Welcome to the 834th Edition of my series. I hope you're all having a good holiday season so far however celebrated. I continue my holiday focus for the month which is the first time I have done this in the 16 years I have been doing this movie blog. I still try to make it very diverse like this week I have some action, fantasy, animation, romance, b-movie, among other things. I don't really have anything else going on right now so I'll just get on with my selections for the week.
Die Hard (1988): I start the week out with some holiday action which was directed by John McTiernan and based on the novel by Roderick Thorp. Bruce Willis stars as possibly his most iconic character in NYPD cop John McClane. John takes a Christmas vacation to visit his estranged wife Holly, played by Bonnie Bedelia, at her work party in Los Angeles. As the party begins and everyone is enjoying themselves, a group of terrorists lead by Hans Gruber, played by Alan Rickman, takes the place hostage. John is out doing his own thing at the time and works to save his wife and the rest of the hostages. FAMILY MATTERS alum Reginald VelJohnson co-stars as LAPD officer Sgt. Al Powell who becomes John's main contact. Paul Gleason, De'voreaux White, William Atherton, Hart Bochner, James Shigeta, Alexander Godunov, Andreas Wisniewski, Lorenzo Caccialanza, Dennis Haydon, Al Leong, and many others co-star in this action film. This may very well be the most popular holiday film there is if one sees it as a holiday film. It is a big subject of debate these days but I have come to accept, if the movie takes place throughout the holidays, it is a holiday film. This centers around a Christmas party at work which is unfortunately interrupted by terrorists. This is available to watch on imdb tv.
A Flintstones Christmas Carol (1994): Joanna Romersa directed this holiday special which obviously features the Flintstones. Out in Bedrock, they are doing a community production of Charles Dickens' A CHRISTMAS CAROL where Fred, voiced by Harry Corden, gets to play Ebenezer Scrooge. As they are getting down to the production, Fred is not doing well in leaving his role on the stage and starts to become Scrooge a bit letting the role get to his head. Fred's best friend Barney, voiced by Frank Welker, is cast to play Cratchit. Jean Vander Pyl, B.J. Ward, Russi Taylor, Don Messick, John Stephenson, Will Ryan, Brian Cummings, John Rhys-Davies, Maurice LaMarche, and many others provide their voices in this animated tv movie. This is a pretty fun variation of the classic and good to relive the Flintstones as it has been awhile.
How the Grinch Stone Christmas (2000): Ron Howard directed this adaptation of the Dr. Seuss holiday classic children's book. Jim Carrey takes the helm of the Grinch who is an outsider in the world of Whoville. He is very resentful of the citizens there and is determined to ruin Christmas for them. The Pretty Reckless frontwoman Taylor Momsen co-stars as young Cindy Lou and befriends the Grinch feeling there is good inside the tough exterior. Jeffrey Tambor, Christine Baranski, Bill Irwin, Molly Shannon, Clint Howard, Josh Ryan Evans, Mindy Sterling, Rachel Winfree, Rance Howard, Jeremy Howard, T.J. Thyne, Deep Roy, Verne Troyer, Q'orianka Kilcher, Bryce Dallas Howard, and many others co-star in this holiday comedy. Anthony Hopkins narrates the movie. Rick Baker has a cameo but he mainly focused on the make-up and did a great job. I would also recommend looking into Momsen now in her band the Pretty Reckless as mentioned. Carrey embraces the role of the Grinch making it his own and lots of good attention to detail make this a good holiday watch for the family.
A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965): This is what I call my short film for the week which is technically a tv special. Bill Melendez directed this timeless classic which was written by Charles Schulz. The holidays have the hapless Charlie Brown, voiced by Peter Robbins, all depressed over the commercialism, among other things. He gets appointed director of the school Christmas pageant where he tries to restore the proper holiday spirit with the help of Linus, voiced by Christopher Shea. Ann Altieri, Chris Doran, Sally Dryer, Karen Mendelson, Geoffrey Ornstein, Cathy Steinberg, and Tracy Stratford also provide their voices. This is a classic that still holds well with each generation. There are a lot of memorable moments like the tree Charlie chooses and Linus' Monologue. This is one of the first shows to use actual children for their voices rather than having adults imitate children.
The Unholy Three (1925): Now I bring a silent holiday selection which takes place on Christmas Eve and was directed by Tod Browning. Lon Chaney Sr., Harry Earles, and Victor McLaglen star as a trio of sideshow performers that team up to be con artists to commit a series on robberies. Mae Busch, Matt Moore, Matthew Betz, Edward Connelly, William Humphrey, E. Alyn Warren, and many others co-star in this silent film. This is nothing short of weird where we see Chaney in drag and dwarf actor Earles, most known for FREAKS, managing to pass himself off as a baby. Chaney is in rare form not having heavy prosthetic. This was remade in 1930 as a talkie which would still have Chaney and Earles while it being Chaney's only talkie. This is available to watch on Tubi.
The Shop Around the Corner (1940): Ernst Lubitch directed this holiday romantic comedy based on the play by Victor Laszlo. James Stewart and Margaret Sullavan star as Alfred Kralik and Klara Novak who both work in a gift shop and do not get along very well. They also don't know they are pen pals and write each other letters. Frank Morgan co-stars as shop owner Hugo Matuschek who is a father figure of sorts to Kralik. Joseph Schildkraut, Sara Haden, Felix Bressart, William Tracy, Inez Courtney, Edwin Maxwell, Charles Halton, Charles Smith, and many others co-star in this romantic comedy. This would many years later be remade as YOU'VE GOT MAIL. Stewart and Sullavan work well together as a two bickering employees not knowing they are in love. This also is a good look at a gift shop workplace during the holidays. This is available to watch on HBO Max.
8-Bit Christmas (2021): Michael Dowse directed this new holiday film which was written by Kevin Jakubowski which is based on his novel of the same name. Neil Patrick Harris stars as Jake Doyle in the modern day when he is telling his daughter Annie, played by Sophia Reid-Gantzert, about a time when he was 10 years of age and his efforts to get the original Nintendo when it first came out in the '80s. Winslow Fegley plays Jake as a 10 year old who is determined to get that Nintendo but has a lot of obstacles in his way. Steve Zahn, June Diane Raphael, Bellaluna Resnick, Che Tafari, Santino Barnard, Max Malas, Braelyn Rankins, Cyrus Arnold, Chandler Dean, Jacob Laval, Katia Smith, David Cross, Kathryn Greenwood, and many others co-star in this film. I saw this as a cross between A CHRISTMAS STORY and REEFER MADNESS. If you do not understand my second reference, you might just have to watch it which can make a good double feature. This is a coming of age and feel good movie that teaches us to appreciate what we have in life. This is available to watch on HBO Max.
We're No Angels (1955): Michael Curtiz directed this film based on the play by Albert Husson and takes place during the holidays. Humphrey Bogart, Peter Ustinov, and Aldo Ray star as three escaped convicts who plan to rob a local store but get hit with a little holiday spirit when they see how nice the family is that run the store. They try to help the struggling store and deal with the selfish owner Andre, played by Basil Rathbone, who is a distant relative to the family. Joan Bennett, Leo G. Carroll, John Baer, Gloria Talbott, Lea Penman, John Smith, and many others co-star in this comedy. This is a rare comedic film for Bogart and shines well as the reluctant hero. At one point, I was going to be in this show as the character Andre with a local theater group but unfortunately did not get off the ground. This is a very funny movie and a pretty good holiday that emphasizes the holidays pretty minimally for those that aren't that big of holiday movie fans.
The Star Wars Holiday Special (1978): This was a tv special that happened the year after the first STAR WARS movie which got made behind George Lucas' back. One of the main stories is Han Solo, reprised by Harrison Ford, and Chewbacca, played by Peter Mayhew, trying to get Chewy to his family for Life Day, which is their version of Christmas, but are in a battle with the empire. The next story is of Chewbacca's family which consists of his wife, son, and father where they are all worried about Chewbacca makes it home on time for Life Day. These also consist of scenes of Wookies speaking to one another without any subtitles. Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Anthony Daniels, James Earl Jones, Bea Arthur, Art Carney, Diahann Carroll, Harvey Korman, and even Jefferson Starship co-star in this tv special. We also get the introduction of Boba Fett in this movie. There are also music numbers out of Bea Arthur and Carrie Fisher. Yes, this is actually very laughable and is one George has tried to destroy every copy possible. There are a lot of bootleg copies out there that also have the commercial breaks. I found this on Youtube and found one with the Rifftrax commentary thought it did cut out the Boba Fett scene and I believe the Jefferson Starship scene but still has some very good riffing helping to be more watchable.
Inside (2007): This is my French film for the week which was co-directed and co-written by Alexandre Bustillo and Julien Maury and is likely the most gory of these holiday movies I have featured so far. This does take place during Christmas Eve. Alyssin Paradis stars as Sarah who is about to have her baby after all the tragedy she has gone through. The day before she is to give birth, she is visited by a mysterious woman, played by Beatrice Dalle, who is determined to have a child and tries to get Sarah's unborn baby. Dominique Frot, Tahar Rahim, Aymen Saidi, and many others co-star in this horror film that takes holiday horror to a new level. I messaged my friend Dennis the Librarian Menace that I was watching this and when I told him the directors, he immediately said "oh, those two". I will let know right away this is not for everyone and really isn't for me but it kept my attention the whole way though with my jaw down most of the time thinking "wtf". This is available to watch on the Criterion Channel and for those who like a lot of gore in their movies, this will not disappoint.
Well, that is it for this week but continue on for my segment "Movie Time in the Town of Pottersville" which has multiple selections. Tell me what you like and dislike and stay tuned for next week which continue the holiday edition.
MOVIE TIME IN THE TOWN OF POTTERSVILLE
Bad Santa (2003): Steph was very intent on watching this movie and thought she had the dvd but did not so I hit the library and decided on getting this and its sequel. Terry Zwigoff directed this raunchy comedy. Billy Bob Thornton stars as miserable conman Willie who along with this partner in crime Marcus, played by Tony Cox, rob a department store and take the rest of the year off. Things get complicated when a young boy named Thurman, played by Brett Kelly, is convinced Willie is the real Santa and is unable to get him out of his life. Lauren Graham, John Ritter, Bernie Mac, Lauren Tom, Ajay Naidu, Lorna Scott, Alex Borstein, Billy Gardell, Lisa Ross, Bryan Callen, Tom McGowan, Octavia Spencer, Cloris Leachman, Matt Walsh, and many others co-star in this holiday comedy. This is Ritter's last movie before his untimely death. This is the holiday movie geared more to the more cynical side. This is not for the family and is politically incorrect on many levels. This will always have its place in holiday history and is available to watch on Pluto TV.
Bad Santa 2 (2016): Things came up that night and we had to reschedule but decided to this this sequel which was directed by Mark Waters this time. Billy Bob Thornton and Tony Cox reprise their roles of Willie and Marcus as they plan to rob a Chicago fundraiser and joined by Willie's mother Sunny, played by Kathy Bates, who is even worse than her son. The tension of this trio complicate the heist. Brett Kelly reprises his role of Thurman all grown up but has not changed. Christina Hendricks, Ryan Hansen, Jenny Zigrino, Jeff Skowron, Cristina Rosato, Lombardo Boyar, and many others co-star in this holiday sequel. This is even raunchier than the first one and does have some funny moments like Bates as the overbearing mother. This is also available to watch on Pluto TV.
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever (1983): I came across this at the library on dvd and decided to check this out and Stephanie was okay watching this. George Schaefer directed this tv special based on the novel by Barbara Robinson. Loretta Swit stars as Grace who is changed with putting on and directed the annual Christmas Pageant. The Herdman siblings decide to bully their way into the show and end up as the leads as the others don't want to get beat up. Despite the complications, Grace is determined to put on the best Christmas pageant ever whatever it takes. Fairuza Balk makes her debut as Grace's daughter Beth. Antony Holland, Janet Wright, Jason Michas, Lynne Gorman, Anna Hagan, Deoborah Tennant, and many others co-star in this tv special. This is frequently put on as a play by community theaters and my mom actually once played the role of Grace. This is only about 48 minutes long and is a pretty amusing show and has a pretty good message.
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