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Holiday Movies for 2012 - Theme-based thread

post #1 of 54
11/24/12 at 12:22pm
Thread Starter 
Now that Halloween is behind us (as well as Thanksgiving, although briefly), what are some of your favorite movies to watch during this time of year? Be it funny, strange, romantic, or obscure, list some of the ones you intend on watching or have seen in the past that really stand out. Movies should be themed (or intertwined) for either Thanksgiving, Christmas, or New Year's. smile.gif

Looking forward to seeing what others like as well.

Cheers! biggrin.gif

Here's some of mine:

Thanksgiving:
Planes, Trains, & Automobiles (1987) Steve Martin & John Candy
Home for the Holidays (1995) Holly Hunter, Robert Downey Jr., Anne Bankroft
Dutch (1991) Ed O'Neill, Ethan Embry
Son in Law (1993) Pauly Shore, Carla Gugino

Christmas:
Scrooged - (1988) Bill Murray, Karen Allen
Jingle all the way (1996) Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sinbad and Phil Hartman
It's a Wonderful Life (1946) James Stewart, Donna Reed
How the Grinch Stole Christmas - (2000) Jim Carrey
You've Got Mail (1998) Tom Hanks, Meg Ryan and Greg Kinnear

New Year's:
Sleepless in Seattle (1993) Tom Hanks, Meg Ryan
When Harry met Sally (1989) Billy Crystal, Meg Ryan
Serendipity (2001) John Cusack, Kate Beckinsale and Jeremy Piven
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post #2 of 54
11/27/12 at 7:35am
Christmas:

Rare Exports
Gremlins
Die Hard
Prometheus
Elf
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post #3 of 54
11/27/12 at 7:59am
Christmas:

Lethal Weapon (1987)

Nothing says Christmas more than colored lights and a girl jumping off a balcony.



A holiday favorite.
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post #4 of 54
11/27/12 at 8:38am
Looks like the black levels are getting crushed in that pic smile.gif
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post #5 of 54
11/28/12 at 1:50am
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0373469/
Rare Exports
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1401143/
Go
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0139239/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
Love Actually
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0314331/
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post #6 of 54
11/28/12 at 6:40am
What would Christmas be without a little holiday raunch?

Bad Santa (2003)

Billy Bob Thornton (nominated for a Golden Globe)

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post #7 of 54
11/28/12 at 10:37am
My wife INSISTS we watch White Christmas.

On the plus side, the first time we watched it in full wide screen projected on the living room wall (with the projector I use for outdoor movies), she was hooked on the idea of the basement theater. This year, we'll actually be able to watch it in the basement theater.
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post #8 of 54
11/28/12 at 10:44am
Without a doubt I will be forcing the wife to watch Bad Santa, Rare Exports, and The Passion of the Christ.....it's just the way I roll....
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post #9 of 54
11/28/12 at 11:02am
We watch Christmas Vacation just about every other year or so. Even the kids like it.
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post #10 of 54
11/28/12 at 12:08pm
29th Street (1991)

Based on the life of Frank Pesce (Danny Aiello), an actor who won $6 million in the first New York State Lottery in 1976, this comedy focuses on the tight-knit Italian-American neighborhood in Brooklyn where Pesce grew up. It's also the story of how those gigantic winnings ended up becoming a curse of sorts (a case of "be careful what you wish for"). Lainie Kazan and Anthony LaPaglia co-star.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0101252/


I hadn't even heard of this movie until a few years ago. Not very popular but I think it's a nice film to watch around the holidays. Cheese alert: makes my heart feel all warm. Miss you Ed!
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post #11 of 54
11/28/12 at 1:29pm
We have been guilty of watching 24 hours of A Christmas Story. My wife seems unaffected but by hour 10 things start getting Kubrickian. The Neighbors start getting pissed I'm riding the big wheel around the neighborhood and telling them to "Meet me in the hedge maze!"
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post #12 of 54
11/29/12 at 6:54am
Thanks guys for the Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale (2010) suggestion. I'd never heard of it before but found that it is streaming on Netflix and we watched it last night. My wife and I found it entertaining enough (especially after reading Roger Ebert's review) fantasy to revisit sometime.
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post #13 of 54
11/29/12 at 7:11am
Christmas:

The Family Man (2000)

A family favorite (suggested by my wife) and we watch it every year around this time. On the surface it seems like a reworking of It's a Wonderful Life but yet different enough to stand on its own. One of Nicholas Cage's better movies.

It was released last year on Blu-ray but it's also streaming in HD on Amazon and VUDU.

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post #14 of 54
11/29/12 at 7:54am
Christmas Vacation takes the cake for my favorite and we watch it at least a couple times every December. Other favorites are:
Die Hard 1 & 2
Lethal Weapon
Elf
Love Actually
Planes, Trains, and Automobiles
Gremlins
White Christmas
Just Friends
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post #15 of 54
11/29/12 at 11:26am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr.G View Post

Thanks guys for the Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale (2010) suggestion. I'd never heard of it before but found that it is streaming on Netflix and we watched it last night. My wife and I found it entertaining enough (especially after reading Roger Ebert's review) fantasy to revisit sometime.

I may revisit that tonight. It pairs very nicely with Trollhunter.
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post #16 of 54
12/1/12 at 4:53pm
Christmas with the Kranks (2004)

A flawed predictable movie, unbelievable as only Chris Columbus (screenwriter) can imagine - but it has its moments.

Based on the John Grisham book.

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post #17 of 54
12/3/12 at 7:56am
OK, we had our obligatory showing of White Christmas this past weekend. We've never watched it projected this big before and I've never noticed this before and if it's what I think it is, it's worthy of Mr. Skin.
Warning: Spoiler! (Click to show)
In the Minstrel number scene, check out the chorus girl in the front row, second from the right as you're looking at the screen, sitting on the first riser on the stage towards the end of the number and tell me if she forgot part of her costume! I went back and stepped through it to be sure. The girl next to her, on the far right, MIGHT have the same issue, but I think that's a shadow.
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post #18 of 54
12/3/12 at 8:31am
Quote:
Originally Posted by General Kenobi View Post

Just Friends

Just Friends is hilarious. Love it! Dusty Dinkleman FTW!
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post #19 of 54
12/3/12 at 10:56am
Quote:
Originally Posted by wizzack View Post

Just Friends is hilarious. Love it! Dusty Dinkleman FTW!
LOL! "He's Jersey and ski's in his jeans" ha
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post #20 of 54
12/4/12 at 8:07am
Here one for Bill -

We're No Angels (1955)

Humphrey Bogart, Aldo Ray and Peter Ustinov.
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post #21 of 54
12/4/12 at 9:36am
Guess I'm just lost in the past.....wink.gif

Christmas In Connecticut
Holiday Inn
The Shop Around the Corner (the original You've Got Mail)
Miracle on 34th Street
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post #22 of 54
12/4/12 at 12:37pm
Gaspar Noe's Family Christmas.
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post #23 of 54
12/5/12 at 8:29am
Quote:
Originally Posted by tlogan6797 View Post

OK, we had our obligatory showing of White Christmas this past weekend. We've never watched it projected this big before and I've never noticed this before and if it's what I think it is, it's worthy of Mr. Skin. Warning: Spoiler! (Click to show)
In the Minstrel number scene, check out the chorus girl in the front row, second from the right as you're looking at the screen, sitting on the first riser on the stage towards the end of the number and tell me if she forgot part of her costume! I went back and stepped through it to be sure. The girl next to her, on the far right, MIGHT have the same issue, but I think that's a shadow.

Ummm...no, I don't think so.
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post #24 of 54
12/5/12 at 8:33am
It seems odd that Jim Carrey is on a roll with Christmas theme movies - first the Grinch and then -

A Christmas Carol (2009)

I was pleasantly surprised when I finally got around to watching this, I thought it was nicely done.
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post #25 of 54
12/6/12 at 7:22am
They don't get any more Christmas-sier (Santa Claus that is) than:

Arthur Christmas (2011)

Voiced by James McAvoy, Jim Broadbent and Bill Nighy.

My wife got me to watch this, it's very family friendly. I had dismissed this movie last year when it came out as just another animation but it's actually quite entertaining. An update of the Santa legend. There is also a 3D version.
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post #26 of 54
12/6/12 at 11:29am
I enjoy watching the Alexander Salkind Presents: Santa Claus The Movie.
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post #27 of 54
12/7/12 at 8:48am
"A motion picture destined to offend nearly two thirds of the civilized world. And severely annoy the other third" - tagline.

Life of Brian (1979)

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post #28 of 54
12/8/12 at 10:30am
"Christmas is a time to remember those less fortunate than yourself."

Trading Places (1983)

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post #29 of 54
12/9/12 at 1:12pm
This belongs more in the 31 days of horror thread and I'll mention it there too but Syfy had a rare fairly good Saturday film last night. "The 12 Disasters of Christmas" which is a decent Canadian production with Ed Quinn ("Eureka"). It's a mix of Mayan prophecy with a nativity references thrown in (check out the names of the characters).
http://www.syfy.com/movies/12_disasters_of_christmas

Plays again on the 20th and 21st.
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post #30 of 54
12/10/12 at 8:12am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Brian Conrad View Post

This belongs more in the 31 days of horror thread and I'll mention it there too but Syfy had a rare fairly good Saturday film last night. "The 12 Disasters of Christmas" which is a decent Canadian production with Ed Quinn ("Eureka"). It's a mix of Mayan prophecy with a nativity references thrown in (check out the names of the characters).
http://www.syfy.com/movies/12_disasters_of_christmas
Plays again on the 20th and 21st.

Is this movie tongue-in-cheek? Because I watched the trailer and I started laughing.
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