Santa Cinema: Christmas movies that make the nice list

Everyone has a favorite thing associated with the holidays.

Some people enjoy Bing Crosby and Michale Buble crooning out Christmas standards. Some people relish the though of pumpkin pie and ham. But for cinephiles, Christmas provides a unique opportunity to dust off copies of classics and relive the memories associated with familiar movies.

A good Christmas movie is like a cherished relative you only see around the holidays. You don't love them any less regardless of the time of year. With that being said, here’s a completely unscientific list of the best Christmas films of all time.

A Christmas Story (1983) Rated PG.

Although TBS’s 24 hour cycle of “A Christmas Story” can get a bit tiresome, it’s a testament to how popular this film is. Young Ralphie wants nothing more than a Red Ryder bb gun for Christmas, while the rest of the world is convinced he’ll shoot his eye out with the gun. “A Christmas Story” has just the right mix of comedy and cheer. Ralphie’s family aren’t the picture perfect Baileys of “It’s a Wonderful Life,” his father lusts after a particularly risqué lamp and his mother looks to be in a constant state of beffrazlement. But that’s why this film works. It showed that Christmas is magical, not perfect. Real Christmases involve bullies, frozen tongues and ruined dinners, not flying reindeer and court cases involving Santa.

Thirty three years after its release, this movie holds up in every department. The phrase “timeless” gets thrown around a lot with movies, but the themes of “A Christmas Story” will never go away. Kids might want iPhones instead of bb guns, and down Monsters instead of Ovaltine, but they can still relate to younger siblings, irate fathers and the general family drama of “A Christmas Story.”

Elf (2003) Rated PG

Either you think “Elf” is the funniest Christmas movie of all time or think it’s the dumbest movie in Will Ferrell’s extensive catalogue of work. Truth is, it’s probably somewhere in the middle. Will Ferrell plays Buddy, a human convinced he’s an elf that ventures from the North Pole to find his family. It’s a fish out of water tale with powerhouses like Bob Newhart, Ed Asner and James Caan providing backup to the over-the-top insanity Ferrell is known for.

Peter Dinklage of “Game of Thrones” fame also has a small (no pun intended) scene which is probably one of the funniest in an already hilarious film. “Elf” is a film that shouldn’t have worked. The concept should be saccharine enough to make adults run away, and the situations are too far removed from childhood for it to be a kids movie. Somehow it hurdles past these obstacles and turns lemons into cinematic lemonade.

Love Actually (2003) Rated R

Nearly every British actor imaginable is in this film. Allan Rickman, Emma Thompson, Liam Neeson, Andrew Lincoln, Colin Firth, Martin Freeman, Kiera Knightley and Hugh Grant (when he was actually relevant) all contribute to the story of eight couples around the holidays.

It has a longer run time than most of the list clocking in at two hours and 15 minutes, but “Love Actually” is probably the most mature and underrated film on this list as well. Unlike most romantic comedies, which rely heavy on the romance and light on the comedy, “Love Actually” is genuinely funny. It’s a wonder this formula hasn’t been repeated, or just ripped off into a more American friendly version like “Death at a Funeral.”

On a final note, this is probably something you want playing when the kids are in bed. It’s not exactly family friendly — not that it’s full of smut, but it’s the film portrays infidelity and a few other subjects that are harder to tackle than “How does Santa deliver presents to every kid in one night?”

National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989) Pg-13

Though the brand has taken a distinct downturn in recent years, National Lampoon was formerly a sure sign the movie you were about to see was comedy gold. “Christmas Vacation” is probably the last funny movie involving the shenanigans of the Griswold family.

Written by the cinematic king of 80’s John Hughes, “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” once again features Chevy Chase as Clark Griswold who has wonderous holiday plans, but sees it all go to pot. It’s another movie that’s basically the anithesis of “It’s a Wonderful Life.” Clark basically has a mental breakdown culminating with the kidnapping of his boss (it’s funnier than it sounds).

You should also take note of Randy Quaid’s performance, as he really makes the movie as the off-kilter cousin Eddie.

A Charlie Brown Christmas (1964) Rated G 25 Minutes

It’s not technically a movie, with a run time of 25 minutes, but based on the soundtrack alone, this is one of the best Christmas stories ever.

For a cartoon, it’s one of the most realistic displays of Christmas ever commited to film. A good segment of the population can identify with Charlie Brown’s lamenting about the over-commercialization of Christmas. Heck, Chuck might even be a candidate for seasonal depression disorder. Keep in mind this was released 60 years ago.

At its heart, “A Charlie Brown Christmas” is about coming together and enjoying the spirt of the season. Even if your play isn’t working, your tree is a tiny sapling that can’t hold ornaments and your family wants cash for Christmas, you can all come together and make something special.

How the Grinch stole Christmas (1966) Rated G

Another TV short, but far superior to the Jim Carey movie that only vaguely follows Seuss’ original book.

“How the Grinch Stole Christmas” features one of the last roles of the great horror actor Boris Karloff.

Scorned and mocked by the residents of Whoville, the Grinch hatches a plan to destroy their holiday and make things a tad bit less jolly. With some great songs and decent animation, he takes all there presents and predictably enough, has a massive change of heart, which one can only assume is figurative as a literal enlarging of his heart would make a decidedly more morbid ending.

The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) Rated G

There’s some debate as to whether this is a Halloween or a Christmas movie. It’s more of a chimerical holiday film.

Jack Skellington hatches a plan to kidnap Santa Claus, because as seen by previous entries on this list, Christmas involves nefarious schemes and kidnapping. Honestly, this is one of Tim Burton’s best films and in an era where everything is CGI’d to death, the models look amazing. It feels like marionettes are acting out the plot, which is good because “The Polar Express” which was touted for it’s amazing facial animation, looks weird and outdated now by comparison. Danny Elfman’s score and original songs (while not churning out any White Christmas’s or Rudolph the Rednosed Reindeers) provides an ethereal quality to a film that’s already pretty dang weird. Elfman also provided the singing voice for Jack, which is one of the rare times besides his days in the band Oingo Boingo that his vocal talents have been explored.

Emmett Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas (1977) Rated G

This is kind of a dark horse, and probably somewhat obscure, it’s a Jim Henson production but doesn’t feature any of the regular muppets. Instead it follows Emmet Otter, who forms a band to win the local talent competition. There’s even a bit of a nod to Gift of the Magi, that you’ll have to see so you won’t be spoiled.

This works in the same way that “Nightmare Before Christmas” does, the practical effects don’t come off as hokey or cheaply produced computer graphics. It clocks in at 45 minutes, but it’s a hidden gem shows just how good Henson’s production values were in a time when things were normally slapped together and rushed tomake a profit.

It’s a Wonderful Life (1946) Rated G

So, a little known rule is that you’re not actually allowed to make a list of Christmas movies without adding “It’s a Wonderful Life.”

George Bailey gives his heart and soul to his hometown and eventually has a crisis of faith. He wonders if everyone would just be better off if he’d never been born. With the help of an angel, he finds out the answer…. and the answer is no. Things would be much much worse without old George.

Honestly, the plot of “It’s a Wonderful Life” goes into some deep financial quandries that I’m pretty sure you need a business economics major the figure out.

No one watches this as a condemnation of the housing markets or big banks though. Most people just want to know what happens at the same time a bell rings. Spoiler alert. It involves angels and wings.

“It’s a Wonderful Life” is actually pretty charming, Jimmy Stewart is great and the small town of Bedford seems like a great place to live, minus the evil despot trying to run everyone out of their homes.

(Watch for part 2, where we take a look at the naughty list and see what lumps of cinematic coal appear.)

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