Always think of hanging around the house with brothers and dad and uncles and someone eventually turns it to TNT or USA to watch Die Hard at Christmas gatherings. Always associate that movie with the holidays for some reason. Pass the Nogg and Grand Marnier will ya?

Merry Christmas, I'm heading out to where the wireless connections are few and far between (Odessa, TX).

Be of good cheer, you lot.

gregwillis

Greg,

Odessa, eh? Home of Friday Night Lights. That must be somewhat surreal watching that show. Hopefully everyone at home hasn't gone too Hollywood!

Die Hard as a top Christmas film? Hmmm...let me down some eggnog first before we take it to a vote!

Merry Christmas!

Die Hard is TOTALLY a great Christmas film! It's a feel-good story. :) That, A Christmas Story, Mixed Nuts, and White Christmas round out my MUST SEE HOLIDAY MOVIE list.

Oh yeah, and SCROOGED. Carol Kane makes me laugh. :D

aka_monty, I'm all about Scrooged too. Bill Murray can do no wrong.

Got to add Elf to the must-see list. Finally saw it last night. Movie's funny start to finish. Will Ferrell, James Caan and Bob Newhart all kick some yuletide ass.

Got a quickie review of Mixed Nuts? Somehow managed to not see it yet.

Mixed Nuts? Two words: STEVE MARTIN.
And some more words: FUNNY AS HELL. There are dead bodies, crazy folks, 6 ft tall transvestites...holiday goodness! hehe

Elf is definitely on the list--we watch that year round because my kids & I all love it.
"Smiling's my favorite!"

Craziness, corpses and trannies...SIGN ME UP!

Thought someone else would say it by now but...

It's a Wonderful Life!

It's not just a movie, it's a worldview. Whenever you're feeling lousy and cashing out on your insurance policy is the only option, you just say to yourself, "Well, imagine all the people who would suffer if I was never born."

In George Bailey's case, his brother Harry croaked and all the women in his family became OLD MAIDS. Except for his daughter Zuzu, who was never born.

Even worse, Bedford Falls went EVIL with no George. Although to be fair, as Pottersville the town had pool halls, bars, dancing girls and, well, the new-and-improved Violet Bix, who seemed to be providing a lot of fun all by her lonesome.

My mom loves It's a Wonderful Life so much she bought it on DVD, and we occasionally watch it when it's not Christmas time. It is a total classic, and I love it (in moderation.)

The holiday movie I enjoy the most, however, is...The Holiday. Jack Black shows that he can really, truly act while maintaining the funny. Kate Winslet is as wonderful as ever (although she did Titanic, didn't she? ugh!). Cameron Diaz is also marvelous in her emotional rollercoaster. The Killers scene? Too funny! And Jude Law, not only is he beautiful to look at, he's like, the ultimate vulnerably sexy man. "Hello, I am Mr. Napkin head."

Yeah, yeah, it's a chick flick, but it's a great movie at the same time.

Dr. Lenna, I'm totally with your Mom, and you (without the moderation!): I love It's a Wonderful Life. It's by far one of my favorite movies.

I totally forgot about The Holiday. Very cool movie. Your review's dead on, across the board. Although I can't really comment on Jude Law being "beautiful to look at," I can confirm that Jack Black was finally both funny and NOT annoying at the same time.

i cant help but love the Charlie Brown Christmas shows,i think they are great .

Nikki,

Yeah, we all grew up on Charlie Brown, Lucy, Linus and, my man, Snoopy.

Back in the day it seemed like the only Christmas movies on TV were the Peanuts special, It's a Wonderful Life, and Miracle on 34th Street.

And Frosty the Snowman. Can't forget Frosty. Mmmm...frosty. Sudden urge to drink beer. Frosty beer!

Okay, no-brainer: Christmas Vacation.

And then there’s the sub-genre of holiday films that aren’t really about the holiday but you’ll watch if it’s on. Oh yeah, you know where I‘m going here:

Lethal Weapon.

Planes, Trains and automobiles.

Not to derail the topic, much, but this touches on yet another sub-sub-genre: movies that guys HAVE to watch no matter what time they’re on. Top Gun, any of the Die Hard series, Hunt For Red October, Commando, True Lies. Jaws (but only the first one).

Must concur that Die Hard is the all time perfect American Christmas movie. Just enough violence to keep the kids entertained, a classic divorced American family and the dream that our entire police force is as competent as Bruce Willis which would be the complete perfect Christmas miracle.
Yippie Ki Yay

I think I might be too ADD to watch anything in black and white for any length. Sad.

PJinAustin,

Thanks for stopping by! You, gregwillis and aka_monty are totally reminding me how much I loved Die Hard. Bruce Willis kicked some major ass, plus he always had something cool to say in between punches, explosions or gunfire.

If you give It's a Wonderful Life a chance, perhaps accompanied by your drink of choice - for me, vodka tonics - I think you'd get into it. It's a movie that only gets better with repeated viewings, too. Like that other Christmas classic, Road House.