CHRISTMAS // MOVIE CHALLENGE
Pumpkin King, is bored with his job and accidentally discovers Christmas “What’s This” Starring: Chris Sarandon, Catherine O’Hara, Glenn Shadix, Danny Elfman 15. THE SNOWMAN - 1983 This half-hour British production faithfully recreates author Raymond Briggs’ classic children’s holiday tale, in which a young boy’s snowman magically comes to life Starring: Raymond Briggs, David Bowie 14. THE PREACHER’S WIFE 1996 Solid performances and a steady directorial hand help The Preacher’s Wife offer some reliably heartwarming - albeit fairly predictable - holiday cheer. In a nutshell, The preacher doesn’t believe that Dudley is a divine being, but he’ll take any help he can get, while Julia, who thinks that Dudley is just another community volunteer, welcomes him into their home. However, Dudley is sidetracked in his earthly mission when he finds himself falling in love with Julia. Leading lady, Houston takes the opportunity to sing several gospel numbers along the way. Starring: Denzel Washington, Whitney Houston, Courtney B. Vance, Gregory Hines 13. HOME ALONE - 1990 This is the highly successful and beloved family comedy about a young boy named Kevin who as the title suggests was left home alone on Christmas while his parents and family are off on holiday. Throw into the mix some not to bright robbers in a house filled with boobie traps and you have a side busted festive comedy on your hands. Starring: Macaulay Culkin, Joe Pesci, Daniel Stern, Catherine O’Hara 12. A CHRISTMAS TALE - 1983 Both warmly nostalgic and darkly
humorous, A Christmas Story deserves its status as a holiday perennial. In the 1940’s, in the town of Hammond, 9-year-old Ralphie wants one thing for Christmas -- an official Red Ryder BB rifle. When he asks his mother for the BB gun for Christmas, she says, “No, you’ll shoot your eye out”. Starring: Peter Billingsley, Darren McGavin, Melinda Dillon, Ian Petrella 11. LOVE ACTUALLY - 2003 A sugary tale overstuffed with too many stories. Still, the cast charms. All of London is in love -- or longing to be -- in Four Weddings and a Funeral writer Richard Curtis’ first directorial effort. Billed as “the ultimate romantic comedy,” Love Actually involves more than a dozen main characters, each weaving his or her way into another’s heart over the course of one particularly eventful Christmas. Starring: Bill Nighy, Hugh Grant, Liam Neeson, Emma Thompson 10. THE APARTMENT - 1960 Director Billy Wilder’s customary cynicism is leavened hereby tender humor, romance, and genuine pathos. Widely regarded as a comedy, The Apartment seems more melancholy with each passing year Starring: Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine, Fred MacMurray, Ray Walston 9. KRAMPUS - 2015 This is gory good fun for fans of non-traditional holiday horror with a fondness for Joe Dante’s B- movie classics, even if it doesn’t have quite the savage bite its concept calls for. When his dysfunctional family clashes over the holidays, young Max is disillusioned and turns his back on Christmas. Little does he know, this lack of festive spirit has unleashed the wrath of Krampus: a demonic force of ancient evil intent on punishing
non-believers. Starring: Adam Scott, Toni Collette, David Koechner, Allison Tolman 8. SCROOGED - 1988 A darkly comic and surreal contemporization of Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol, this effects-heavy Bill Murray holiday vehicle from 1988 sees the former SNL funnyman assuming the role of television executive Frank Cross, the meanest and most depraved man on earth. Cross will stoop to unheard of levels to increase his network’s ratings. Starring: Bill Murray, Karen Allen, John Forsythe, John Glover 7. THE HOLIDAY - 2006 Everybody needs a bit of schmaltz in their life from time to time and The Holiday has it in bucketloads. The story follows two women who swap homes for the holidays, leaving their lives behind and falling in love along the way Starring Kate Winslet, Cameron Diaz, Jude Law and Jack Black 6. THE MUPHETS CHRISTMAS CAROL - 1992 It may not be the finest version of Charles Dickens’ tale to grace the screen, but The Muppet Christmas Carol is funny and heartwarming, and serves as a good introduction to the story for young viewers. Synopsis: Brian Henson, the son of Muppet founder Jim Henson, took over directing duties after the untimely death of his father... [More] Starring: Michael Caine, Steve Whitmire, Frank Oz, Dave Goelz 5. THE SANTA CLAUSE - 1994 This is utterly undemanding, but it’s firmly rooted in the sort of good old-fashioned holiday spirit missing from too many modern yuletide films. Synopsis: Television sitcom star Tim Allen made his big screen debut with this light, familyfriendly holiday comedy. Allen
stars as Scott the guy who made Santa Clause fall from his roof and was obliged to take on the role of the main name. The comedy starts when he physically and mental starts to transform into what we know as Santa Clause Starring: Tim Allen, Judge Reinhold, Wendy Crewson, Eric Lloyd 4. MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET - 1947 Irrefutable proof that gentle sentimentalism can be the chief ingredient in a wonderful film, Miracle on 34th Street delivers a warm holiday message without resorting to treacle. Starring: Edmund Gwenn, John Payne, Maureen O’Hara, Natalie Wood 3. IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE 1947 The holiday classic to define all holiday classics, It’s a Wonderful Life is one of a handful of films worth an annual viewing. Starring: James Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore, Thomas Mitchell 2. BAD SANTA - 2004 This story centres around a thieving department store Santa who injects some nasy deviancy into the Yuletide season in this uproarious black comedy Starring: Billy Bob Thornton 1. FROZEN - 2013 A tale of true love between two sisters. When the newly crowned Queen Elsa uses her power accidently to turn things into ice to curse her home in infinite winter her sister Anna teams up with a mountain man, his playful reindeer and a snowman to change the weather back Starring: Idina Menzel, Kristen Bell, Josh Gad
SEVENTY FIVE // GNIMAG.COM