As we did for Halloween and Thanksgiving also for Christmas we offer a list of films perfect to see in this holiday season, but that are not the usual titles. I don’t want to say that Home Alone, A Christmas Carol or the Grinch are not beautiful and perfect to watch on a cold December afternoon, but sometimes it is good to change and so I propose a list of films that although they are not Christmas still celebrate it, perhaps not in a conventional way.
Die hard and Die Hard 2
If large families gathered around a table are not for you and you need more action then you could opt for the first two movies in the Die Hard movie series. In fact Jon McClain‘s Christmas seems to be anything but quiet. Although his intention is always to spend it alone with his wife Holly, the fight against crime and terrorism never stops. Shooting until midnight on December 24th is sometimes difficult, but in the company of an impeccable Bruce Willis, it might prove easier than expected.
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Lethal Weapon
If this were a classification, this film would probably be on the same level as Die Hard. I’m talking about Lethal Weapon, which if you’ve seen it you know that the plot takes place exactly in the pre-Christmas time. In addition to being one of the best action films, it contains important values and messages, starting with the birth of the friendship between Martin Riggs and Roger Murtaugh (Mel Gibson and Danny Glover). The screenwriter, Shane Black, particularly likes to set his films in the holiday season, par excellence time when you sum up, reflects on the past year and you can make important decisions and make changes, in fact, the next film is also signed by him.
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Iron Man 3
Even the most paid superhero in the universe (Robert Downey Jr. managed to take home $50 million for this film) can’t escape Christmas, but it doesn’t have to be celebrated in a conventional way. The location is a shipyard, alongside his friends as always as Rudy and the magnificent Jarvis, of course you can not miss Pepper Pots and just fifty armor ready to self-destruct. If you want a big Christmas call Tony Stark, he will not disappoint.
“It’s Christmas. Take ’em to church.”
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Rocky IV
The most beloved boxer on the big screen doesn’t even stop at Christmas, on the contrary, he decides to avenge the death of his friend Apollo Creed by challenging the Russian Ivan Drago in an unofficial meeting that will take place in Moscow on December 25th. In a very specific historical period, the United States and Russia get into the ring and the Christmas frame is superimposed on that of the Cold War.
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Godfather
When it comes to celebrating the Corleone family seem to have no budget, but sometimes their intentions do not go as planned, because if the family leader is shot no matter what Christmas is, you have to do everything to protect yourself and especially to remind the enemy who is in charge. If you don’t know what movie to watch during the holidays don Vito, Michael and the other Corleone members will know how to keep you company.
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Edward Scissorhands
In addition to the first mentioned Shane Black, another well-known director also likes to combine his stories with the Christmas atmosphere, Tim Burton. Unlike Shane’s films, in those of the eccentric American director, Christmas is an occasion to reflect on man’s loneliness and has a touch of nostalgia and melancholy, as in Edward’s Scissorhands. Despite his hybrid nature, Edward understands that the most beautiful and sweet thing he can give to the young and beautiful Kim is a Christmas in the snow and the way he manages to do it will melt the hearts of even the most skeptical Grinches.
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Batman Returns
Always signed Tim Burton, Batman – Returns is entirely set during the Christmas season, in a cold and dark Gotham that seems unable to spend a Christmas without the ruthless Penguin Man does not ruin him with his plans. This time The Penguin makes a pact with industry magnate Shreck with the aim of stealing Gotham’s electricity while taking advantage of it to be accepted by society. So, if you don’t like all the technology and modernity of Iron Man you can’t refuse an evening with Michel Keaton’s Batman.
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Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Last but not least, the movie we’re going to mention about Tim Burton is The Chocolate Factory. Although this is not the first film version of Roald Dahl’s children’s novel, it immediately became a must, perhaps because of the surreal setting, maybe because of a surprising Johnny Depp as the most famous and funny chocolatier in the world. We all remember the incessant snow that covers the city in which the film is set and that in the end is surprisingly replaced by icing sugar. And then admit it, how great would it be to find a golden ticket under the Christmas tree?
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Catch Me If You Can
The chase between Tom Hanks and Leonardo DiCaprio left everyone hanging by a thread and thrilled millions of viewers. It could be said that Christmas in this film has two points of view: for Carl Hanratty it is the most beautiful 25 December of the last few years, finally managing to capture the wanted Frank Abagnale, found in his mother’s hometown, who unfortunately will spend him in a small French prison. Spielberg was not at all generous with him.
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The Boat That Rocked
Christmas also arrives in the cold North Sea, on the boat Radio Rock, where a group of subversive deejays broadcast 24 hours a day good and healthy rock music, almost censored by state radio. Like every event on board, this one is accompanied by jokes, laughter, alcohol, sex and rock’n’roll. It’s a fantastic true story of rebellion, freedom and music, staged by some of the most talented actors on the film scene, from Kenneth Branagh to Emma Thompson, from Billy Nighy to the Philip Seymour Hoffman task. Who wouldn’t want to spend a Christmas on Radio Rock?
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Hook
This is one of my favorite movies, one of the few of which I still have the videocassette and that every Christmas I revert and regard. I like to call it a movie for dreamers that, coincidentally, starts right in the run-up to Christmas, when Peter (Robin Williams) and his family return to London to find Grandma Wendy. One evening, as the snow falls incessantly, Peter’s two sons are kidnapped by old James Hook, played by an impeccable Dustin Hoffmann who almost manages to make his character nice. Will Peter be able to remember his adolescence spent on the Island that is not there and how to fly to bring back the little Jack and Maggie at home for Christmas?
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Harry Potter
I tried but the Potterhead in me won again and if there is a place where it would be great to spend the Christmas holidays is in Hogwarts. Harry Potter movies never lack the time to celebrate Christmas and it’s fascinating to see how things, people and places change every year. I still can’t decide which one I like most, maybe the one spent in the castle the first year, when Harry gets the cloak of invisibility, but the others aren’t bad either.
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