Welcome to Respawning’s film and TV club where we all talk about our favourite things in the world of Film and TV! This week we have gone full Christmas (or not) so we will be discussing our favourite Christmas themed films and TV in the world!
So grab that mulled wine, get the mince pies ready and prepare for another edition of badly associated christmas rants!
Salman
I never celebrated Christmas but like I said in a previous club article my favourite Christmas film is probably Jingle All The Way. I haven’t been able to watch a lot of movies lately but I sure do love the vibes this time of year gives off and to celebrate soon I’m planning on watching Home Alone 1 & 2 and a recent film which I absolutely adored, Krampus. Seriously, if you want something different this Christmas check that film out it’s great. Besides the Christmas themed stuff I’m looking forward to watching the new Star Wars film since it’s apparently, “Worth failing my exams over”. I’m not the biggest Star Wars fan but for some reason I have a good feeling about this one. And another film that is apparently really good and that I need to check out is The Killing of a Sacred Deer so I’ll be checking that out as well. That’s about it for me! Happy Holidays!
Javier
I love Christmas I really do, for me it’s hugely about family and I LOVE presents (This will be something I never grow out of) but i fucking hate the build up, the excessive Christmas music and the 1001 awful Christmas movies! I’ve managed to avoid watching Love Actually and The Santa Clause with the missus so far (Lucky escapes) but we’re not even at the Christmas holiday time. I don’t mind ELF as this does get me in the mood and it’s actually a decent film and I may watch home alone this year. I suppose my issue with Christmas films is they’re just generally not good movies. I prefer good family/animated films, in this vein i intend to watch Paddington 2 soon, and some of the Marvel films for the lead up to Infinity war. I also plan to watch Kingsman 2, Atomic Blonde, The Foreigner and Logan Lucky over Christmas – Not so christmassy.
We’ve also just started Peaky Blinders, which i’m loving, so I imagine we’ll session that over the Christmas break. And i want to finish the Handmaid’s tale.
Josef
Nothing reminds me of a Christmas movie more than the best movie set at Christmas. Kevin is a little boy who is essentially the last defence of earth as he builds weapons of war to fight evil. Home Alone has a ton of charm to it and is what little kids aspire to be whenever they are home alone. Unfortunately I don’t even think I could have constructed some of the contraptions this guy had going on. Not to mention they would have likely killed the bandits in the process. This is just a good movie to watch in general but around Christmas it really shines and reminds you of how lonely you never want to be on Christmas Day.
James
For me Christmas is pretty much a day sat in front of the television. If I’m in the mood for it I will go for a bit of a walk, but this is usually to the kitchen to grab another beer and a Chocolate Orange, so finding the right entertainment on Christmas day is very important. One film that has been a tradition for me to watch every Christmas is A Muppet’s Christmas Carol, which as Ricky Gervais quite rightly says, is the only way you can really improve on the works of Charles Dickens.
I’ve had a flick through to see what is actually showing on Christmas Day (I’m like a fucking TV Guide). With the exception of the Doctor Who Christmas Special not a heck of a lot I’m too fussed about seeing. Which is fine, with it being the 21st Century ‘n all I can always just get drunk, stick on a Blu Ray of The Thing and watch to my heart’s content (It’s a Christmas film. There’s snow in it and everything).
Luke
Got to writing this one a little later than I normally do and was worried I would miss the 4 greatest Christmas films of all time but luckily I didn’t so here goes. Die Hard, Nightmare Before Christmas, Gremlins & Batman Returns. There’s been a big hubbub this year about what exactly constitutes a Christmas, but to that I say… Shut the fuck up and let me enjoy MY Christmas traditions.
Joe
Oddly enough one set of films that I always find myself going back to around this time of year are the various Shrek films – No, not just for the quotes, the cheesy humour and admittedly good animation, but just for the simple feeling of wrapping up in a nice, warm blanket, sipping on some good ‘ol hot chocolate, watching these classic films from my childhood; on-top of Shrek, I usually end up watching some of the older Superman films featuring Christopher Reeve, Flash Gordon and, of course, all the typical ‘crimbo films on the telly like Matilda, Elf. The Grinch and many, many more…