Flickering Myth's Top 10 Christmas Movies

Flickering Myth gets festive…Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays one and all! As it is Christmas Eve, we would like to hope that you are all set for the festive season and you have all your presents purchased and wrapped. If not – what are you reading this for?! Get the hell out of the house and go to the shops!For those of you are staying, please continue.As it’s the most wonderful time of the year, we decided to count down the Top 10 Christmas movies of all-time! Each of our writers and editorial staff submitted their own personal top 10s, the votes were counted and the complete list was made.And they say Christmas is a time for relaxing!So click through the next few pages and find out which Christmas movies rock our festive socks.And, as always, HAPPY HOLIDAYS!10. Bad Santa (2003)Kicking the list off, we have the Billy Bob Thornton anti-Christmas movie that also happens to be full of Christmas cheer, Bad Santa.Bad Santa very nearly didn’t make it onto the list, as it battled with the movies that eventually landed 11th and 12th, but a few late votes pushed this into the Top 10.Billy Bob has rarely been better than he is as Willie and the whole movie is supported really well with Tony Cux, Lauren Graham as well as the late Bernie Mac and John Ritter. But it’s Brett Kelly who steals the show as “The Kid” – a brilliant performance that somehow hasn’t made him a bigger star.Talk of a sequel has been bounded around since the movie was released in 2003, but nothing has ever come to fruition. For us here at Flickering Myth, we hope it stays that way.You can listen to the Flickering Myth Podcast’s thoughts on the Top 10 Christmas movies using the player below: 9. The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)Or, as I like to call it, Tim Burton’s Teenage Goth Girls Merchandising Machine.Not directed by Tim Burton, The Nightmare Before Christmas is a sure-fire favourite of not just a generation, but a subculture of alternative kids who embraced its gothic style, creepy imagery and wonderful sing-a-long tunes. Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King, has become a well-branded face of many a cushion and pillow and the tragic Sally is popular choice for cosplay and Halloween.The brilliant animation, which really holds up to this day, is just one of the reasons The Nightmare Before Christmas is beloved and Burton would use it again in the not-as-good The Corpse Bride and the exceptional Frankenweenie.Pure magical fun, The Nightmare Before Christmas is far from a Nightmare in the eyes of the Flickering Myth writing team.You can listen to the Flickering Myth Podcast’s thoughts on the Top 10 Christmas movies using the player below: 8. Gremlins (1984)Quick question – is Gremlins a Christmas movie? According to the Flickering Myth writing staff, it sure is!With that unmistakable Spielberg level of fun and frolics, Gremlins is a superb horror comedy from a director that, up until this point, was only known for The Howling and the ill-fated Twilight Zone: The Movie. But Joe Dante would become a cult favourite among film fans with titles like The ‘Burbs, Innerspace and The Hole. But, for many, Gremlins is his finest hour.Featuring loveable little creatures named Mogwais that multiply when wet and turn nasty when fed after midnight, Gremlins is a blast and an insane amount of fun. Thrilling and exciting from start to end, this is a brilliant watch – even if it’s technically not seen as a Christmas movie by some.But look – Gizmo is wearing a Christmas hat… right?!You can listen to the Flickering Myth Podcast’s thoughts on the Top 10 Christmas movies using the player below: 7. Scrooged (1988)On the Flickering Myth Podcast, Scott Davis commented that there is no better casting for an 80s contemporary update of the Charles Dickens classic story about corporate America than Bill Murray. And, he’s bloody right!It’s a story that has been told to death and been adapted lord knows how many times, but Scrooged is one of the few instances that makes the story feel modern and relevant (although it won’t be the first adaptation on this list). Murray is excellent as this cocky prick who has no regard for anyone but himself, but deep down inside is a loving family-man and charming boyfriend to Karen Allen. And while he is superb, it’s Bobcat Goldthwait who nearly steals the show thanks to the manic and insane performance he was known for.However, for all the praise we have for it here, Bill Murray is not a fan himself. He and director Richard Donner fell out almost every day and Murray still feels Scrooged was a wasted opportunity. “That could have been a really, really great movie,” he once told Roger Ebert. “The script was so good. There’s maybe one take in the final cut movie that is mine. We made it so fast, it was like doing a movie live. He kept telling me to do things louder, louder, louder. I think he was deaf.”But, hey, he didn’t like Ghostbusters 2 either. And we quite like that as well.You can listen to the Flickering Myth Podcast’s thoughts on the Top 10 Christmas movies using the player below: 6. Elf (2003)We like to smile, smiling is our favourite.It couldn’t quite beat out The Matrix Revolutions upon its release, but Jon Favreau’s Elf has become a firm fan-favourite during the festive period. So much so that when it was pulled from Channel 4 to be a Sky exclusive here in the UK, there was a public uproar is if a Christmas tradition had been torn asunder!Telling the story of a human raised as a Christmas elf who travels to New York to find his real father, Elf is a wonderfully sweet and tender movie that also manages to squeeze in a barrel load of laughs. Insanely quotable and unforgettable, Elf is now a bonafide Christmas classic that, like Bad Santa, has managed to evade a sequel – to the point where Will Ferrell turned down $29 million to do it!Still, he did a sequel to Anchorman. So let’s see how Get Hard does before we can scratch off Elf 2 from his resume permanently…With now yearly quote-a-longs at the Prince Charles Cinema among others, Elf could be argued as the most iconic Christmas movie of the last decade.You can listen to the Flickering Myth Podcast’s thoughts on the Top 10 Christmas movies using the player below:5. Christmas Vacation (1989)“It’s good… it’s good…”The third in National Lampoon’s Vacation series, Christmas Vacation is the first to bring the Griswolds back in their family home as Clark wants to celebrate the holidays with the people he loves. Only, the people he loves are nightmares and everything just gets worse and worse for poor ol’ Clark.So, hilarity ensues.Funny from the word “go”, Christmas Vacation is a riot as one laugh-out-loud mishap leads to another with perfect comedic timing from all involved. Chevy Chase is one of the forgotten comedy kings of the 1980s (thanks to his recent outbursts and antics) and he is on fine form as Clark Griswold, culminating in an all-time awesome rant (see below). Beverly D’Angelo, Juliette Lewis and Big Bang Theory‘s Jonathan Galecki support well, but the show is nearly stolen by an on-top-of-his-game Randy Quaid (also forgotten thanks to recent outings) as cousin Eddie.But seriously, this Clark rant is insanely funny.Hallelujah! Holy shit!You can listen to the Flickering Myth Podcast’s thoughts on the Top 10 Christmas movies using the player below:4. Muppets Christmas Carol (1992)It wouldn’t be Christmas without Muppets Christmas Carol. The first movie to be made after the sudden death of their creator Jim Henson, Muppets Christmas Carol (directed by his Henson’s son Brian) showed that there was still life in these felt creations, even after the tragic loss.The second of two adaptations of Charles Dickens’ classic story on our list, Muppets Christmas Carol (missing the ‘e’ from Carole) is a tremendous achievement that brilliantly uses the Muppet characters wisely and features a fantastic soundtrack, with great song after great song. If you ever get a chance to go to a sing-a-long screening at the Prince Charles Cinema, take it. You’ll be humming Scrooge for weeks on end.Because, if they have a prize for being mean – the winner would be him.Arguably the best Muppet movie ever made (it’s neck and neck with The Muppet Movie in our estimation), Muppets Christmas Carol is a near-perfect festive festive film – and a worthy number four on our list. If anything, it should have been higher!You can listen to the Flickering Myth Podcast’s thoughts on the Top 10 Christmas movies using the player below:3. Home Alone (1990)It’s his house, and he has to defend it.Home Alone turned Macaulay Culkin into a world-wide megastar of the 1990s (before he went off the wagon – seems to be a trend on this list) and its easy to see why. He displays an incredible amount of charisma from such a young age as he does battle with Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern in this hilarious cat and mouse game. Stern and Pesci are fantastic as “The Wet Bandits” and they are perfect targets for Kevin’s traps and praise also needs to be given to Catherine O’Hara, who really sells the plight of a mother losing her son amongst all the madness on-screen.However, it is funny to note that all of the humours moments fans remember are very brief and take place in the final 20-minutes of the movie. But even so, it had a massive effect on cinema as every kid’s movie in the 90s tried to capture its formula with varying degrees of success (i.e. no one could match up). Even Culkin himself would find himself confined to these roles for quite some time to the point where the poor lad was doing it in his teens.Although… when you think about the amount of pain this kid inflicts on the Wet Bandits… you have to shudder to think what Kevin McCallister turned into as he grew up…What did we make of Home Alone 2: Lost in New York? Well, it didn’t make the Top 10. Or the Top 20 for that matter. But it got more votes than any of the other sequels.You can listen to the Flickering Myth Podcast’s thoughts on the Top 10 Christmas movies using the player below:2. It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)Every time a bell rings, an angel gets its wings. What a beautiful movie.What more is there to say about this tremendous film? Not only is Frank Capra’s It’s a Wonderful Life one of the best Christmas movies ever made (at least by our votes), it is perhaps the quintessential Christmas movie. Jimmy Stewart is phenomenal, the writing is stellar and the story is far too wonderful for words. It truly is wonderful.If you don’t cry by the end of this movie – there is something wrong with you.There could be an argument to be made that It’s a Wonderful Life should really be the number one movie on the list, but it actually lost out by just 6 points to the number one spot. However, that number one spot held its place literally from the word “go”. Click the button to find out what movie we voted as the best Christmas movie ever made…You can listen to the Flickering Myth Podcast’s thoughts on the Top 10 Christmas movies using the player below:1. Die Hard (1988)Well, here’s a turn up for the books.In the last few years, the summer blockbuster movie Die Hard has become a favourite Christmas movie for many film lovers who want to “go against the system” because the movie is set on Christmas Eve. It’s the Rage Against the Machine of Christmas movies.Before going into its festive frolics, it should be noted that Die Hard is one of the best action movies ever made and is well-loved for a reason. Bruce Willis (again, off the rails somewhat) is superb and Alan Rickman is easily one of the greatest villains to grace the silver screen. The set pieces rule, the explosions rule and the whole movie rules. Yippee-ki-yay.But, is Die Hard really a Christmas movie? Perhaps people love it because it portrays a true Christmas message about being with your family for the Holidays and stopping at nothing (even fighting terrorists) to do so. Our own Martin Deer wrote a piece about this very topic a few years ago. With that said, this author also wrote a counter piece to it last year.So, is Die Hard a Christmas movie – or a movie set at Christmas? What’s the difference? Is there really one? Regardless, it’s the official greatest Christmas movie of all-time according to Flickering Myth. I suppose the limo driver is listening to Run DMC’s “Christmas in Hollis” at one point…You can listen to the Flickering Myth Podcast’s thoughts on the Top 10 Christmas movies using the player below, which has an in-depth discussion of Die Hard as the number one choice. And click through to the next page to see the movies that didn’t quite make it into the Top 10 as well as our own personal picks.In total, there were 44 movies that were voted for by the Flickering Myth writing staff which included Rocky IV, The Polar Express, Trapped in Paradise, Home Alone 2: Lost in New York – as well as cult horror favourites like Rare Exports: A Santa Claus Tale and Silent Night, Deadly Night.Here’s the movies that didn’t quite make the cut:11. Love Actually (2003)12. A Christmas Story (1983)13. Batman Returns (1992)14. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005)15. Santa Claus: The Movie (1985)16. How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000)17. Miracle on 34th Street (1994)18. Jingle All the Way (1996)19. Trading Places (1983)20. Die Hard 2 (1990)And here’s how the Flickering Myth writing and editorial team voted as their number ones:Gary Collinson (editor-in-chief) – Die HardLuke Owen (deputy editor) – Home AloneOliver Davis (co-editor, FMTV producer) – It’s a Wonderful LifeOzzy Armstrong – It’s a Wonderful LifeHelen Murdoch – Die HardScott Davis – ElfTom Jollife – Die HardRob Kojder – Die HardVillordsutch – It’s a Wonderful LifeKris Wall – Batman ReturnsAnthony Stokes – Home AloneAlice Rush – Muppets Christmas CarolAndrew Naylor – Die HardAdam Rivett – It’s a Wonderful LifeChris Cooper – Muppets Christmas CarolTom Roach – Muppets Christmas CarolWilliam Fanelli – Christmas VacationGavin Logan – Home AloneManny Camacho – Christmas VacationYou can listen to the Flickering Myth Podcast’s thoughts on the Top 10 Christmas movies using the player below.Merry Christmas everyone!

Flickering Myth’s Top 10 Christmas Movies

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