Christmas Is Coming

Right so Christmas is almost here again, you may have noticed if you've been into any shop recently and heard the noise of Christmas music been blasted out 24/7. Now for me Christmas is all about food but seen as you probably would't want to here a run down of my favorite christmas food (for anyone who's interested it's pigs wrapped in blankets which is why theres a picture of them) so i thought i'd do a list of my 5 favorite Christmas films.

5. The Snowman (1982)

Director Dianne Jackson

How can you not love the snow man. To me everything about it screams Christmas. It dosn't help that its my mums favorite Christmas film and for every year of my life i've watched it at least 5 times. My mum even has it on repeat when shes wrapping presents. What makes the Snowman so wonderful? Its got good source material for the basics but in essence its just a wonderfully basic plot. The tale of a boy who builds a snowman it comes to life at night and they have adventures is like any little boys dreams come true and its a feeling that still brings a feeling of happyness when i hear "We're walking in the air" been sung in a weirdly high pitched voice :P Alot of Christmas is about these sorts of memories and dreams remembering what it used to be like when you weren't worried about burning turkey or nobody coming to lunch cos of the snow.

4. Home Alone (1990)

Director Chris Columbus

Lets face it when you grow up Christmas is madness. My advice for anyone is stay out of our kitchen on 25th December unless you want my mother to shout at you to get out or even worse force you to cook!! But throughout the madness Christmas is always fun - something Home Alone and its director Chris Columbus is very good at portraying. Starring Macaulay Culkin (Erm ... Home Alone 2) and before the madness of ever growing worse sequels there was a basic story of a boy left home alone at Christmas. The house to himself and evil crooks trying to rob the place, it even has a creepy old gardener =O Although wholey unbelievable (although slihtly more believable then a virgin given birth to the son of God) the boy sets up a series of basic but sucessful traps to keep out the baddies, an experience that all somehow makes his family all closer. Now isnt that the Christmas spirit?

3.Love Actually (2003)

Director Richard Curtis

Now to me Richard Curtis is probably the best comedic writter in Britian and Love Actually although not his finest work, see his sitcoms Blackadder or Vicar of Dibley! Love Actually is still one of the best British Christmas or Romance films of the modern era. Starring an all star cast, which grows even more inpressive when you see that almost all of the actors who were perhaps not big names at the origonal release have all gone on to be hugely sucessful. Christmas is at the heart of the story or the many stories that take place within the film, think Inception was complicated try working out how these stories intertwin in one watch!! There are highlights of course central Liam Neeson (Shindler's List, Star Wars) relationship with his step-son and Rowan Atkinsons (Blackadder, Johnny English) cameo been particularlly stand out and the American bar scene is possibly one of the best British comedic scenes of all time!!

2. White Christmas (1954)

Director Michael Curtiz

Now as a film student it's probably very bad to admit that i'm not a lover of old classic cinema, i can appreciate it but very rarely enjoy it but White Christmas is my classic. I have special centimental reasons for this, mostly when we put up and decorate our Christmas Tree we have to have this film on no matter how long it takes, its the rules!! The cast of the film are now forever etched in my mind but i can only name Bing Crosby, for the song of course, and recently found out one of the women is Rosemary Clooney who is the aunt to a certain Geroge Clooney who is apparently kinda a big star, must be cos his middles name is Timothy!! The films plot line is a lovely one although i still begin to get confussed towards the end of the film but thats the 50s for you eye. Overall Christmas in 120 minutes (thats an hour in normal speak)

1. Gremlins (1984)
Director Chris Columbus
So i've just been going on about how wonderfully Christmasy White Christmas is and now i throw this at you as number 1, i know i'm a weird one - i also prefer Gremlins 2 but beggers cant be choosers and this is the one that is set at Christmas. Chris Columbus is the master of Christmas magic and mayhem and Gremlins is a superb example of this. Who dosnt love to watch a christmas film were little monsters rip up and entire town and then watch Snow White and the Severn Dwarfs? Its the little details like that, that help me to love the film so much. I'm one who loves little odd traits characters have and well thought through comedy, espessially the black comedy that this film provides. A bit darker then its sequal but still set at Christmas which for me makes it a Christmas film, Gremlins still has its laugh out louad moments after several viewings plus who can resist this little fella: