TV & Film

Essential Christmas Movies

When you start seeing twinkling lights as you drive down the streets of your neighborhood or when you hear someone singing “Jingle Bell Rock” with utmost enthusiasm, it can only mean one thing: It’s Christmas time!

There really is no season like it — from the stirring of our holiday spirits when we set up the Christmas tree to the Noche Buena feast laid out before our very eyes. But if you want a full-fledged burst of Christmas spirit in you, complete your celebration with a movie marathon that will ensure you and your family a memorable Christmas day.

 

http://images.mentalfloss.com/sites/default/files/styles/article_640x430/public/home-alone_0

http://images.mentalfloss.com/sites/default/files/styles/article_640x430/public/home-alone_0

Home Alone (Ching)

This 90s classic is the perfect feel-good Christmas movie for two reasons. One, you share laughs with the family as you witness 8-year-old Kevin McAllister (Macaulay Culkin) outsmart two burglars (Joe Pesci and Danny Stern) in what can only be described as a hilarious but incredibly painful set of booby traps. Two, it shows that at the end of the day no matter how crazy your family is, you’ll always come back for each other. What better time than Christmas to remember that?

20th CENTURY FOX/COURTESY NEAL PETERS COLLECTION

20th Century Fox/Courtesy of Neal Peters Collection

Die Hard (Deany)

A very vocal contingent of moviegoers considers Die Hard the greatest Christmas film ever made, and they have a pretty good case. The film, which introduces us to our profanity-using, gun-slinging reluctant hero John McClane, remains a stone cold classic, with Bruce Willis becoming America’s newest everyman hero and Alan Rickman turning in a deliciously sinister turn as the villainous Hans Gruber. It is very much worth all the re-watches it can get.

https://a.dilcdn.com/bl/wp-content/uploads/sites/25/2014/10/nightmare_before_christmas_quiz_result_04

https://a.dilcdn.com/bl/wp-content/uploads/sites/25/2014/10/nightmare_before_christmas_quiz_result_04

The Nightmare Before Christmas (Deany)

While the film may officially be directed by Henry Selick, The Nightmare Before Christmas has producer Tim Burton’s fingerprints all over it. That means the film features many the usual Burton-isms moviegoers have grown familiar with: Intricate and darkly comedic plots, Gothic cinematography, and a wonderful Danny Elfman soundtrack. With an inventive storyline and strong performances all around, The Nightmare Before Christmas exists on a level all its own—a rich, timeless gem of animated cinema.

http://cdn.wallpapersafari.com/32/45/lo2Y83

http://cdn.wallpapersafari.com/32/45/lo2Y83

Elf (Ching)

Every now and then, we get so caught up in the stress and pressure from everyday life that we forget to be kind to others and even to ourselves. This is the situation Buddy (Will Ferrell) witnessed upon visiting New York from the North Pole. This might not be too far from what we experience now; we’re sometimes selfish like Buddy’s father,  Walter (James Caan) or stuck doing something we hate like Buddy’s love interest, Jovie (Zooey Deschanel). So if you think you forgot to be kind this year, Buddy proves that Christmas is a good place to start getting your name on that nice list again.

http://vignette1.wikia.nocookie.net/gremlins/images/f/fa/Gizmo

http://vignette1.wikia.nocookie.net/gremlins/images/f/fa/Gizmo

Gremlins (Deany)

Sometimes, Christmas can provide its fair share of thrills too. Few, if any, movie monsters are more adorable than the titular Gremlins, and, as this cult-classic slice of 80’s camp horror shows, even fewer are as terrifying. Normally, the Gremlins are cute little lumps of fur with puppy-dog eyes, but if you feed them after midnight, they turn vicious. While the film very much hits the usual horror movie beats, an iconic villain and stellar set pieces keep it memorable.

Whether you’re in the mood for a comedy or horror, these films will help light up that Christmas spirit in you. You don’t even have to choose just one; if your family is up for it, try watching all five or add other films that you find perfect for the holidays. So get your DVDs and TV screens ready because this might just be the start of a beautiful Christmas tradition.

You might like these!
TV & Film

Vantage Magazine’s 2024 Oscars Picks and Predictions

Best Animated Feature Nominees:  The Boy and the Heron Elemental Nimona Robot Dreams Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse Vant Fave: Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse The second installment in the Spider-Verse franchise definitely lived up to our expectations. It highlighted a more expansive world of spider-people and their spider-ventures, along with a captivating array of animation styles […]

By Alyssa Adul, Chanel Ang, Rozz Lapitan and Tan Dela Cruz

March 10, 2024

By Alyssa Adul, Chanel Ang, Rozz Lapitan and Tan Dela Cruz • March 10, 2024

TV & Film

Body horror: Redefining girlhood and growing pains

Trigger warning: This article contains mentions of sexual harassment, rape, and violence. GORY AND grotesque in nature, the horror genre could easily be perceived as an unwelcoming territory for women-centric stories. Slasher films in particular have a historically problematic relationship with sex and violence. “Final girls” in horror films are often women who tend to […]

By Mika Layda and Bella Yara

December 2, 2023

By Mika Layda and Bella Yara • December 2, 2023

TV & Film

Modern macabre for a modern audience: The Fall of the House of Usher (2023)

BEING AN avid fan of the horror genre, I was no stranger to Mike Flanagan’s reputation, considering his highly acclaimed work with Netflix that cemented him as one of the go-to guys for modern horror. However, the reason why I enjoy his work lies in his ability to depict humans that feel as real as […]

By Tan Dela Cruz

November 15, 2023

By Tan Dela Cruz • November 15, 2023

Exposé

Queering the horror scene: How the community transformed its shadowy spaces

HORROR HAS always been queer. Since the genre’s conception, horror characters have long hidden their repressed selves behind the campy make-up of the supernatural. If the idea behind horror is about wanting to look at what you should not see, no one can relate more to the suppression of natural desires than the LGBTQIA+ community. […]

By Alyssa Adul and Rozz Lapitan

December 4, 2023

By Alyssa Adul and Rozz Lapitan • December 4, 2023