Chris Columbus, who may as well be known as the maestro of merry nostalgia—he’s behind beloved favorites like Home Alone, Home Alone 2, and Stepmom—takes over the director’s chair for subsequent chapters in Netflix’s Christmas Chronicles. Netflix has already begun debuting new Christmas movies in the last couple of weeks and has many more to come throughout November. By DeAnna Janes. Though the film may ultimately have a happy ending, those moments of Christmas pathos make it feel like more than just a fluffy musical confection. In effect, In Bruges is a moral parable gussied up to look like a Euro vacation film. A Christmas Carol became Charles Dickens’ ticket from middle-class writer to literary superstar. [Scott Tobias], Die Hard is a classic for a number of reasons, but one of the smartest and subtlest is the way it turns yuletide trappings into just that: trappings. (Photo by New Line, Warner Bros., Miramax, RKO, 20th Century Fox/ courtesy Everett Collection) The Best Christmas Movies of All Time. Clockwise from upper left: Die Hard (Screenshot), A Very Harold And Kumar Christmas (Screenshot), It’s A Wonderful Life (Screenshot), Meet Me In St. Louis (Screenshot) The beloved animated film has made 63 appearances on the Top 10 charts this year (that’s the second-most of any movie) and currently ranks as the #4 film of 2020. It’s called The Christmas Setup, and it’s about a New York lawyer, his high school crush, and his meddling mother who uses the holidays to flex her matchmaking moxie. It’s Christmas, for God’s sake. Factory TV, Tubi, and Crackle), You already know the 12 Days Of Christmas, with its drummers drumming and partridges and gold…, For some reason, Arthur Christmas flies its Santa sled under the radar, even though it’s a charming holiday film. The top 5 Hallmark movies that will get you in the holiday spirit The hosts of "Deck the Hallmark" watch every Hallmark holiday film, and review them all. Club loves the holiday season, and we also love opening small doors in paintings of Santa…, Not since fellow man-child Adam Sandler donned a searing blue suit for Punch-Drunk Love has a costume done so much for an actor: In his oversized green smock with yellow tights and pointy shoes, [Will] Ferrell’s fish-out-of-water character looks almost three-dimensional, and his already-imposing presence balloons into something like The Hulk. Take away the “bone marrow transplant” part—and replace it, if you’d like, with some other malady or terminal illness—and there’s no real difference between Desplechin’s premise and that of countless holiday narratives that clog the arteries like waterboarding with eggnog. And in Iron Man 3, Stark is forced to flee to a remote Tennessee town after an attack on his life, his only company in the holiday season a similarly alone young boy. December 11, 2020 Every product on this page was chosen by a Harper's BAZAAR editor. This 2020 version is the second film adaptation of The Boys in the Band. It’s like if Robert Mitchum had gone straight from Night Of The Hunter to playing Elmer Fudd in a live-action Bugs Bunny movie, and then that Bugs Bunny movie had been the biggest thing since Gone With The Wind. No, he realizes the best thing in life is simply to live. It’s that time of year to delight in tree decorating, festive fuzzy sock indulgence, Bing Crosby tunes, and all the holiday movies Netflix is adding to its lineup, just in case you want to give those Hallmark flicks a break. Warner Bros., Home Alone’s original studio, had passed on the film when writer and producer John Hughes couldn’t keep the budget under $10 million. Kate Winslet, Mia Wasikowska, and Rainn Wilson costar, and though it’s a remake of a Danish film, it definitely feels like a more serious, highbrow Stepmom. The networks took a good movie that people had responded to and turned it into an event, even as NBC was limiting Wonderful Life airings to one or two per year. With Run The Series, A.A. Dowd examines film franchises, studying how they change and evolve with…, Right from the jump, the [Harold And Kumar] franchise’s third installment makes a quantum leap in both visual and comedic inventiveness. Though it’s been a lump of coal for most, 2020 might actually be a banner year for Carey. No, A Christmas Story got where it is because of TV, and it’s not hard to see why. It’s a lot like our personal experiences with the holiday, expectations forged in the warm heat of nostalgia that never match up to how we “remember” Christmas, or how Christmas is “supposed to be.” This is how tradition, like any other substance that isn’t properly maintained or meaningfully refreshed over time, grows toxic. AppleTV+ is getting in on the yuletide magic this year with the Queen of Christmas, Mariah Carey, leading the way. And like the similarly trailblazing teen movie Love, Simon, that means Happiest Season feels like nothing you’ve seen before and also like a lot of things you’ve seen before. Updated on 11/19/2020 at 7:34 PM. He views the holiday not as a blueprint but as “a touch of magic… a backdrop against which different things can play out, but with one unifying, global heading.” In a 30-year career, Black has captured that magic and mastered the genre of the Christmas action film, able to couple them for a distinctive viewing experience. [Caroline Siede], In Scenic Routes, Mike D’Angelo looks at key movie scenes, explaining how they work and what they…, Yes, Miracle On 34th Street is pure Hollywood hokum, a blatant piece of sub-Capra populism designed to advance the controversial proposition that Santa is real and children should be allowed to let their imaginations run free. In business, a deal’s a deal, and if making good on that deal means riding around repossessing his debtors’ possessions on Christmas Eve, so be it. The A.V. Dec 17, 2020 Netflix. A heartwarming film that proves there are some really good people out there. The most recent movie on this list is the Netflix original Christmas movie Let it Snow. Club loves the holiday season, and we also love opening small doors in paintings of Santa…. Save. Club’s cinematic guide to celebrating the holidays: Story: Retired detective Nick Charles (William Powell), his rich, beautiful wife Nora (Myrna Loy), and their rockin’ dog Asta hit the Big Apple for a holiday getaway and end up helping solve a murder case. Even the people who made Home Alone had no idea that it could be anything other than a pretty decent Christmastime moneymaker. The movie’s closest thing to a Scrooge figure—Potter—wins out time and again, cackling gleefully about his dominance of the town’s economic affairs, and every victory George wins is simply a victory to keep existing. 34. The story of two hitmen (Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson) camped out in Bruges, Belgium, after a murder gone wrong functions as a Christmas film precisely because it deeply inhabits the season’s pensive nature. An orphan accidentally scooped up by Santa (Ed Asner) and raised by elves at the North Pole, Ferrell doesn’t realize that he’s human until his adopted father (Bob Newhart) explains why he isn’t hitting the toy-making quotas of his pint-sized peers. “Jingle Bells,” not AC/DC or Black Sabbath, was the music Robert Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark played as he tried out his new automated suit of armor. Dudley hasn’t come to Earth to pitch in on construction, though: He’s there to help patch up the cracks forming between Henry and his family—an unstated mission that grows complicated when the heavenly visitor starts falling for the titular bishop’s wife, Julia (Loretta Young). When he journeys to the Empire State Building to seek out birth father James Caan, Ferrell finds a cold, embittered Grinch who doesn’t have time for his own family, let alone a slap-happy freak claiming to be his long-lost son. [Erik Adams], Originally released in 1993, The Nightmare Before Christmas marks almost as much of an advance for stop-motion animation as Pixar’s Toy Story did for computer animation. 12 Christmas Cocktails to Fête the Holiday, The 40 Funniest Christmas Movies of All Time. From 'Home Alone' to 'Trading Places,' here are 22 of the best funny Christmas movies ever, available to stream right now. New Christmas movies on Netflix are also coming soon—see the best ones. The Knight Before Christmas. Whether you want something old, new, animated, or live-action, the best kids' Christmas movies will please every member of your crew. There's not much to laugh about in 2020, but these great new comedy movies of 2020 will take your mind off things, if only for a couple hours. Number-two seed "Elf" pulled off … With dialogue that draws directly from Dickens’ words and the inclusion of typically omitted details, The Muppet Christmas Carol is unusually faithful to its source material. Club. Fun fact, this is one of two Vanessa Hudgens holiday romance movies on this list! Our list of the best Christmas movies for kids will make the whole family happy! [Mike D’Angelo], Every day, Watch This offers staff recommendations inspired by a new movie coming out that week.…. 10. Family-Friendly Christmas Movies for the Holidays! They warm our hearts, restore our faith in humanity and generally bring joy to the world. As for her TV gig, we hear it’s an “’innovative special’ that will mix music, dancing and animation ‘driven by a universally heartwarming story that brings the world together.’”, Amanda Gorman on Her Style and Cultural Influences, Bernie Sanders Was Really Just Trying to Keep Warm, Rep. Cori Bush Isn't Going to Change for Anyone, VP Kamala Harris Wears Prabal Gurung on Day One, What the Biden Family Wore on Inauguration Night, This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. The 26 Best Movies of 2020. Making good on its promise—if only by making baby steps—we have The Christmas House, a romance starring Mean Girls’ Jonathan Bennet as one half of a gay couple who are trying to adopt. Pass the popcorn: The top movies to watch these holidays. Every year, thousands of wish lists addressed to the man in red are collected at centers across the country. On top of everything else, having people on their holiday guest list bumped off willy-nilly makes it hard to craft a workable seating chart. Reporters get up in Powell and Loy’s faces, braying questions when they’re trying to enjoy themselves, then making up newspaper stories about them. Club. It's been a rough year, but Christmas movie fans, the time has come. Because this Grinch of a year will not put a damper on our holiday spirit. Set in a small store in Budapest where curiously only one of the employees has any sort of a native accent, Ernst Lubitsch’s The Shop Around The Corner peaks during the holiday shopping season. These are the best kids' Christmas movies to watch as a family in 2020. Stream It. In fact, it basically sends Tootie into a minor emotional breakdown. And we’re here for it. When Iron Man 3 was released [in May 2013], it heralded the start of the 2013 summer blockbuster season in the way you’d expect: big-name stars, lots of high-definition explosions, climactic battles, and one-liners in equal measure. 2020 Holiday Movies: Hallmark, Lifetime, Netflix, And Hulu's 'Happiest Season' We've got the goods on a large number of movies coming to cable and … [Scott Tobias], (Available on Starz, Fubo, DirecTV, Sling, and Spectrum), Mix The Family Stone with While You Were Sleeping, add a touch of My Best Friend’s Wedding, and give the whole thing a lesbian makeover, and you’ve got Happiest Season, Hulu’s much-anticipated new holiday rom-com starring Kristen Stewart and Mackenzie Davis. About a kid who isn’t okay with his gramps laying claim to his bedroom, The War might bomb with critics, but when it’s 2020 and we’re stuck indoors for yet another season, we’ll take any laughs we can get. The Knight Before Christmas. Starring Susan Sarandon as a woman who wants one final holiday season with her family before ending her battle with ALS, the indie drama from Notting Hill director Roger Michell serves family traditions and drama with a side of deadpan comedy. Deftly crafted enough to make a skeleton dissecting a teddy bear or the sight of children terrorized by an evil toy duck seem cute, Nightmare taps directly into Burton’s unique sensibility, bringing it to life with highly memorable results. The U.S. Released in 1954 and starring Crosby, Danny (fucking) Kaye, Rosemary Clooney, and Vera-Ellen, it portrays a world where you could aspire to be a song-and-dance act as a viable career. As Hallmark promised in July, the network is committed to shaking up its predominantly white and straight film fare like a snow globe. It’s that time of year to delight in tree decorating, festive fuzzy sock indulgence, Bing Crosby tunes, and all the holiday movies Netflix is adding to its lineup, just in case you want to give those Hallmark flicks a break. These are the phenomenal films that helped us overcome a challenging year. But, let’s be honest, most of these Christmas movies aren’t that good. Minari. And subscribers are clearly ready, as Netflix’s top 10 popularity rating has started to feature more and more holiday films. Both follow escaped convicts assuming new identities, though the identities vary by version: 1955’s We’re No Angels casts Humphrey Bogart, Aldo Ray, and Peter Ustinov posing as faux-handymen assisting a needy family at Christmas, while 1989’s We’re No Angels places its ne’er-do-wells—Robert De Niro and Sean Penn—in a monastery. 4. Our favorite Christmas-themed entertainments have elaborate origin myths. 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