With Christmas right around the corner everyone is being inundated with Christmas movies that fit the usual cookie cutter mold. Well, if you happen to be tired of those movies and want to watch something a little different that still maintains a Christmas setting, these are five movies you may want to take a look at.
5) Batman Returns
The first comic book movie that I remember to be set during Christmas time; which makes some sense seeing as Gotham City looked beautiful covered in snow. I saw it in the summertime when I was 12, which was when Batman movies were released, and not use to movies being released out of their seasonal context. Either way, I was mesmerized by the fact that my favorite superhero celebrated Christmas and never took time off during the season. Instead, he was saving Gotham from the Penguin and to a lesser degree, Catwoman. While not my favorite Batman movie, it still cements a place in my childhood memories and marks, sadly, the end of Tim Burton’s run on Batman. I would’ve loved to have seen his take on Two-Face–I can’t imagine what kind of design he would have had. Oh well, maybe I’ll get a Christmas miracle one year and Burton will be back on the Batman franchise kicking Ben Affleck to the curb!
4) Die Hard 1 and 2
These movies are probably my favorite movies on the list, but with the top three movies having more relevance now since there isn’t a Die Hard 6 in development, it’s a little lower on the list. I remember that my mother took me and some friends to see this when I was 9 years old. Yes my mother took me to see this because she knew nothing of the movie and the movie we had wanted to see had started 20 minutes prior. This was my first r-rated experience, and I’m pretty glad that it was Die Hard. Anything other than this or a Dirty Harry movie would probably have let me down. Set during the Christmas scramble, John McClane must fight his way through Nakatomi Plaza to save his wife and hostages. The second Die Hard takes place in an airport during Christmas time, and once again McClane is at the wrong place at the wrong time. He must save his wife from terrorists holding planes hostage. There are Christmas trees, Christmas jokes, and Christmas deaths, plus you get that happy ending in both movies, and isn’t that what everyone is always looking for?
3) Lethal Weapon
Shane Black wrote this classic film, and his hankering for Christmas shows in this title as well. The movie takes place in LA, which is not known for its epic Christmas landmarks, but we all know it takes place during the season as the movie progresses. We first get to see how crazy Riggs is when he’s attempting a drug bust in a Christmas tree farm. Then as the movie continues on, we hear Christmas music and see the decorations. This is a great movie to watch to break away from the happy endings that find their way into most movies. Yes, the bad guys lose, but Murtaugh’s house is destroyed and Riggs is still suicidal at the end of the movie. Not exactly the flick that gives you the warm and fuzzies when the credits roll.
2) Gremlins
This movie used to scare the living hell out of me when I was little, so much so that I couldn’t even watch the television commercials without having a full night of nightmares. Now when I watch it I wonder why I was so frightened of these diminutive beings. This is a nice movie if you want a good laugh and a little scare during the Christmas season, plus it’s always nice to see some town run amok by something they know nothing of. This movie is probably the cutest one on the list and may also be a bit more family-friendly than the rest, which makes it a great movie to surprise your loved ones with when you gather ’round the television and fireplace with eggnog to watch a Christmas classic.
1) Iron Man 3
After rewatching the damn near perfect Iron Man trilogy, I realized that the third movie in the series took place during Christmas time. I kept seeing Christmas trees scattered about and it dawned on me that Shane Black wrote and directed this film, and he has a love of making movies take place during the holiday season. Also, he wrote and directed one of the best buddy cop movies, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. Both his movies have a nice hint of Christmas in them without being too overwhelming. Seeing as the Avengers 4 trailer just dropped and Marvel nuts are having a field day enjoying it and watching the older movies, Iron Man 3 seems to be the perfect one to rewatch right now. No one will call you a Grinch for wanting to watch it, and we get to see Tony Stark start from the ground up again, which is always a joy.
Now that you have a nice selection of movies to choose from, between now and Christmas, which ones will you watch? Let us know in the comments!