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It's a Wonderful Life

The Best Christmas Movies Ever

December 17, 2020 by Matt Hill Leave a Comment

your sunday drive podcast

Do you want THE definitive list of The Best Christmas Movies Ever? Want to know why they matter deeply? Look no further…

In this final Your Sunday Drive podcast episode of 2020, we reminisce and riff on some of our favorites, unpacking plenty presents along the way: What makes a Christmas movie a Christmas movie and why does Die Hard count as one? What things do these stories have in common? Why do we build such strong traditions around them? Why does flying kites suck so bad? What role does magic and belief play in these movies?

Most importantly: How do these favorite seasonal stories connect to the actual Christmas story and the gospel itself?

Come along for Your Sunday Drive – quick conversation about current events, politics, pop culture and more, from the perspective of a couple of guys trying to follow Jesus.

Hosts: Matt Hill and Nate Polzin. Presented by the Church in Drive of Saginaw, MI, as often as possible. Please visit churchindrive.com and facebook.com/thechurchindrive

Filed Under: Podcast Tagged With: A Christmas Carol, A Christmas Story, best christmas movies, Charlie Brown, Christian, christian podcast, Christmas, christmas movies, church, dark, Die Hard, Elf, Faith, gospel, holidays, It's a Wonderful Life, light, Love Actually, magic, Mental Health, Santa, spiritual

The Best of Christmas Spirit

December 16, 2016 by Jacob Sahms Leave a Comment

grinchDo you ever feel like you need to have something jumpstart your Christmas spirit? While I believe that an act of generosity seems to be the most consistent means of unlocking Christmas in the heart of the Grinchiest Grinch, I’ll admit that there are certain films – or shows – that get me in the mood. Having interviewed several luminaries (who will remain nameless) over the last few weeks who couldn’t name a favorite Christmas movie, it seems appropriate to provide a brief, chronological tutorial in the best of the best … from 1946 to the present. So, with apologies to a host of other films which I won’t mention (How the Grinch Stole Christmas, A Christmas Story, Rudolph the Rednosed Reindeer)… here goes nothing.

 

christmas5

It’s a Wonderful Life (1946) might as well be the first Christmas film – with apologies to a Santa Claus movie from 1898 that no one has… ever.. seen. This black and white thriller has spawned a host of other Christmas films, like The Family Man and this year’s It’s a Wonderful Life, but can hardly be replicated. Thanks to the beautiful mind of Frank Capra, and the performance of Jimmy Stewart, we watch George Bailey slowly spiral into a world of despair. Only the intervention of an angel, Clarence, out to earn his wings, and a vision of life without him in it, can help Bailey discover his soul again on Christmas Eve.

 

A-Charlie-Brown-Christmas-image

The classics continue as A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965) delivered the clear theology of Charles Schultz, complete with a recitation by Linus of Luke 2:8-14, after Charlie Brown struggles with his community’s turn toward commercialism. Powerfully rendered visually (with a sad-sack Christmas tree) and wonderfully characterized, this is the old-school special that’s not to be missed, with apologies to The Grinch and that rednosed reindeer.

 

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Another TV special, A Christmas Carol (1984) starring George C. Scott, proves to be as ‘preachable’ as they come. No animated Jim Carey film carries with it the weight that Scott’s pained performance as Ebenezer Scrooge does. Rather than simply see a world without him, the selfish, hoarding Scrooge is ‘treated’ to a Christmas Eve night with the presence of four ghosts, starting with his dead financial partner, Jacob Marley. The Ghosts of Past, Present, and Future scare the hell out of him – literally – with a joyful Christmas morning that has no comparison.

 

christmasvacation

In National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989), Chevy Chase’s Clark Griswold represents the everyman who has wanted to decorate his house, raise his family right, and receive the compensation that he deserves. With a great role by Randy Quaid among a host of other comedic deliveries, Chase’s performance is stellar – his best ever. We learn about not putting the cart before the horse, but even more so, we learn what it means to love your family above all else – and to laugh at the way that Christmas shows up in unexpected places.

 

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A few years ago, Home Alone (1990) would never have made my list. But with two small boys, this one has become an annual favorite, as little Kevin (Macauley Culkin) outwits, outfights, and outlasts two bumbling burglars (Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern). In the meantime, he also befriends an elderly neighbor he once thought terrifying, and reminds the old man that while you’re breathing, it’s never too late to reconcile and to tell someone that you love them.

 

Belfast Waterfront’s Auditorium will be transformed into the city’s biggest and grandest cinema this Christmas for a special showing of Elf - the festive movie favourite - on Thursday 23 December at 3pm.

While I wanted to include The Santa Clause for its pointed reminder that faith matters, I find myself skipping ahead to Will Ferrell’s funniest movie (there, I said it), Elf (2003). While we had to wait nearly fourteen years for the next great Christmas film, Ferrell’s arrival as a human raised by elves was just hysterical. With Zooey Deschanel singing in the shower, and Buddy the Elf singing loud for all to hear (his Christmas cheer), this one has the perfect blend of Christmas magic and outsized heart to go with Ferrell’s comedic genius.

 

preplanding

Briefly returning to television, I’ll highlight Disney’s Prep & Landing, that outlandishly funny story of two mismatched elves who must save Christmas as part of Santa’s not-so-famous pre-visit team. Dave Foley’s Wayne steals the show, suffering from his desire to receive a promotion, while secretly wrestling with his true calling to serve in the field, er, snow. With lots of laughs packed into its thirty-minute frame, the original spawned two sequels (with a third in development, supposedly), mashing up calling, laughs, and Christmas in twenty-two minute bursts. [Editor’s note: Arthur Christmas (2011) took a swing at Christmas and calling as well, but we’re running on a deadline here!]

 

believe

Two films debuted this year that bear considering for next year’s lineup, and late-breaking additions to your week’s preparation for Christmas. The first is Billy Dickson’s Christmas debut, Believe, that tackles small-town economics and faith at Christmastime, with a bit of whodunit rolled into the script. Funnyman Ryan O’Quinn’s performance will certainly capture your attention, as does Isaac Ryan Brown (Blackish) as a kid who helps our protagonist find his faith again.

 

wishforchristmas

The other, from up-and-coming writer/director partners Alexandra Boylan and John K.D. Graham, is Wish for Christmas, taking my first film’s premise – the what if, a life without motif – and using a teenager’s wish to make it happen. When Anna (Anna Fricks) wishes her parents’ faith away, she sets a cascading set of events in motion that threaten to bring her community to its knees. But thanks to the help of a streetwise, homeless Santa (Bill Engvall), she may win back her parents, and discover faith for herself.

So, there’s my Best of …Christmas. What did I miss? What will you argue? [I see you, Lamp-loving, BB Gun-shooting, Tongue-sticking fanboys.] But be careful – I have years of watching to back me up!

Filed Under: DVD, Editorial, Featured, Film, Reviews Tagged With: Alexandra Boylan, Arthur Christmas, Believe, Billy Dickson, Charles Schulz, Charlie Brown Christmas, Christmas Carol, Christmas Story, Elf, Frank Capra, George C. Scott, It's a Wonderful Life, Prep & Landing, Wish for Christmas

A Christmas Message

December 24, 2015 by J. Alan Sharrer Leave a Comment

Home AloneDecember is one of the few times of the year where people make it a point to gather around a television set and watch holiday movies.  This is just as much a tradition as putting up a tree inside the house, drinking egg nog, and moving a stuffed elf around the house for kids to find.  With Christmas movies, people have their favorite lines ready to shout out at a moment’s notice and often have a specific playlist that is pulled from in the days and weeks preceding December 25th.

Admit it: the Christmas season brings up memories of Clark Griswold decorating his home with 25,000 light bulbs, Flick sticking his tongue to a frozen flagpole, a pair of robbers constantly being foiled by an eight year-old, and a bunch of gremlins singing in a movie theater as they watch Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Buddy the elf has unique escapades in New York City, John McClane has his own adventures at the Nakatomi building in Los Angeles, Scrooge learns an important lesson in London, and George Bailey discovers that his life is truly a wonderful one in Bedford Falls. They sure do for me.

GremlinsBut at the same time, most Christmas films tend to focus on the themes of family and the acquisition of specific gifts from others (right, Ralphie?). Not to say that these are bad things in and of themselves, but they can become the main focus of the holiday—when there’s something way more significant to consider.

What Christmas is about is right in its name—Christ—and specifically His birth. Family was definitely around (thanks for sticking by Mary, Joseph) and gifts were eventually received from a bunch of wise guys.  But without Christ, Christmas simply becomes a time of gathering around the arrival of Santa Claus.

Its A Wonderful LifeOne of the things we hope to accomplish at ScreenFish is a different perspective on films—one that eventually comes back to Christmas. We may not like every film we see (okay; we don’t—and we’re honest about that), but there’s always something inside that points the way to Jesus and the truth of the Bible.  That includes films that not everyone will enjoy for one reason or another. Our hope and prayer is that something we share becomes a talking point in a mom’s gathering, in normal conversation, or around the water cooler. After all, the only thing on many people’s minds for the last ten days or so has been Star Wars—and people have found it quite difficult to keep that to themselves.  We hope the same thing happens as a result of a review we share and that discussion leading to a life rooted in faith would be the end result.

But for now, we’re thankful to each of you for supporting us as we continue down this road.  Keep the discussions coming!  And, as a reminder of the message of Christmas, here’s why we can even celebrate:

Filed Under: Editorial Tagged With: A Christmas Story, Buddy, Christmas, Christmas Films, Christmas Vacation, Clark Griswold, Die Hard, Elf, George Bailey, Gremlins, Home Alone, It's a Wonderful Life, Jesus, John McClane, movies, Nativity, ralphie, Santa

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