General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsChristmas movie recommendations?
I'm home alone for a few days while my husband looks after his mom.
I'll be damned if I can find a decent list of semi-intelligent Christmas movies for grownups that I can get off Amazon prime!
Any suggestions?
MrScorpio
(73,630 posts)Last edited Sun Dec 16, 2018, 11:19 PM - Edit history (1)
Fixed
melm00se
(4,986 posts)heard of in a while.
https://archive.org/details/SantaClausConquersTheMartiansDVD
TheBlackAdder
(28,169 posts).
.
Mr. Quackers
(443 posts)Glamrock
(11,787 posts)Avoid this one like herpes!
jberryhill
(62,444 posts)Glamrock
(11,787 posts)A TV special. 30-60 minutes long. I remember seeing it as a kid when star wars was like, my whole world. I fantasized about being Luke Skywalker constantly. I know. I was 8 or 9 cut me some slack. Even I was like, wtf was that? That was horrible! I want my time back! And I was 8 or 9! In the words of Elvis Presley...turrible! Seriously! Avoid this like herpes. Watching Wookies sing Christmas carols, if memory serves, is traumatizing.
912gdm
(959 posts)it is...... amazing.
And I don't mean amazing as awesome, awe-inspiring, etc.
I just mean.... Wow.
CaliforniaPeggy
(149,534 posts)An excellent movie! The link takes you to IMDb's page on it. There's a preview and lists of who's in it and so on.
I recommend it!
Ilsa
(61,690 posts)It's rated R, and includes sexual content and nudity. The story is fabulous, and leaves you feeling really good.
rownesheck
(2,343 posts)that movie!!! Rick from The Walking Dead is in it too!
redwitch
(14,941 posts)Glorfindel
(9,720 posts)I can't recommend it highly enough.
Hekate
(90,565 posts)cilla4progress
(24,718 posts)And do love it.
Just saw the Best Man Holiday. A lot to like about it.
krawhitham
(4,641 posts)missingthebigdog
(1,233 posts)Glamrock
(11,787 posts)Great rec, man!
VOX
(22,976 posts)Excellent choice, missingthebigdog.
sandensea
(21,604 posts)Besides featuring John Lithgow, David Huddleston, and Dudley Moore, it has a progressive subplot sure to resonate with almost all of us here at DU.
912gdm
(959 posts)I didn't care for it when it came out cuz I was a teenager, but it was nice to see it again.
FakeNoose
(32,599 posts)... with Kurt Russell as Santa Claus. It's rated PG with lots of action and it's surprisingly entertaining.
Cracklin Charlie
(12,904 posts)I just saw an ad last week.
cynatnite
(31,011 posts)Kurt Russell's musical number is a must see.
hurple
(1,306 posts)"Holy F**K Kurt Russell is Playing Santa Claus!"
Cracklin Charlie
(12,904 posts)Christmas in Connecticut
Holiday Inn
The Bishops Wife
I like the classics.
lkinwi
(1,477 posts)Poiuyt
(18,118 posts)melm00se
(4,986 posts)White Christmas
theophilus
(3,750 posts)Remember the Night with Fred MacMurray and Barbara Stanwyck
MoonchildCA
(1,301 posts)I love that movie.
demtenjeep
(31,997 posts)it is a MUST in our household
Every Thanksgiving before we go to bed. CV starts our Christmas
Takket
(21,529 posts)Poiuyt
(18,118 posts)Cary Grant, Loretta Young, and David Niven
brooklynite
(94,384 posts)As my wife points out:
1. New York at Christmastime
2. Speaking Dutch
3. Lawyers
cynatnite
(31,011 posts)Scrooged
Christmas Carol...several to choose from that are fun.
Joyeux Noel...incredible filmj.
Christmas Chronicles...this was a lot of fun. It's on Netflix. Take note of Kurt Russell's musical number. Really the highlight of the movie.
I'm a complete sucker for the kids movies, too. Mickey Mouse Once and Twice Upon a Christmas, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, just to name a few.
Last night I watched Little Drummer Boy. Despite being the atheist that I am, I liked it and sniffled a bit at the end.
Christmas Vacation, Elf.
Another one that I'm not sure if you can find is called Silent Night. It stars Linda Hamilton as a German woman who is trying to hide her son away so that he won't go into the Hitler Youth. She takes refuge with him at a cabin that both German and US soldiers come upon. A truce is struck for Christmas night. It's really a wonderful movie about enemies, wartime and finding peace. I love that one.
Anyway, have fun!
demtenjeep
(31,997 posts)We even have a replica leg lamp from that movie
cynatnite
(31,011 posts)Glamrock
(11,787 posts)There's no mood! No mood I say! That is the ultimate Christmas movie. Kid scheming fpr a specific present, foulmouthed dad, hillbilly's nextdoor. Bully's. Mine may have occured in the late 70's but it's my....nay! It's all of our childhoods!
blm
(113,019 posts)By the time it was shot and released we were in different relationships, but, still great friends. He added the song Brown-Eyed Girl during the flashback scene for me. 😊
Freedomofspeech
(4,223 posts)cynatnite
(31,011 posts)TeamPooka
(24,210 posts)SidDithers
(44,228 posts)with Dennis Leary is pretty funny.
Sid
blm
(113,019 posts).
applegrove
(118,502 posts)RandySF
(58,513 posts)nolabear
(41,937 posts)I love Billy Bob Thornton anyway but it gets me.
lilactime
(657 posts)CBHagman
(16,982 posts)And I see it's coming up on TCM a week from today, so I'm going to have to find a way to view that (no cable).
http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/78205/The-Holly-and-the-Ivy/
lilactime
(657 posts)CBHagman
(16,982 posts)And I might accept it, if we can arrange something.
calguy
(5,295 posts)nolabear
(41,937 posts)arent really happy until they discover their old home town and the man of their dreams.
kimbutgar
(21,060 posts)Kurt Russell is a great Santa and the story is fun, even for adults.
IcyPeas
(21,842 posts)this is so artfully done. No dialogue. Just music. From wikipedia:
The Snowman was adapted as a half-hour animated television special.... It was first shown on 26 December 1982, and was an immediate success. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film and won a BAFTA TV Award, out of two nominations.
The story is told through pictures, action and music, scored by Howard Blake. It is wordless, just like the book, except for the song "Walking in the Air". In addition to the orchestral score, performed in the film by the Sinfonia of London, Blake composed the music and lyrics of the song, performed by Peter Auty, a St Paul's Cathedral choirboy.
It was voted #4 in UKTV Gold's Greatest TV Christmas Moments. It came third in Channel 4's poll of 100 Greatest Christmas Moments in 2004.
Poiuyt
(18,118 posts)mia
(8,360 posts)Thank you for posting the link. I still have the vhs and dvd versions of "The Snowman", and have held on to a dvd player because of it. It's hard to believe that The Snowman is 30 years old. I taught young students for most of my working life and showed them this film every year. It's still my favorite and now that I'm retired and Christmas dinner is at my house, my adult children and their children will see it once again.
Poiuyt
(18,118 posts)Bring the young ones up loving it as much as you do.
NightWatcher
(39,343 posts)MurrayDelph
(5,292 posts)More traditional options:
The Man who Came to Dinner
Christmas in Connecticut
It Happened on Fifth Avenue
FakeNoose
(32,599 posts)Adults will find this movie entertaining for sure, but it's really not a "Christmas movie" like the other suggestions on here. I just watched it the other day for the first time in 20 years, and I had forgotten how bad the language is.
Major Nikon
(36,818 posts)dustyscamp
(2,223 posts)USALiberal
(10,877 posts)Hermit-The-Prog
(33,264 posts)and The Day After Tomorrow
Oh, home alone?
Psycho
In Cold Blood
lunatica
(53,410 posts)Theres always one fly in the egg nog!
Hermit-The-Prog
(33,264 posts)My work is done.
Kashkakat v.2.0
(1,752 posts)Christmas special (2012). It stands on its own pretty well, you dont have to have seen it before (I think the early ones set in the 1950s are more interesting too before things got more modern.)
Of course A Christmas Story and Its a Wonderful Life - my mom has the colorized version and I enjoyed it - seemed to bring out more detail in the sets, the clothes they wore etc. I second The Snowman - not just for kids I think. Like A Crhistmas Story it kinda takes ya back to childhood for a little while which can be fun.
If its A Christmas Carol it has to be the one with Alistair Sim - best Scrooge ever imho.
Volaris
(10,269 posts)All three Lord of the rings films...the directors cuts---just put them in and let them run in the background for 8-9 hours while u do other things heh
CBHagman
(16,982 posts)Janet Leigh is a single mother in post-World War II America. She's got a routine job, parenting, quiet but steady relationship. In the course of a day's work things take an unexpected turn, and she meets Robert Mitchum, which REALLY complicates things.
http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/78191/Holiday-Affair/
stopbush
(24,393 posts)Wendell Corey is the odd man out.
dem4decades
(11,270 posts)My go to is George C. Scott's Christmas Carol.
If you watch any Hallmark Movies, some one here turned me on to this podcast, A Very Hallmark Christmas, https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/a-very-hallmark-christmas/id1303947163?mt=2. Which reviews Hallmark movies and makes fun of them when appropriate. It's addicting.
betsuni
(25,380 posts)His family is liberal but he appears to be conservative. He asks his girlfriend's sister if she chose her life, says something about everybody telling you what you should do and who you are because you're good at something. His family wouldn't pressure him into going into finance or business, so who is he talking about, and his contentious relationship with his mother isn't explained. Can your wife explain?
I just started watching Hallmark Movies! In three of the four I've seen so far, the lead actress had the same blonde wavy hairstyle, general face and coat and the lead actor vaguely resembled a famous TV actor. The plots are recycled movies. The last one starred a brunette with an Adam Driver look-alike love interest and the plot was borrowed from the movie "Stakeout" (which I wouldn't have known except I saw it on TV last month).
Me.
(35,454 posts)But favs include
"Remember The Night"
"We're No Angels"
Wounded Bear
(58,605 posts)cutesly little Steve Martin piece, one of his best. Also starring Rob Reiner, Madeline Kahn, Tony LaPaglia, and Leiv Schreiber (in drag, no less ). Oh, and the Fruit Cake from Hell, too.
Delightful film.
Generic Brad
(14,272 posts)Both are Christmas movies. No one can convince me otherwise!
vercetti2021
(10,156 posts)Best ever
Olafjoy
(937 posts)The Holiday-Cameron Diaz, Kate Winslet. My favorite movie.
The 12 Dates of Christmas-on Amazon. Sort of a Groundhogs Day for Christmas. Its cute.
The Truth About Christmas. A fluff movie about a political consultant left completely unable to lie after her encounter with Santa.
Love Actually
The Santa Clause movies
Krampus-a really irreverent movie that unleashes anti-Christmas on a dysfunctional family. If you want to see demented gingerbread cookies attack, youre at the right place. Are those snowmen getting closer to the house? It has become a favorite for my family.
The Holiday Calendar-new for 2018. A nice Christmas romantic comedy.
🎄🎄🎄🎅🏻🎅🏻🎅🏻🎅🏻😁
narnian60
(3,510 posts)wishstar
(5,268 posts)The Holiday has totally happy ending, simpler without so many convoluted plotlines and not as bittersweet as Love Actually
Glorfindel
(9,720 posts)"Bell, Book, and Candle"
"Gremlins" (yes!)
"Sleepless in Seattle"
WillowTree
(5,325 posts)Peter Falk delivered one of my all-time favorite lines...
."Awwww....Get a load of this like the inside of a goat's stomach!"
My DVD I out on loan, so I'll rent it on Amazon tonight or tomorrow.
TygrBright
(20,755 posts)Julian Englis
(2,309 posts)A retelling of Dickens that's v. funny
MrGrieves
(315 posts)Yes it is.
Metatron
(1,258 posts)DUgosh
(3,054 posts)Jamie Lee Curtis, Eddie Murphy, Dan Aykroyd, Denholm Elliot, Don Amenche, Ralph Bellamy, Al Franken
MrGrieves
(315 posts)VOX
(22,976 posts)You know the rest.
Demonaut
(8,914 posts)GulfCoast66
(11,949 posts)Puts a lot in perspective.
sl8
(13,679 posts)betsuni
(25,380 posts)The Shop Around the Corner
Christmas in Connecticut
Miracle on 34th St.
It Happened on 5th Avenue
The Bishop's Wife
The Apartment
Trading Places
Christmas Vacation
In the Bleak Midwinter
Metropolitan
While You Were Sleeping
Scrooged
The Holiday
Mixed Nuts
The Family Man
The Ref
Nutcracker: The Motion Picture
CBHagman
(16,982 posts)Because nothing says Christmas like putting on a Shakespearean tragedy in the middle of nowhere.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0113403/
I'm also fond of Peter's Friends, though it's more properly a New Year's Eve movie, as is When Harry Met Sally.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0105130/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
jberryhill
(62,444 posts)IcyPeas
(21,842 posts)weird movie.....
Renew Deal
(81,847 posts)Elf and Trading Places are both good. Both are very funny. Trading Places is not a Christmas movie at its core. It takes place at Christmas time.
UniteFightBack
(8,231 posts)912gdm
(959 posts)FTW
912gdm
(959 posts)as opposed to un-intelligent picks?
Im 40 and watched an animated movie called Arthur Christmas. I thought it was cute and very well done. It was cute for kids. and nice for adults.
Mr. Quackers
(443 posts)vercetti2021
(10,156 posts)Yippie ki yay motherf ker
mr_lebowski
(33,643 posts)Not a 'Xmas Movie' per se but it does take place during the holidays and it's a sweet, fun movie in general.
AlexSFCA
(6,137 posts)912gdm
(959 posts)couldn't get through it. I love Bateman and Aniston, but I just couldn't stomach miller.
cilla4progress
(24,718 posts)Thanks!
Sedona
(3,769 posts)oberliner
(58,724 posts)Niagara
(7,566 posts)I'm not sure if these are available on Amazon prime:
A Christmas Story
The Holiday
Christmas with the Krank's
SoCalDem
(103,856 posts)ucrdem
(15,512 posts)100% awesome b/w weepies with Christmas themes, or at least a few trees, all free in Amazon Prime ...
cilla4progress
(24,718 posts)all!
jalan48
(13,842 posts)BannonsLiver
(16,313 posts)Its the story of how Charles Dickens wrote A Christmas Carol. Great cast including Christopher Plummer. Currently on Prime.
sfwriter
(3,032 posts)Its funny and sweet.
50 Shades Of Blue
(9,928 posts)Mendocino
(7,482 posts)Both take place at Christmas/New Year.
Plus Billy Wilder, a gift any time of the year.
Hamlette
(15,408 posts)I watch it every year. Love it.
Bridget Jones Diary
While you were Sleeping
Serendipity
When Harry met Sally
All rom coms Love Actually is my fav. I've probably watched it a dozen times.
WillowTree
(5,325 posts)They're pretty much at opposite ends of the spectrum and both a little off the beaten track.
nolabear
(41,937 posts)I love that movie-Hepburn is fantastic.
spanone
(135,795 posts)Kaleva
(36,259 posts)VOX
(22,976 posts)In particular, the later episodes that deal with the bone-chilling winter in Bastogne. A Christmas like no other.
Yes, it's (very) bloody warfare, but it's comforting to see compassionate teamwork applied to a just cause, and young men (some of them mere teens) who possess a depth of character and concern for a greater good that is now absent in most American men.
But my holiday must-watch is the Alastair Sim version of Dicken's "Christmas Carol." Sim is THE ONLY Scrooge -- accept no substitutes!
oberliner
(58,724 posts)Also, Die Hard.
USALiberal
(10,877 posts)Karadeniz
(22,475 posts)Remember the night!!!!!
Trumpocalypse
(6,143 posts)BumRushDaShow
(128,527 posts)... if you like Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire and musicals. I finally watched it for the first time last year (on TCM) and it had interesting plot twists and of course the famous Oscar-winning song "White Christmas". I just checked and Amazon Prime does have it available.
Coventina
(27,064 posts)It's a Christmas Sherlock Holmes mystery, exceptionally well done by Jeremy Brett, who played Holmes for Masterpiece Mystery in the 1980s.
Look for the series: "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes."
SMC22307
(8,090 posts)No fights over mall parking spaces, just absolutely delightful.