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发帖数: 8732 | 1 http://www.cineplex.com/News/Top-10-holiday-movies.aspx
10. Love, Actually (2005)
With a cast bursting with stars - Colin Firth, Keira Knightley, Hugh Grant,
Emma Thompson, Liam Neeson, and Alan Rickman to name just a few - and an
unflaggingly optimistic screenplay courtesy of director Richard Curtis, this
is a holiday-cocktail-of-a-film filled to the brim with proof that love
actually IS all around. Weaving together a considerable number of plots and
storylines, the best of which is the marvelous Bill Nighy as an aged rock
star staging a comeback on Christmas Eve, what emerges is a heart-warming
and (mostly) joyful take on finding love, in all its forms, during the most
wonderful time of the year.
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9. Die Hard (1988)
The big screen blockbuster that redefined the action flick and brought a
brand new hero (Bruce Willis' NYC cop John McClane) to the masses just
happens to take place on Christmas Eve and consequently has become an annual
must-see holiday movie. On first glance that might seem odd but if you take
a look in between the shoot-outs, explosions and witty one-liners, holiday
themes are ever present. From big bad Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman) humming
familiar Christmas carols to an office Christmas party to our hero scrawling
"Now I have a machine gun, ho-ho-ho" on the chest of one of the henchmen he
takes out, it's enough to warm the very cockles of any movie fan's heart.
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8. Scrooged (1988)
1988 was a big year for slightly off-kilter holiday fare. First there was
the aforementioned Die Hard, then came Scrooged, Richard Donner's modern
take on Charles Dicken's A Christmas Carol. The film follows a self-centered
, cynical television network exec (Bill Murray) during the holidays as he's
tasked with staging a live broadcast of the classic Dickens holiday tale.
Pretty soon life begins to imitate art and well, you can guess the rest.
This one's a must-see for the more jaded holiday revellers among us.
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7. Miracle on 34th Street (1947)
This silver-screen holiday classic tells the tale of an old man (Edmund
Gwenn, in an Oscar-winning performance) who believes himself to be Santa
Claus (or Kris Kringle, as he prefers). Hired on by Macy's to be their
flagship store's in-house Santa, the story takes a dark turn when the
optimistic Kringle is declared insane and committed to Bellevue. Kringle
eventually stands trial, defended by a lawyer (John Payne) who argues that
Kringle is actually the real deal. If this sentimental fantasy, with its
stellar cast (including a young Natalie Wood as a precocious and jaded young
girl who befriends Kringle and Maureen O'Hara as her equally jaded mother)
and Oscar-nominated screenplay, doesn't make you a believer then nothing
will.
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6. Elf (2003)
Infectious from the get-go, this 2003 Jon Favreau-directed heart-warming and
sincere comedy is an excellent take on the holidays for a new generation.
The film follows Buddy (Will Ferrell), a cock-eyed optimist of a young man
raised by elves who sets out from the North Pole to search out his father (
James Caan) in New York City. Eminently quotable ("You sit on a throne of
lies!", "Santa! I know him!") and featuring some of Ferrell's very best on-
camera work, Elf manages to straddle a difficult line and is just as
entertaining for children as it is for adults. And no mention of the film
would be complete without a shout-out to the superb supporting cast that
includes Bob Newhart, Ed Asner, Mary Steenburgen, Peter Dinklage and Zooey
Deschanel.
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5. A Christmas Story (1983)
No holiday movie list would be complete without the story of Ralphie. The
nostalgia-clouded, Bob Clark-directed look at Christmases past has become
such an enduring classic that many make it a seasonal viewing staple.
Following one family (so dysfunctional they could be your very own) through
the Christmas season, it is a wickedly funny look at the lengths we all go
to celebrate the holidays with loved ones. Featuring fantastic performances
from Peter Billingsley and Darren McGavin as well as some of the most
memorable holiday moments caught on film, A Christmas Story will never get
old.
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4. White Christmas (1954)
Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney and Vera-Ellen star in this
fantastically colourful '50s musical about a successful song-and-dance team
who become romantically involved with a sister act and team up to save the
failing Vermont inn of
their former commanding general. Stocking-stuffed with catchy Irving Berlin
hits, witty one-liners, and enough chemistry between the leads to make any
casting director sit up and take notice, the film went on to be the biggest
movie of 1954. Since then it's become a top pick on most holiday movie lists
and has even inspired a successful stage musical of the same name. If White
Christmas brings a smile to your face, be sure to check out Crosby's
earlier holiday classic Holiday Inn, the film that actually spawned the
famous song (and the hotel chain!)
See White Christmas in theatres on December 7 and 11 as part of our Classic
Films Series!
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3. National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989)
The pinnacle of the National Lampoon franchise, Christmas Vacation follows
the familiar Griswold family (previously seen in Vacation and European
Vacation) through their holiday season. Like A Christmas Story before it,
this comedy features a litany of hilarious that's-just-like-my-family
comedic moments, and contains some classic and heavily quotable sequences (
with Chevy Chase's Clark or Randy Quaid's Cousin Eddie) courtesy of scribe
John Hughes. And more than most, this stellar comedy stands up to repeated
viewings, a must for any holiday classic.
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2. It's A Wonderful Life (1946)
It's hard to believe that director Frank Capra's wonderful holiday film was
actually a box-office flop at the time of its release back in 1946. It
seemed post-war audiences weren't ready for the dark tale of loss and
redemption and so stayed away in droves. Now it's hard to imagine the
holiday season passing us by without at least one cinematic trip to Bedford
Falls, New York. It's a Wonderful Life tells the story of George Bailey (
Jimmy Stewart, in one of his very best performances), who's so distraught on
Christmas Eve after losing his business that he contemplates suicide.
Bailey is stopped by an adorably earnest angel named Clarence (Henry Travers
), who presents him with a vision of what his world would have been like if
he'd never existed. Wonderfully directed by Capra, with superb supporting
performances from a stellar cast, It's a Wonderful Life deserves its status
as one of the very best holiday classics. Remember that no man is a failure
who has friends.
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1. Scrooge (A Christmas Carol) (1951)
Dickens' classic Christmas tale has been adapted for the big screen many
times and in many different ways (even in Muppet form!) but the 1951 British
classic is often considered to be the definitive version. We couldn't agree
more as it also happens to be our very favorite holiday film. The casting
of each character is nothing short of brilliant but never more so than with
Ebenezer Scrooge. Never has the disagreeable Scrooge been more fun to watch
on his reluctant journey towards redemption than as played here by Alastair
Sim. From malcontented miser to reformed hero, his performance is
completely captivating from beginning to end. Side note: If you're thinking
of adding this one to your holiday repertoire, stick to the black and white
version as the colourized edition makes the angels cry. |
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