In case you haven't noticed, Christmas is coming up pretty darn soon. To help us celebrate the occasion, Nostra of My FilmViews brought back one of my favorite group blogging activities, the relay. Of course, this one is all about Christmas movies. We're not just talking any ol' Christmas movies, but the ten best Christmas movies of all time. The way a relay works is what makes it fun. Nostra isn't just asking me to list what I think are the ten best Christmas movies. Instead, I've got to make a change to a preexisting list. I'm rambling. Let me let him explain it.
The rules are, just like the past relay races (which I did ages ago), very simple: The list has 10 Christmas movies (in random order) and when the baton is handed over to a new blogger, he or she has to remove one title of the list (with an explanation why) and add one new title. Once that is done a new blogger is contacted who will take the baton and run with it, doing the same (you can reinstate a title which has been previously removed). As Christmas is in three weeks I want to ask you to publish your entry as quickly as possible to make sure the list changes as much as possible before the 25th of December. Add the logo of this relay race to your post and also add links to those who came before you making it easy for everyone to find all the entries.
You can the view the original list here. As it was supposed to the list has undergone some changes since then. The person who tagged me is none other than bestest blogging buddy m. brown from
Two Dollar Cinema. If you're not reading his blog, you're wrong. Period.
Anyhoo, here's the list as I inherited it from him:
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| Home Alone |
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| Elf |
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| Joyeux Noel |
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| Die Hard |
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| A Christmas Story |
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| Gremlins |
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| It's a Wonderful Life |
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| Miracle on 34th Street |
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| Muppet Christmas Carol |
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| The Nightmare Before Christmas |
So now, I have to kick one of these ornaments off the Christmas tree. But first, a quick confession. When I got the tag from m. brown, I played possum. I moaned and groaned about what I was going to do. That was fake. Truth is, there was never a doubt. One of these movies was easy to remove...
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| Joyeux Noel = Out |
It's not that I hate this movie. I've just never seen it and know nothing about it except that it has a fancy French name. Besides, look at those guys. They look like they're running low on holiday spirit. Sorry, they can't be invited to my Christmas party. I'm inviting someone a little more fun. Well, I'm asking him back in. He was here, but got himself kicked out. I think he was just a little too drunk. And rumor has it he was...um...fornicating in the restroom. But hey, it's not a party without drunkenness and fornication, right? Anyhoo, he promises he'll behave this time.
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| Bad Santa = In |
Now, it's someone else's turn. That someone is a blogger who absolutely owned
Girl Week 2017 and really does churn out a movie review every single day - Sonia at
A Film a Day. It's all hers.
I haven't seen all of Joyeux Noel either as it's a shame that it has to go but you Bad Santa is a film you can't go wrong with.
ReplyDeleteCan't go wrong at all.
DeleteJoyeux Noel is really good, you should give it a try! I'm glad to see Bad Santa back though.
ReplyDeleteI may, but Bad Santa is a movie I love.
DeleteLove the addition.
ReplyDeleteFor the record, I'd have removed the same movie for the same reason, although my addition would probably be Tokyo Godfathers.
Not familiar at all with that one and certainly wouldn't have pegged it for a Christmas movie. Might have to check that out.
DeleteTokyo Godfathers is great, you should give it a try!
DeleteI'm now on the lookout for it.
DeleteI haven't seen it either but nice to see another funny film in there.
ReplyDeleteCan never have enough humor this time of year.
DeleteThanks for the pass! It makes me sad to see Joyeux Noel go but at least you replaced it with a great movie.
ReplyDeleteIndeed, I did.
DeleteI'm a fan of Joyeux Noel so it's it's a shame it had to go but Bad Santa is a real pleasure. Good to see it back.
ReplyDeleteI will be checking out Joyeux Noel. I've heard a lot of good things about it since this post went live.
DeleteA fun exercise and some good films though only one would make my list of 10 best.
ReplyDeleteThis is probably sacrilege to say but It’s a Wonderful Life wouldn’t make my list. I think it’s a fetching film with a perfect cast doing beautiful work, I’m particularly fond of Gloria Grahame’s saucy Violet Bix, but I think I just overdosed on it as a kid when it WAS the Christmas programming. I haven’t seen it in years and don’t think that will change anytime soon.
I absolutely love Die Hard and I realize that its setting is Christmas and that factors into the plot but when I think of it I never think holiday movie I think awesome action movie with great performances and one of the best villains ever.
Joyeux Noel is a beautiful film but I’d never list it among my faves.
Miracle on 34th Street without Edmund Gwenn and Natalie Wood? Not to mention Maureen O’Hara & John Payne….Just no, no, NO!! This remake as almost all remakes of things that were near perfect to begin with is a flat-footed misfire.
The Muppet Christmas Carol as with all things Muppet is a charmer.
I really have to break down and watch Elf-I LOVED the stage show but my distaste for Will Ferrell has kept me away from the film.
Gremlins & Home Alone are two I liked when I watched them but once was enough.
The Nightmare Before Christmas-eh.
And sorry I hated Bad Santa.
For the record this would be my list pretty much in this order:
White Christmas
Christmas in Connecticut
A Christmas Carol-I like all versions but the 1984 George C. Scott TV rendition is the gold standard and the one that goes here.
The Shop Around the Corner
We’re No Angels
A Christmas Story
A Charlie Brown Christmas
Miracle on 34th Street (1947)
The Lemon Drop Kid
Remember the Night
Too bad you feel that way about Bad Santa, but obviously, I'm a big fan. Of the circulating list as I have it here, a few, but not all, would make my personal list. I may try to do one before the end of the year, but that's not set in stone. I've only seen a few from your list, but I do like them. I wholeheartedly agree the '84 version of A Christmas Carol with George C. Scott is gold standard for that story.
DeleteIf you ever think about jumping off a bridge, you might reconsider "It's a Wonderful Life."
DeleteBad Santa is a great pick, I discovered it last December and it's definitely a special Christmas movie. I hadn’t seen anything like it before. Especially memorable to me are the scenes when Bernie Mac repeats ”half” and the staring guy at the bar. The story felt sort of like a reworking of Home Alone, in which the kid befriends a crook. I'm usually not a fan of offensive comedy, but the comedic situations worked for me here. Also, I need to check out SJHoneywell's choice Tokyo Godfathers
ReplyDeleteYay, more love for Bad Santa! Bernie Mac's work here is very underrated. Interesting point about Home Alone. I never thought of it that way. And I, too, need to see Tokyo Godfathers.
DeleteWay, way late to this holiday party, but I'm determined to catch up. Before New Year's.
ReplyDeleteSolid pick, Dell...but I attempted to watch the second Bad Santa and I thought about instead drowning myself in spoiled eggnogg instead. My point, if there is one? I haven't seen the first one since I saw it in the theaters...I just hope upon a revisit, it would hold up. Because it's bordering on guilty by association because of the sequel.
Merry Late Christmas! Long live holiday break.
Bad Santa is still awesome, lol.
Delete