PASS THE POPCORN
Pete also casts his eye over the movie landscape, from new releases to classics of the silver screen
Tis the season to be oh-so-jolly, and what better way to herald in all the cheer y festivities of this time of year than switching of f the lights in the house (except those twinkly ones on the tree) and settling the whole family down in front of a classic Christmas movie? Here are five top picks that are guaranteed to jingle your bells!
1. Die Hard (1988)
At first glance, an ’80s action romp starring Bruce Willis as a vested, machine gun-toting cop single-handedly battling German terrorists in the Nakatomi Plaza may not seem like a traditional festive favourite. But the setting of Christmas time just adds sparkle to this gleaming rollercoaster of a movie with Willis on top form as wisecracking John McClane, and Alan Rickman matching him ever y step of the way as the memorably villainous Hans Gruber. No amount of Die Hard sequels and imitators over the years can dilute the power of the original. Bullets fly, bad guys die, one-liners flow and, in the end, the hero gets the girl – yippee-ki-yay!
2. The Shop Around The Corner (1940)
For something a little gentler, you can’t go wrong with this romantic comedy from the Golden Age of Hollywood. Jimmy Stewar t and Margaret Sullavan work together in a depar tment store – they don’t get along in the shop, but little do they know they are falling in love with each other as anonymous pen pals. Their romance plays out delicately and wittily over the Christmas holiday period. If you think the premise sounds familiar, you have probably seen the Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan vehicle You’ve Got Mail which is based on the same script – but make sure you catch this superior original.
3. Home Alone (1990)
When bratty eight-year-old Kevin (Macaulay Culkin) is forgotten by his family as they head of f on a Christmas holiday, he’s forced to battle a pair of dimwitted thieves (Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern) all by himself. This endlessly watchable kids’ comedy mines the enduring ar t of slapstick as the robbers find themselves at the mercy of Kevin’s devilish traps – including a famous flying iron! It’s not the most sophisticated film on this list, but it sure is the funniest.
4. A Christmas Carol (1951)
Charles Dickens’ revered novel following miserly Ebeneezer Scrooge as he faces up to his own past and future has been adapted countless times for the big screen, but my favourite version is this one from 1951 starring Alastair Sim. It captures the gloomy nature of Dickensian London per fectly while Sim is the ideal Scrooge – nasty, petty, pathetic but with scope for salvation.
5. Elf (2003)
Another comedy to finish of f the list – Will Ferrell’s finest hour is as Buddy, the orphan raised by Santa in the Nor th Pole who heads to New York to find his biological father. It’s a sweet, silly film about family and belonging… and isn’t that what Christmas is all about?