Category Archives: Movie Advent Calendar

December 24th – Children of Men

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Well, probably not the movie one would immediately associate with Christmas, but the more I think of it the more perfectly this movie fits. If you see Christmas as the time to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, then this movie captures the feeling better than any Christian propaganda movie.

More than any movie Children of Men, helmed by Alfonso Cuarón, deals with the importance of children, the wonder of birth, the beauty of life even within the worst possible circumstances.

Especially a scene with an entire army standing in awe at the newborn child sends chills down one’s spine.

When I first watched Children of Men I was a little bit letdown by the ending (don’t worry I won’t spoil it), but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that the story had been told enough, I was just too quick to realize the depth of the plot at first glance.

Camera work should be especially noted, but also Clive Owen is great in his role, the sets and effects are breathtaking, creating a bleak realistic future, a dark and desolate time where humanity has lost its purpose and amidst all this comes a spark of hope that shows us the beauty we tend to forget – if that is not the message people try to bring across around Christmas I don’t know what is.

Merry Christmas everyone!

 

December 23rd – Nightmare before Christmas

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The title alone makes this movie the perfect candidate for december 23rd and it is the third Tim Burton movie on this list, reminding us of the great genius that he was before he made travesties like Alice in Wonderland.

Directed by Henry Selick, who would go on to make the fantastic Coraline (an adaption of a Neil Gaiman children story), Nightmare before Christmas features Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King of Halloween Town who by chance stumbles upon Christmas Town and decides that this year Christmas will be in the hands of Halloween.

The stop motion is gorgeous, the characters great, the story unique and the score by Danny Elfman will be stuck in your head afterwards especially the Oogie-Boogie-Song…

December 22nd – Love Actually

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Awfully close to Christmas and here come the movies you must not miss. If I had only one Christmas movie that I could watch in order to get into the Christmas mood it would be Love Actually.

Directed by Richard Curtis, who also made the fantastic The Boat that Rocked (again starring Bill Nighy), Love Actually is a collection of short stories featuring some of the greatest living british actors:

Bill Nighy, Emma Thompson, Alan “Snape” Rickman, Colin Firth, Rowan Atkinson, Liam Neesen, Hugh Grant, Keira Knightley.

The movie deals with all kinds of love, be it the love between siblings, the type love that makes you do incredibly ridiculous things, unconventional love, the love to the people you spend your life with, unrequited love and a whole bunch more.

Two years ago my sister bought the DVD and forced the entire family to watch it and I am glad she did because from the title and the DVD it didn’t look that appealing but Richard Curtis manages to find the balance between sappiness and healthy dose of cynism.

Even the most clichéd scene has a hilarious icebreaker that makes you laugh, so put in the DVD and have the realization that Christmas is all around:

December 20th – National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation

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Back in the days John Hughes seemed to have a perfect grip on how to make great family movies. Home Alone 1 and 2 being two of his productions. The third Hughes production on this list is the third chapter of the National Lampoon series, featuring the dysfunctional family around Chevy Chase, an insane dog, a threatening squirrel, a burning tree and many other things that are typical for one’s annual Christmas celebration.

December 19th – Home Alone 2: Lost in New York

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If you like the original you probably like this movie as well. Home Alone 2 while being almost a carbon copy of the original manages to avoid the feeling of repetition, by going bigger (New York) and more inventive (cursing clown in bathtub).

As well as the long awaited sequel to Angels with filthy Souls:

Angels with even filthier Souls!

December 18th – Mickey’s Christmas Carol

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Given the fact that today a horribly CGI-animated Christmas special is aired on the children’s channel I’d say it is more important than ever to remind us that Disney (not Pixar) has not always been a heartless sell-out company and that there was a time when they were able to tell magical tales.

Mickey’s Christmas Carol is in my eyes on of their best achievements. The name similarity between Scrooge McDuck and Ebenezer Scrooge is something that got lost in the german translation but even in the german version the Ebenezer character fit perfectly for McDuck.

This version of the Christmas Carol manages to stir up our emotions and despite the characters being well known to most people who watch it – especially for their comedic roles – the movie is suspenseful and quite scary some time.

Especially the ghost of Christmas yet to come is done in a brilliantly scary fashion that makes the audience feel as reliefed when Scrooge awakens as Scrooge himself.

December 17th – Joyeux Noël

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I initially heard of this movie some time ago, it is the story of a truce in 1914 between the Scottish, French and German soldiers along the Western front. The movie depicts the day when the opposing forces lay down their weapons and celebrated together.

The contrast between Christmas celebration and soldiers fighting in the trenches is a picture so strong and interesting that this alone warrants to watch this movie, the fact that it is also a pretty well made movie based on actual events saves this production from turning into a sappy onedimensional fantasy.

December 16th – How the Grinch Stole Christmas

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Before Ron Howard was assigned to direct The Dark Tower he made one of the most lavish Christmas movies, bringing the story by Dr. Seuss to the screen, featuring an incredible performance by Jim Carrey and showcasing make up craftmanship.

How the Grinch stole Christmas is a fantastic story about rejection and appreciation. And one of the few happy go lucky Christmas movies to actually focus on the fact that with our “presents presents” mindset we tend to forget the actual joy in Christmas.

 

December 15th – The Miracle on 34th Street

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The Miracle on 34th Street is a 1994 remake of the original Miracle on 34th Street (1947). It is the story about a man named Kris Kringle getting hired to act as Santa Clause during a Thanksgiving parade due to an intoxicated Santa Clause actor and later on gets hired to be the Santa Clause at Macy’s department store in New York City.

What many children in this movie immediately suspect seems to be true: that Kris Krinlge is the actual Santa Clause. When the actor who was unable to be Santa Clause due to his alcoholic tendencies provoces Kringle a big trial starts – leading up to a sappy, let’s grin together and have a joyful american celebration.

Much like Narnia I’m betting that I would roll my eyes if someone served me this movie today, but over the years I have grown quite attached to it come Christmas and with December 24th clicking closer and closer I’d say it’s a perfectly ok movie.

I have never seen the original movie but considering it got 3 Oscars (Supporting Actor, Screenplay, Writing – this category being no longer in the Oscar mix) and nominated for Best Picture, I guess, the original is better, but it doesn’t have the nostalgia powered feelings coming along with it when I watch the remake