It’s that time of the year again, where you get your family and friends over and feast like there’s no tomorrow. Then you gather together and binge on holiday movies with popcorn and a cup of hot drink. Here are our suggestions on what movies to watch this Christmas weekend.
Elf (2003)
A normal man who’s raised as an elf by Santa Claus (Edward Asner), Will Ferrell, who plays Buddy, is a hoot to watch. As a regular sized man who’ve always believed he’s an elf only to find out the truth about his background, goes back to his birthplace of New York to find his biological parents, Ferrell is believable and gives us plenty of laughs. Directed by actor turned director Jon Favreau (Swingers, Iron Man), this holiday movie has a feel-good ending with plenty of humour in between.
Why this makes a good Christmas movie: You get to see Santa and his elves at work of course. The icing on the cake? Seeing a gigantic Will Ferrell going about his duties as an elf, as though that was the most natural thing in the world.
Gremlins (1984)
if you were a child growing up in the 80s, chances are you would have seen this movie, possibly multiple times during the holiday period in the years following its release. Gremlins, written by Home Alone director Chris Columbus, is in a league of its own in terms of creativity, story-telling and special effects, which was considered a marvel back in the 80s. The story takes place around Christmas, where a father needed to get something special for his son for Christmas after a long work trip. And nothing is more special than a Mogwai, except that there are rules and if you break them, all hell will break loose. And that is exactly what happened.
Why this makes a good Christmas movie: Gremlins is best watched with a group of friends, so you can react to the cuteness of Mogwai and laugh off the mischievousness of the green monsters that spring up every time a rule is broken.
The Polar Express (2004)
Based on Chris Van Allsburg’s holiday classic The Polar Express, the holiday-themed story revolves around a boy named Billy (Hayden McFarland), who finds it difficult to believe in Santa Class, until one night. A mysterious train visits Billy in the dead of the night, bringing him and other children to the North Pole with a meet-and-greet with the Big Red man himself. What ensues is a journey of self-discovery for Billy, where he also learns about friendship, bravery and of course, the spirit of Christmas. Starring Tom Hanks and directed by Robert Zemeckis, The Polar Express is an animated visual spectacle.
Why this makes a good Christmas movie: a kid who refused to believe in Santa Claus finds resolution in the end, just in time for Christmas, it just cannot get more Christmassy than this!
Mariah Carey's All I Want for Christmas Is You (2017)
There are a few songs that you always hear on heavy rotation on radio stations during the festive period, like Wham!’s Last Christmas. The other song is this- Mariah Carey's All I Want for Christmas Is You And from that comes the birth of this animated movie, about a little girl named Mariah, whose Christmas wish was for a puppy. Before she gets her dream pet, she has to prove her worth, by dog-sitting her uncle’s dog, Jack. Of course, things go all sorts of wrong, because Jack turns out to be the world’s most mischievous dog!
Why this makes a good Christmas movie: You get to hear Mariah Carey’s song in the video. And frankly, if you ask me, this song is a lot more festive than Wham!’s Christmas ditty. Plus, if you’re a Mariah Carey fan, you’re in for a treat. The songstress does the voiceover narration in this animated movie.
