THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – A CHRISTMAS CAROL (1959)

 

Fredric March stars as miser Ebenezer Scrooge in this live TV retelling of Charles Dickens' “A Christmas Carol”.

The classic tale in which he is taught the true meaning of Christmas by three Spirits who visit him, revealing to him the truth about his own miserable existence, what opportunities he wasted in his youth, his current catalogue of cruelties, and the dire fate that awaits him if he does not change his ways.

Scrooge is faced with his own story of growing bitterness and meanness, and must decide what his own future will hold, death or redemption.

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – WINDOW WONDERLAND

 

Two Manhattan department store employees, Sloan Van Doren (Chyler Leigh) and Jake Dooley (Paul Campbell), both apply for the same job during the busy Christmas season.

Sloan is a driven young woman determined to become the next window dresser at McGuire's department store and to uphold a 95-year-old artistic holiday tradition, she is serious and professional, infact she's the polar opposite of the happy-go-lucky Jake, who also wants the job.

But when Mr. Fitch (Matty Finochio) the head of advertising and promotions fails to give the job to either of them, but offers them a compromise solution instead and proposes a challenge, a competition where each will create a series of seasonal storefront windows, twice a week until Christmas and the creator of whichever window display gets the most attention from passers-by will get the job.

As they go through their paces, with Jake's obvious talent grabbing the public's attention, a silent but mutual attraction develops between the pair, but progress was hampered by the contest and the presence of Kenneth Carlyle (Cameron Mathison), Sloan's blueblood boyfriend, who can't understand the importance Sloan is placing on this job.

However there were supporters of the efforts of the window dressers in the shape of McGuire's veteran window washer Mac (Terence Kelly) and brassy bathroom attendant Rita Dorentella (Naomi Judd) who also have eyes for each other but haven't done anything about it yet.

So love is in the air at McGuire's for Mac and Rita but how will the love triangle be resolved, and will it be before Christmas?

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – CHRISTMAS IN MY HOMETOWN

 

Executive Jacob (Jake) Peterson (Tim Matheson) is sent to a small town to assess which of the workers in the local tractor factory, on which the town relies on as the chief source of employment, should be laid off when the planned downsizing begins.

However he gets side tracked when he falls in love with a local single mom Emma Murphy (Melissa Gilbert) which her daughter Noelle (Michelle Trachtenberg) encourages.

But is there any future in their relationship if he does what he was sent to the town to do?

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – CHRISTMAS ANGEL (2012)

 

Grade school student Olivia Mead (Izabela Vidovic) believes that the Christmas wishes read out in class by her classmates are beginning to come true.

She and her friend Lucas Conroy (Tyler Humphrey) believe it's the long-abandoned house next door to hers which she believes houses an angel that grants the wishes, as long as the wish is made while throwing a rock at it, but then Olivia meets a reclusive old woman living inside, Elsie Waybright (Della Reese), and together they begin reviewing the wishes left at the gate in a “wish box” placed there to stop people from damaging the property any further.

Olivia makes a wish for a new husband for her single mom (Teri Polo), and the landlord of the abandoned house (Kevin Sorbo) comes into their lives, but Olivia would rather her mom had the new substitute teacher (Rob Boltin) but she just had to let the Angel do her work.

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – THE CHRISTMAS STALLION

 

Sixteen year old Gwen Davies (Siân MacLean) adores the horses she and her grandfather have raised on the beautiful Welsh Mountains. However, when her grandfather dies without naming her as heir the farm passes to her uncle Alan (Daniel J. Travanti) who left Wales many years earlier and made a home in America and now must either sell the farm to a greedy land developer, or allow Gwen to keep the farm, opening the wounds of his tragic past in the process.

ALL-TIME CLASSIC MOVIE FAVOURITES – MAGIC (1978)

 

“Magic” is a Horror Drama, screenplay written by William Goldman from his own Novel and Directed by Richard Attenborough.

 

Magician's assistant Corky (Sir Anthony Hopkins) performs disastrously at his first solo appearance, but his mentor, Merlin (E.J. André), tells him he needs to find some charm, and he chooses to do that by getting a ventriloquist dummy called “Fats” to improve his act, and within a few years, Corky is at the height of fame, thanks to his foul-mouthed dummy, however along the way Fats develops a mind of his own, so much so that Corky’s agent Ben Greene (Burgess Meredith) wonders who is actually in control of who.

After refusing the to have a medical exam for a big Network gig he escapes to his old hometown to get his head straight, and finds the town very changed apart from his old crush Peggy Ann Snow (Ann-Margret) who he falls in love with anew, much to the displeasure of Fats and her husband Duke (Ed Lauter).

Goldman's intensely suspenseful, spooky novel shows up on the big screen unabridged and complete in all its terrifying splendour.

ALL-TIME CLASSIC MOVIE FAVOURITES – DIE HARD 2: DIE HARDER (1992)

 

“Die Hard 2: Die Harder” is an action thriller, screenplay by Doug Richardson and Steven E. de Souza from the Novel by Walter Wager, and Directed by Renny Harlin.

The sequel to Die Hard follows on from the terrifying events in Los Angeles, NYPD cop John McClane (Bruce Willis) is about to go through it all again as he goes on another Christmas vacation to meet his wife Holly (Bonnie Bedelia) and he is in Washington where he is at the airport meeting Holly off the LA flight.

But while he is waiting, a team of terrorists, led by Col. Stuart (William Sadler), holds the entire airport hostage, while they plan to rescue a drug Lord, Esperanza (Franco Nero) from justice.

As part of that plan they have seized control of all the control systems affecting all aircraft, with no runway lights available, and no means to contact them, all aircraft have to remain in the air, with fuel running low, so if McClane is going to save the day again he will need to be fast.

It’s another great action thriller with Willis still at the top of his game.

ALL-TIME CLASSIC MOVIE FAVOURITES – DIE HARD (1988)

 

“Die Hard” is an action thriller, screenplay by Jeb Stuart Steven and E. de Souza, from the novel by Roderick Thorp, and Directed by John McTiernan.

The story centres on NYPD cop John McClane (Bruce Willis) who goes on a Christmas vacation to visit his wife Holly (Bonnie Bedelia) in Los Angeles where she works for the Nakatomi Corporation.

He is picked up from the airport by limo driver Argyle (De'voreaux White) who drops him at the Nakatomi Tower where the office Christmas party was taking place.

While they are there amidst a tense reunion, a group of bank robbers, led by Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman), takes control of the building and holds everyone hostage, with the exception of John, who escapes up the fire escape.

However, unable to leave the building and with no immediate police response, John is forced to take matters into his own hands and causes havoc while the bad guys try to execute their plan to perform a lucrative heist.

It’s a great action thriller with Willis at the top of his game.

ALL-TIME CLASSIC MOVIE FAVOURITES – THE SHOP AROUND THE CORNER (1940)

 

“The Shop Around the Corner” is a romantic comedy, based on a play by Nikolaus Laszlo and Directed by Ernst Lubitsch.

In Budapest, Hungary, Matuschek and Company’s gift store is owned by Mr. Hugo Matuschek (Frank Morgan) and bachelor Alfred Kralik (James Stewart) is his best and most experienced salesman.

But everything seems to go awry when Klara Novak (Margaret Sullavan) is hired by Mr Matuschek, but from the first moment Kralik and she meet they do not get along.

Over the weeks that follows the lonely and dedicated Kralik has an anonymous pen pal and through their correspondence he falls in love with her and intends to propose to her.

Simultaneously however his relationship with his employer deteriorates and he is fired without explanation by Mr Matuschek on the very same night that he is going to meet his secret love and propose.

He goes to the bar that night regardless where they have scheduled their meeting with his colleague Pirovitch (Felix Bressart) and he surprisingly finds that Klara is his correspondent, however he chooses not disclose his identity to her because he feels ashamed after being sacked.

But following a shocking incident, involving salesman Ferencz Vadas (Joseph Schildkraut), shop boy Pepi Katona (William Tracy) and Matuschek himself, he has a change of heart and hires Kralik back again but this time to manage the shop.

However as Klara is still fascinated with her correspondent she pays little or no attention to Alfred so it would take all his guile and cunning to work out a plan to reveal himself to Klara who exactly he is.

But anything is possible, it is Christmas after all and everyone loves a happy ending.

ALL-TIME CLASSIC MOVIE FAVOURITES – IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE (1946)

 “It’s A Wonderful Life” is a fantasy family drama co-written and Directed by Frank Capra based on the story by Philip Van Doren Stern.

The film is a slightly dark, almost bittersweet tale of a savings and loan manager George Bailey (James Stewart), a bit an earnest do-gooder who struggles against a greedy banker Mr. Potter (Lionel Barrymore) and his own self-doubting nature in a small town.

After suffering a financial catastrophe, he see’s suicide as a possible solution to his predicament only to be rescued by a whimsical, endearing, trainee-angel named Clarence (Henry Travers).

However its only when George says he wished he had never been born that Clarence is able to show him what life would be like for his mother (Beulah Bondi) and Uncle Billy (Thomas Mitchell), his friends Ernie, Bert and Violet, (Frank Faylen, Ward Bond and Gloria Grahame), former employer Mr. Gower (H.B. Warner) and his loving wife Mary (Donna Reed), in a world in which he had never existed.

So, George Bailey, after years of feeling trapped in a small town finally recognizes his life to be wonderful and truly rich.

A typical performance by the ever-dependable James Stewart and ably supported by the beautiful Donna Reed and the incomparable Lionel Barrymore as the grasping villain of the piece.

It’s definitely not the kind of film that would be made today as it is definitely on the schmaltzy side and nobody seems to write happy endings anymore, but no Christmas would be complete without watching Frank Capra’s Christmas classic.
Even thought it was not a success at the box office at the time, it is now one of the most popular and heart-warming films ever made...

THE BEST CHRISTMAS MOVIES EVER – CHRISTMAS GRACE

 

Christmas Grace is set over several Christmas seasons and tells the tale of rival toy store owners, Gary (Ryan-Iver Klann) and Mr. Tollman (Tim Kaiser) who have very different approaches to their stores and their lives.

Gary walks the path of Christ and lives his life righteously, while Mr. Tollman lives his on a different path of avarice, greed and dishonesty.

But despite their different methodologies they still find God's grace hard at work in both their lives.

ALL-TIME CLASSIC MOVIE FAVOURITES – NOW YOU SEE ME (2013)

 

“Now You See Me” is a Mystery Crime Thriller, screenplay written by Ed Solomon, Boaz Yakin and Edward Ricourt and Directed by Louis Leterrier.

 

The story begins when four magicians, J. Daniel Atlas (Jesse Eisenberg), Merritt McKinney (Woody Harrelson), Henley Reeves (Isla Fisher) and Jack Wilder (Dave Franco), each answer a mysterious summons, and all arrive at an obscure address where they find hidden secrets.

One year later, they are big time stage illusionists, the Four Horsemen, and they climax their sell-out Las Vegas show by apparently robbing a Paris bank.

When it turns out that the bank actually had been robbed, F.B.I. Agent Dylan Rhodes (Mark Ruffalo) and Interpol Agent Alma Dray (Mélanie Laurent) are assigned to the case to figure out how they did it.

However the great truth in this puzzle is that the closer you look, the less you see, and deeply embroiled in the mystery for very different reasons are Thaddeus Bradley (Morgan Freeman) Arthur Tressler (Michael Caine) and Agent Fuller (Michael J. Kelly).

ALL-TIME CLASSIC MOVIE FAVOURITES – HALLOWEEN (1978)

 

“Halloween” is a horror thriller, written by John Carpenter and Debra Hill and Directed by John Carpenter.

 

The movie begins on Halloween in 1963, when 6 year-old Michael Myers (Will Sandin) stabs his 15 year old sister Judith (Sandy Johnson) to death.

After being institutionalized for 15 years, Myers breaks out on the night before Halloween, and no one seems be too concerned that Myers' is heading back to Haddonfield, and that he’ll likely be there on October 31st 1978, except his psychiatrist, Dr. Loomis (Donald Pleasence).

But by the time the authorities of the town realize he’s heading for Haddonfield, Illinois to kill again, it may be too late for many of its inhabitants.

Jamie Lee Curtis, Nancy Loomis, P.J. Soles and Charles Cyphers star in what was undoubtedly the first of the slasher film, which has influenced almost every slasher film made since.

ALL-TIME CLASSIC MOVIE FAVOURITES – CARRIE (1976)

 

“Carrie” is a horror classic, screenplay by Lawrence D. Cohen, based on the Novel by Stephen King and Directed by Brian De Palma.

 

High school senior Carrie White (Sissy Spacek), is a shy, unworldly, and friendless teenage girl who has been sheltered from real life by her domineering, fanatically religious mother (Piper Laurie), while struggling in secret with the special telekinetic powers she possesses, a secret which she cannot divulge to her mother as she would consider it to be a gift from the devil.

The only adult authority figure who tries to help Carrie with her life is her Physical Education teacher, Miss Collins (Betty Buckley) but she is warned by the Principle not to get too involved.

After an incident of bullying by her classmates the culprits are banned from attending the Senior Prom and blame Carrie so they plan to exact their revenge on her by humiliating her in front of everyone at the Prom.

So will they succeed or will she unleash her telekinetic powers on them in a horrifying display of rage.

Amy Irving, William Katt, John Travolta, Nancy Allen and P.J. Soles play Carries classmates, good and bad, in what is possibly the best movie adaptation of a Stephen King novel.

ALL-TIME CLASSIC MOVIE FAVOURITES – PSYCHO (1960)

 

“Psycho” is a horror thriller, Screenplay by Joseph Stefano, based on the Novel by Robert Bloch and Directed by Alfred Hitchcock.

 

The plot concerns a Phoenix secretary Marion Crane (Janet Leigh) who is dissatisfied with the way life has treated her, and unable legitimize her relationship with her married lover Sam Loomis (John Gavin), she embezzles $40,000 from one of her employer's client when she is entrusted with depositing the money at the bank.

Seeing it as an opportunity to start a new life, Marion leaves town and heads towards California, however fatigue sets in after getting caught in a storm, she gets off the main highway and pulls into the Bates Motel which is managed by a quiet young man called Norman (Anthony Perkins) who seems to be dominated by his mother, but is everything as it appears?

 

Vera Miles, Martin Balsam and John McIntire also shine in this classic Hitchcock masterpiece, a film not to be missed.

ALL-TIME CLASSIC MOVIE FAVOURITES – THE SHINING (1980)

 

“The Shinning” is a horror classic, screenplay by Stanley Kubrick and Diane Johnson, based on the Novel by Stephen King and Directed by Stanley Kubrick.

 

Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) is an aspiring author and recovering alcoholic cursed with a persistent writer's block.

His solution is to take a job as an off-season caretaker at the secluded Overlook Hotel in Colorado's snow-capped mountains, and drags his wife, Wendy (Shelley Duvall), and his gifted son, Danny (Danny Lloyd) with him.

The Torrance’s arrive as the Hotel begins to shut down for the season, and they are given the grand tour, during which they meet the Hotel's chef, Hallorann (Scatman Crothers).

Halloran chats with Danny about the rare psychic gift they share called “The Shining”, and warns him about certain rooms he should avoid, as the Hotel has a grizzly past.

In the weeks that follow the closure of the Hotel Jack fails to overcome his writers block and little by little, Jack starts losing his mind.

He feels trapped in a gargantuan silent prison set in an unforgiving environment of seemingly endless snowstorms, his days are filled with strange occurrences and eerie visions and incessant voices in his head demand a sacrifice, leading to a thrilling and dramatic finale in true Kubrick style.

ALL-TIME CLASSIC MOVIE FAVOURITES – THE DEAD ZONE (1983)

 

“The Dead Zone” is a horror thriller, screenplay by Jeffrey Boam, based on the Novel by Stephen King and Directed by David Cronenberg.

 

When a survivor from a road accident awakes from a coma after five years, schoolteacher Johnny Smith (Christopher Walken) discovers he has psychic abilities, when he touches someone, he gets visions of the past, present or the deadly future.

However after five years he finds life has moved on without him, his girlfriend Sarah Bracknell (Brooke Adams) is now married; he no longer has a job and he's basically crippled due to his muscles having atrophied.

So he struggles to find his place in the world, but along the way he does use his abilities to help Sheriff Bannerman (Tom Skerritt) solve a murder case.

He then helps to save a child's life but when he discovers the chilling fate for the world, he must save everyone from an evilly corrupt presidential hopeful Greg Stillson (Martin Sheen) but at what cost.

Character stalwarts, Herbert Lom, Anthony Zerbe and Colleen Dewhurst provide excellent support to the stars in the gripping movie.

ALL-TIME CLASSIC MOVIE FAVOURITES – THE FOG (1980)

 

“The Fog” is a horror thriller, written by John Carpenter and Debra Hill and Directed by John Carpenter.

 

The story is set against the backdrop of the peaceful community of the coastal town of Antonio Bay, California who are making preparations to celebrate the towns’ centenary.

However strange supernatural occurrences blemish the festivities as an unearthly impenetrable and opaque fog rolls off the ocean to shroud the seaside town and leads to unaccountable disappearances, so is there something evil lurking in the fog?

Could it be linked to events a century earlier when a hideous crime was committed by the town's elders when they sealed the fate of a ship full of drowned mariners now lying on the bottom of the sea.

So has the fog brought the restless dead seeking revenge and demanding justice?

Adrienne Barbeau, Jamie Lee Curtis, Janet Leigh, John Houseman and Hal Holbrook bring this ghostly tale to life, while the photography by Dean Cundey makes it all seem real.

ALL-TIME CLASSIC MOVIE FAVOURITES – THE CHANGELING (1980)

 

“The Changeling” is a horror drama, Screenplay by William Gray and Diana Maddox from a story by Russell Hunter and Directed by Peter Medak.

 

When music professor and composer John Russell (George C. Scott) and his family are enjoying a perfect family vacation, a freak automobile accident claims the lives of his wife and daughter.

Consumed by grief, he is urged to rent a huge nineteenth century house, and the house seems to possess all the room John needs to reflect and hopefully write music.

However it isn’t long before he realizes he is not alone in the house as he shares it with the spirit of a murdered child who has homed in on John's grief and despair and uses him to uncover decades of silence and deceit.

With the help of Claire Norman (Trish Van Devere), who helped John secure the house, they set out to find the answers and the powerful and devious man who guards them.

This is not a violent or “Kensington Gore” type of horror, it scares with great story telling, eerie sounds and dark corners and it uses pathos with great effect.

The film also benefit from accomplished direction and the acting excellence of its stars and a great supporting cast including Melvyn Douglas, John Colicos and Barry Morse.

ALL-TIME CLASSIC MOVIE FAVOURITES – CAREFREE (1938)

 

“Carefree” is a Musical Romantic Comedy, Written by Allan Scott, Ernest Pagano. Dudley Nichols, Hagar Wilde, Marian Ainslee, and Guy Endore and Directed by Mark Sandrich.

Stephen Arden (Ralph Bellamy) has a problem in the relationship with his fiancée, Amanda (Ginger Rogers), so he turns to his friend Dr. Tony Flagg (Fred Astaire), a psychiatrist, for help to understand why she keeps breaking off the engagement.

After some minor misunderstandings, she falls in love with Tony, so he tries to use hypnosis to strengthen her feelings for Steven, however things get complicated when he realises that he’s in love with her.

It’s an interesting and amusing vehicle in which Ginger and Fred acquit themselves ably but are supported by a first-rate group of players headed by old friends like eager Jack Carson and irascible Clarence Kolb plus charming comedian Luella Gear.