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When To Watch Your Favourite Christmas Movies
A guide to festive viewing this holiday season
If you’re reading this, you probably quite like Christmas movies. You may even be the kind of person who has done all their Christmas shopping already and wears a reindeer jumper from November onwards. But either way, you have to struggle with a thorny question: when is it OK to watch (or admit to watching) the many Christmas movies out there? When should you programme in Elf, and what’s the right time for It’s A Wonderful Life? For your convenience, we’ve assembled a Christmas timetable below…
WORDS HELEN O'HARA
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| |  |  | The Nightmare Before Christmas
The perfect bridge between Halloween (Town) and Christmas (Town), the Henry Selick / Tim Burton stop-motion classic comes into season at the spookiest time of the year. | | | | |  | | Brazil
Terry Gilliam's demented dystopian thriller is, technically, a Christmas movie. It just doesn't feel quite like any other, so watch this if you secretly need a Santa fix but can't admit to it. | | | | |  | | Edward Scissorhands
Another stealth Christmas movie, this seems sunny and non-seasonal through most of its running time before hitting Christmas hard at the end. That final scene will make you impatient for snow. | | | | |  | | Lethal Weapon
Shane Black has a peculiar obsession with Christmas – most of his scripts feature the holiday – and after all the mayhem, here there are presents and a tree and family togetherness. Hurrah! | | | | |  | | Miracle On 34th Street
The fourth Thursday in November is America's Thanksgiving, and since Miracle On 34th Street starts with the Thanksgiving Parade, it's now in season. Original or remake: your call. (You might also choose purely Thanksgiving movies here: Planes, Trains & Automobiles, Pieces Of April and The Ice Storm are options.) | | | | |  | | Meet Me In St. Louis
This story takes place year-round, with an aggressively pastel spring section. But it works well to start December because of that knockout Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas in the third act. | | | | |  | | Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
Another Shane Black Christmas joint, this comedy noir is smart, sarky and sees Michelle Monaghan wear a sexy Santa costume for much of the running time, if that's your bag. For everyone else, there's Robert Downey Jr. | | | | |  | | Batman Returns
As the Christmas lights are switched on by C-list celebrities, watch this and reflect that they probably could have found someone dumber for the job – and the Penguin could have murdered her. | | | | |  | | Scrooged
You're going to need a dose of Dickens' Christmas Carol to get through the shopping experience without losing your mind / goodwill towards men, and this one's just cynical enough to be useful even early in the month. | | | | |  | | Bad Santa
If braving the high street has left you snarling, you will feel right at home with Willie's attitude here. But it will also perk you up and restore your faith by the end, so it's a double win. | | | | |  | | Christmas Vacation
Your lights may have tangled themselves since last year and your tree may mysteriously list to one side, but we can guarantee that Clark Griswold has it worse than you. This will put things in perspective. | | | | |  | | Elf
Will Ferrell's dementedly good-natured starring turn will put whatever decorating you do to shame, but only a son of a nutcracker could possibly hold out against its Christmas spirit. | | | | |  | | Trading Places
You may have decided you can't bear your boss after making you conga twice around the pub, but at least he or she didn't make you destitute and homeless for a bet. We hope. | | | | |  | | While You Were Sleeping
When you're dreading the prospect of time with your family, watch this and remember that it's better to have a family than not. As a bonus, contains Bill Pullman explaining how to lean. | | | | |  | | The Muppet Christmas Carol
The definitive adaptation of Dickens' classic tale, at least as far as we're concerned, this will remind you what's important this time of year, and also to be nice to small frogs. | | | | |  | | It's A Wonderful Life
The quintessential Christmas movie, this will put anyone and everyone in the right frame of mind for a perfect Christmas. It's the attempted suicide, grinding despair and yet happy ending that gets us every time. | | | | |  | | Die Hard
Because nothing says goodwill to men like slaying terrorists and swinging off buildings on a fire hose. | |
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| 21 | RE: | ly agree with all of these and make a habit of watching Trading Places, While You Were Sleeping, The Muppet Xmas Carol and Die Hard religiously every holiday season (as well as out of season). re is one film which is definitely missing from the list: Love Actually. I know it's schmaltzy Christmas goo... but it's British goo and has great comic timing (I'm not even going to mention Selfridges and holly) and really get's one revved up for the season. Recommended watching: 1st week of Advent.ote]
No,,. just no. More
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Posted by xzynomorpher on Tuesday December 4, 2012, 19:26 |
| | 22 | | Why would any Brits be arsed about Thanksgiving?
More
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Posted by Charles B. Potatoes on Tuesday December 4, 2012, 19:03 |
| | 23 | What about... | You were dreading this, weren't you? Where we point out all the films you missed and shout "HOW COULD WE FORGET THAT?!" in the middle of the office.
Case in point: Gremlins. Definitely mid-to-late December. More
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Posted by The Tingler on Tuesday December 4, 2012, 18:45 |
| | 24 | Where's the love? | I totally agree with all of these and make a habit of watching Trading Places, While You Were Sleeping, The Muppet Xmas Carol and Die Hard religiously every holiday season (as well as out of season). But there is one film which is definitely missing from the list: Love Actually. I know it's schmaltzy Christmas goo... but it's British goo and has great comic timing (I'm not even going to mention Selfridges and holly) and really get's one revved up for the season. Recommended watching: 1st week of Advent. More
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Posted by Rizzla7024 on Tuesday December 4, 2012, 15:39 |
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