]

https://rateyourmusic.com/films/chart?page=1&chart_type=top&type=film&year=alltime&genre_include=1&include_child_genres=1&genres=christmas&include_child_genres_chk=1&include=both&limit=none&countries=

Or alternatively just go down this list - six a day every day and you'll have the top 100 done by Christmas.

[TordelBack]

https://rateyourmusic.com/films/chart?page=1&chart_type=top&type=film&year=alltime&genre_include=1&include_child_genres=1&genres=christmas&include_child_genres_chk=1&include=both&limit=none&countries=

Or alternatively just go down this list - six a day every day and you'll have the top 100 done by Christmas.

Cool - there's loads there I've never heard of.  Le père Noël est une ordure! sounds particularly intriguing.