I've been on a Christmas movie kick, fittingly, the past couple weeks. I've watch old favorites (Home Alone, The Santa Clause, Miracle on 34th Street), and newer ones that I've come to enjoy (Alfie, This Christmas). I also bit the bullet and finally watched Love Actually and The Nightmare Before Christmas, both of which I had never seen before. I'll admit, I almost fell asleep watching Nightmare; it just wasn't my cup of cocoa. On the other hand, I rather enjoyed Love Actually, and I get why it's a favorite for so many. (Any Christmas movie that concludes with an elementary school Christmas presentation will always win me over.)
Random holiday movies are now, fittingly, popping up in my Netflix "recommended" queue. I'm always down to give those a try, especially on a cold and rainy Saturday morning, and so, I have. Most of them have been a miss, but there were a few hits.
1. The Spirit of Christmas
This one was really a stab-in-the-dark selection. Meredith was over for dinner, and we needed something to mindlessly watch while we sipped our vino and caught up on life. It was a few days before Thanksgiving, so I had to actually search through the "Holiday Favorites" section to find something that looked the least bit interesting. Turns out, it was way bit interesting. The spirit referenced in the title is an actual ghost, and he's a damn good looking one. Honestly, the entire plot was implausible (I probably would've rolled my eyes through the whole thing if it weren't for the vino), including the ending, but for some reason, Christmas movies get a pass on the plausibility factor. Suspend your disbelief, grab a glass, and give this one a try.
2. A Christmas Horror Story
Listen. If there's any film genre I'd watch over all the rest, it's horror. Cool points if there's a supernatural element. J, on the other hand, probably wouldn't choose a horror movie if it was the last one on Netflix. That's why I was super surprised when I came downstairs and saw him press play on this one.
It's one of those movies with multiple storylines that intersect in some way, and about halfway through it, it almost lost me, but the ending wrapped things up quite nicely. The production wasn't very high quality, but they did have enough money to pay William Shatner to make an appearance and narrate the whole thing.
3. Christmas in the City
So here's another mindless selection. I turned this one on while I was cooking dinner, and I mostly chose it because I was curious to see Ashanti in a Christmas feature. Yes, the same Ashanti that was popular when Cash Money Records took over the 99s and the 2000s. She wasn't the main character, so I'm unsure why her face is the only one showing on the movie cover...
This movie lost me about 10 minutes in. It was a cheese-fest! The kids are perfect angels, the town is perfect and pristine, the work environment is a utopia (briefly), and the main character lands a job, in the big city, within a few minutes of walking into a store.
I finished cooking dinner and left to run a quick errand, leaving J at home to watch whatever he wanted to watch. When I came back, he was right where I left him, still watching the movie. Our conversation went something like this:
Me: You know you didn't have to keep watching that, right? You could've changed to something else.
Him: I know, but it kinda got interesting and sucked me in. This dude is the real Santa Clause!
Me: *blank stare*
So... clearly this movie deserved to be on this list.
And that's all I have for now. I'm on a mission to find Home Alone 2: Lost In New York on tv soon. It's one of the few sequels I enjoyed more than the original.
Love 'Spirit of Xmas'!!! I'll have to check out some of the others :)
ReplyDeleteYeah it was really cute. And the love interest of foiiiine!
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