FREE KINDLE FOR PC

FREE KINDLE FOR PC
So you can read my books

Friday, December 19, 2014

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CHRISTMAS MOVIE?


DIE HARD?

ELF?

MUPPET CHRISTMAS CAROL?

I have a Christmas tradition which answers the question for me.



HOME ALONE is just as dated in its way as Dickens' Christmas Carol.

Yet for me it is forever young.

Chris Columbus' movie represents both a childhood long left behind and, 

indeed, a bygone age that doesn't make sense anymore viewed from the 21st century. 

The entire premise of HOME ALONE is now an impossibility, 

 because how could a child end up accidentally abandoned 

and declared missing in this new Millennium of mass communication? 

With post-War on Terror airport security checks being what they are, 

the McCallister parents couldn't possibly get on a plane to Paris without noting that one of their group is AWOL.

Today, Kevin would be live-tweeting his ordeal, 

sticking giddy selfies all over cyberspace and then - if he started to feel frightened and forlorn - 

signing-in to Skype to sing Christmas carols to his folks in France.

 It's actually quite fascinating and strangely comforting to revisit 

this quaint pre-internet, pre-mobile phone era of VHS tapes and 4:3-ratio TVs. 

And with regard to its precise place in history, 

as a film it also marks the timely convergence of John Hughes in his peak

 with a star about to go nova and a cultural environment that was ideal 

for HOME ALONE's explosion as an international mega-hit.

The film deftly uses Christmas as a narrative engine on which to power a resonant comedy-action-drama.

This fun movie continues to resound in the hearts of all children, no matter the age of their bodies.

The secret to HOME ALONE's longevity

 is its delicate balancing of a sense of peril and menace 

with a sense of fun and a sense of sweet Christmas-ness: 

all elements beautifully expressed by John William's wonderful score. 


WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CHRISTMAS MOVIE 
AND WHY?

9 comments:

  1. Even as old as I am, I sometimes forget there was a pre internet era. Makes me wonder how my parents were able to go hours at a time without knowing my exact whereabouts. My son having a cell phone is more for my peace of mind than his entertainment, though you wouldn't get that sense from the size of his data bill. Nope, Home Alone would never happen in today's security conscious world. That is both good, and sad.

    I think my favorite Christmas Movie is A Christmas Carol starring Patrick Stewart.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Funny, we just watched Die Hard tonight, and Lethal Weapon is another similar movie with some Christmas elements. I enjoy a lot of Xmas movies, from The Nightmare Before Christmas to Elf, The Christmas Story, The Santa Claus, Home Alone, and Love Actually. I know I'm forgetting some...

    ReplyDelete
  3. I Love Home Alone! I think my favourite is the animated classic How the Grinch Stole Christmas! A close second would be Gremlins. how can you not love Gizmo?

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anything with Santa and elf's for me. I'm over Die Hard and Home Alone. It's on every Christmas. Saying that, it's on here tonight!

    ReplyDelete
  5. My favorite Christmas movie is also my all-time favorite movie: It's A Wonderful Life. It's beautifully written, well made, and I adore Jimmy Stewart.

    Love,
    Janie

    ReplyDelete
  6. A Christmas Carol is my favorite, the original version with all the ghosts and Tiny Tim. I have watched Home Alone just a few days ago and still laugh and cheer for the kid. Don't care for Elf. Liked Miracle on 34th Street, too. Take care, Roland!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Donna:
    Patrick Stewart made a great Scrooge, didn't he?

    Ted:
    My Christmas tradition is to watch HOME ALONE (the second since I have watched the first too many times!) and then later on DIE HARD. I am such a kid at heart. :-)

    I had forgotten the first LETHAL WEAPON was set in Christmas -- it was the best of the series.

    David:
    Yes, how can you not love Gizmo? Stay away from the STAR WARS CHRISTMAS SPECIAL. Ugggh! :-)

    Wendy:
    Since I don't have cable or even local TV, I only see what I pop into the DVD player on on my laptop so I don't get so burned out on some films!

    Janie:
    I like the end of IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE but I prefer Jimmy Stewart in HARVEY or THE CHEYENNE SOCIAL CLUB in which he co-starred with his best friend, Henry Fonda.

    D.G.:
    Will Ferrell's humor is not my cup of tea either. I like the original A CHRISTMAS CAROL, too. :-)

    I have a soft spot for MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET, also.

    May both our holidays treat us well!!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hi Roland - we've never been great movie watchers over Christmas ... and if we do - it's a new film or old film we haven't seen! Home Alone is alright! but Elf is not my cup of tea, nor are many of the others ... I'm a Die Hard Brit!!

    Happy Christmas to one and all ... and all movies we get to see .. cheers Hilary

    ReplyDelete
  9. And Happy Christmas to you, too!! :-) Being a rare blood courier at the holidays gives me precious little free time to watch movies!

    ReplyDelete