It’s impossible to fathom, but we are two weeks away from a new year. I sorted through My Personal Top 100 Films list for the ten best titles you can use to close out 2022 the right way.
Movie-wise.
Some of the films are a bit obscure. Stay with me. If you can bring these out with solid justification, you’ll be the life of any movie watching party.
10: The Princess Bride
Proof – Its a Christmas movie!!!
Look closely. Its Christmas season in Fred Savage’s bedroom. So it counts. It’s rare that a film can transcend generations with its unforgettable characters, quotes, and story. However, such is the case with the 1987 classic that covers the genres of action and adventure, fantasy and family, and romance and humor. “The Princess Bride” has spectacular casting that has left memorable characters and quotable lines in its wake.
9: Rocky
Sylvester Stallone in “Rocky.” (Photo: United Artists).
There’s nothing more American than an underdog story. And with this 1976 classic, we get Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, and Independence Day all in one punch. This character piece is a story of a man who got his shot, took it, and learned to believe in himself. The real action lays within its borders, and culminates with a boxing showdown on New Year’s Day. And nothing says Festivus like punching frozen meat.
8: First Blood
Sylvester Stallone and Brian Dennehy in “First Blood.” (Photo: Anabasis N.V.).
Another Sylvester Stallone picture that may make you scratch your head. It’s all about the setting. Which is clearly December if you look carefully, and still believe in Santa (which I proudly do.) Yes it’s a standard action movie, but its deep and soul searching plot makes it so much more. The tones are dark, and holiday lights and trees are perfectly interrupted by grisly and harrowing flashbacks of the Mekong Delta, bloodshed, and torture. God bless us, everyone!
7: The Family Stone
Sex and the Stone
This is like – if you took an impossible cheesy plot from Netflix or Hallmark and backed it with a Hollywood budget and star powered cast. There’s an intricate plot that weaves love and sorrow, including new flames and old. Its funny, touching, and well made. Most holiday movies are just that. Movies. “The Family Stone” is a holiday film. It’s crafted in an artistic way with a story that’s excellently written. Funny, emotional, and tear jerking all at the same time.
6: Home Alone
Joe Pesci’s best performance
This film has become the modern era holiday staple. Its been thirty + years and it remains one of the all time great Christmas movies. Legendry John Hughes demonstrates his great talents as a writer with the story itself. On the surface, the plot is a simple one of a boy being left alone and encountering criminals. Hughes also includes deeper elements as well. It’s funny, fun, and a yearly must watch.
5: The Nightmare Before Christmas
The Nightmare Before Christmas
The best time to watch this Tim Burton classic is October 30. The next best time is any other day of the year. The film is the first full length stop-animation feature, paving the way for a plethora of titles thereafter. Despite its benchmark success and great musical interludes dispersed throughout, the 76-minute film also employs a truly unique plot. If you miss Halloween already (like me) pop this in for one final ghostly hurrah.
4: Gremlins
Christmas caroling in Gremlins
While “Gremlins” was created as a dark comedy, the backdrop of the Christmas holiday plays an integral role. Taking place in the snow covered fictitious town of Kingston Falls, you’ll immediately feel the festive nature and doubtless want to relocate there. With snowball fights, decorations, and snowmen abound, the film opens with the sounds of Darlene Love’s Christmas classic “Baby Please Come Home” and you’ll be engulfed in the holiday season. Oh yeah, and there are monstrous little green creatures running amok and sleighing people (see what I did there?)
3: It’s a Wonderful Life
I still get teary eyed at this
Its 76 years old and the lessons and themes are still relevant today. Frank Capra’s 1946 Christmas hallmark is both a thoughtful and endearing look at humanity and the lasting impressions people have upon each other. And Jimmy Stewart delivers a performance for the ages. Merry Christmas everybody!!!
2: 200 Cigarettes
Happy New Years!
Its somewhat surprising that New Year’s Eve themed movies are difficult to find. Maybe it’s a result of people being holiday-movied out, or a bi-product of the short time frame between Christmas and December 31st. The 1999 cult classic movie “200 Cigarettes” is one of the rare films that sets its focus on New Year’s Eve and the result is one of the best holiday themed movies you will find. The plot follows several groups of friends, all en route to a New Years Eve party, and all with their own personal goals for love, sex, and satisfying true meaning in the upcoming year.
1: Die Hard
Bruce Willis in “Die Hard.” (Photo: Twentieth Century Fox).
You’ve all seen the memes. Yes it’s a Christmas movie. This Bruce Willis iconic flick takes place as terrorists interrupt a party on Christmas Eve in a skyscraper to wage war. As the old saying goes, it’s not officially Christmas until Hans Gruber falls from Nakatomi Plaza. Or, as they say out west, Yippie Ki-Yay m************
