Here are Chris' Picks!
The Year Without a Santa Claus
No tag line
No Christmas is complete without the TV specials we grew up watching as children. Among them, Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer, Frosty the Snowman, A Charlie Brown Christmas, and Santa Claus is Coming to Town. All are staples of a youth that part of me will never let go. My favorite of those TV specials, however, is the The Year Without a Santa Claus. Featuring some of the most memorable supporting characters, Heat Miser and Cold Miser, their very own "Mother" Nature, and tow of Santa's helpers, Jingle and Jangle Bells. Is the Christmas spirit alive in our world? That is the question and the characters mission is to find it so Santa can continue his mission of joy for all the world. Try not falling in love with this one!
Jim's Comment: Worth it just for the Snow Miser/Heat Miser alone. A classic.
A Christmas Story
"Sometimes Christmas is about getting what you really want."
What can be said of a movie that boasts such a following that it is aired for 24 hours a day in some media markets? This is no mistake. Pure dysfunction never appeared so palatable on the big or small screen as this! From the neighborhood dogs rampaging through the kitchen to steal Christmas dinner, Flick's infamous tongue scene, the Red Ryder B.B. Gun, and so many more classic scenes that make this one a must-see film this holiday season!
Jim's Comment: See last blog entry
Gremlins
"Cute. Clever. Mischievous. Intelligent. Dangerous."
Joe Dante created a masterpiece with 1984's holiday horror. Zach Galligan, Phoebe Cates, Dick Miller, and Corey Feldman all part of a great cast. A boy brings home a neat and cute little creature of unknown origin and makes some very unfortunate pet care errors (ah, those kids....responsibility not their strong suit!). The result is an army of terrible little demons whose path of destruction and mayhem leave a town changed forever. Dick Miller is particularly great as the grizzled veteran who has a history with the little monsters. The bar and movie scenes are awesome and under the direction of Joe Dante (who gave us diverse projects such as The Howling and Small Soldiers), you have a decidedly more sinister Christmas movie that stands the test of time!
Jim's Comment:
Gremlins 2: The New Batch is even better. Two of the wittiest movies ever made. Favorite scenes: the pool smoking and roiling after Stripe dives into it and the whole scene at the movie theater. Christmas movies don’t get much darker than the scene where Phoebe Cates explains why she hates Christmas. This scene was then expertly parodied in Gremlins 2.
Scrooge (1951)
No tag line
For me, this is the ultimate version of probably the most re-told literary Christmas tales. And there are many great ones to choose from. My compatriot Jim chose the musical Albert Finney version from 1970. Then there is the most recent digitally animated A Christmas Carol with Jim Carrey providing the voice to Ebeneezer which is arguably a modern day classic. But in the end, I have to go with the most haunting of all the versions, and the Alistair Sim version is most certainly the apex of the considerable list. The image above announces the full color enhancement version, but I think what made the film even more effective was the original black and white presentation. I recommend taking in Charles Dickens brilliant work in this original black and white form for the best experience. Alistair Sim was made for this role and he absolutely owns it.
Jim's Comment:
Widely considered the best filmic version of A Christmas Carol with the esteemed Alastair Sim as Scrooge. I tend to favor the Albert Finney musical, mainly for the color and the music, but the ’51 version is brilliantly acted, spooky and memorable. Also one of the most emotionally resonant versions, particularly at the end.
Trans-Siberian Orchestra: The Ghosts of Christmas Eve
No tag line
Christmas boasts probably the most popular and beloved music associated with any holiday. And as a fan of rock music, I was taken the very first time I ever heard a Trans-Siberian Orchestra tune. Each album tells a story, and the TV special that Paul O'Neill and company produced back in 1999 spins a yarn about a young runaway girl and her eventual reunion with her family. A tragic story that turns to joyful celebration. Performances from Michael Crawford and Jewel Kilchner among others help to bring the flawless instrumental performances to a new level of greatness. Ossie Davis narrates the story, and just one view may get you buying tickets to see their live shows year after year (just like your humble blogger).
Jim's Comment:
Basically a series of videos. I wouldn’t call myself a passionate fan of Trans-Siberian Orchestra, but I do think that their music sounds good.
The Polar Express
"Journey beyond your imagination!"
Robert Zemeckis brought us the first all digital capture film. As a one of its kind (at the time) movie with the vocal talent as well as digital visage of Tom Hanks, the movie was a pretty big hit in the box office and has now for the past half dozen years been a staple of my household's Christmas playlist. A doubting boy boards a train bound for Santa's home in search of faith and belief. The message is powerful and the presentation was entirely innovative, spawning a new era in movie animation. You won't find a much better holiday movie that will be so enjoyed by a universal audience making it a great pick for your whole family.
Jim's Comment:
Robert Zemeckis is a master of visual filmmaking. This movie is a feast for the eyes from beginning to end and I look forward to seeing it every year with my daughter. The one big reservation that I have with it is that it’s a movie populated by characters that are not live action, but not animation either. This was the first attempt at a full-length “motion capture” feature and I don’t think they had quite worked the bugs out of it yet (I think that it was more successful in Zemeckis’s version of A Christmas Carol 5 years later). Some of the characters, particularly the children, look, well, a little creepy. I think that this awkward look gives it a kind of coldness that stunts the movie emotionally. I do think that some of Tom Hanks’ wonderful personality does come through in the character of the conductor, though.
That concludes our Christmas film/special honor roll. We hope all of our readers have a joyous Christmas! When we return we will have a new book review for you all, as well as another comic pick of the week. Further, we hope to have an interview with the writer/creator of Sunnyville Stories for you sometime soon. All this and more at Great Stories!
-Chris & Jim (for the Great Stories team)
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