Best Christmas Movies for the Entire Family’s Enjoyment

You may be searching for holiday movies that the entire family can enjoy. If so, then I would like to share some of my personal favorites for your consideration.

Of course, when it comes to quality Christmas movies for family viewing, there are actually quite a lot, far more in fact than I could possibly address in this blog posting. Then again, there are some that are consistently rated more highly than others for their entertainment value, and while a few are classics, others are of more recent vintage; however, whether old or new these movies all share certain characteristics:

• They do not contain violence, profanity, or nudity. 
• They are immensely entertaining. 
• They contain characters about whom you can care.
• The storyline actually has "meaning."
• They are guaranteed to fill you with the true spirit of the Christmas season. 

Classic Christmas Movies for Family Viewing

 

Granted, some children might consider older movies passé or even “boring,” but the stories told in the following movies are timeless and remain as heartwarming today as when the films were first released. So, with this in mind, after viewing these movies, children might develop an appreciation for the oldies but goodies. 

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Miracle on 34^th Street (1947): Considered “one of Hollywood’s most delightful fantasies” (Martin & Porter), t››his movie stars Natalie Wood as a child who has stopped believing in Santa Claus but has her faith restored when she meets a department store Santa, played by Edmund Gwenn, who claims to be the real thing; and whether he is or he isn’t is left for the viewer to decide in this heartwarming classic. 

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It’s a Wonderful Life (1948): Starring legendary Hollywood actors as James Steward, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore, Thomas Mitchell, Ward Bond, and Henry Travers, this film relates the story of a good man who begins to question whether life has passed him by and to wonder what it would have been like for others had he never been born. Would they be better off for never having known him? Of course, he learns the answer, which is the premise for this “heartbreaking, humorous, and ultimately heartwarming” tale (Martin & Porter).

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A Christmas Carol (1951): This version of Charles Dickens’ classic tale is considered by many film critics to be the best adaptation of the story. It stars Alistair Simms as Ebenezer Scrooge, the meanest miser in all of London, and is guaranteed to “bring a tear to your eye and joy to your heart” (Martin & Porter).

More Recent Christmas Movies for Family Viewing

In recent years Hollywood has produced several delightful holiday movies that are appropriate for all ages, including very young children. A few are especially noteworthy, including the following:

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Charlie Brown Christmas (1965): Although by some standards an “oldie,” this animated tale remains “young at heart,” perhaps because it stars the entire cast of Charles Schulz’s Peanuts and is considered by some film critics to be “required viewing for anybody concerned with losing the Christmas spirit” (Martin & Porter).

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A Christmas Story (1983): Set in the 1940’s, this movie stars Bill Billingsley as a boy who dreams of receiving the ultimate Christmas gift—a Red Ryder air rifle. His parents, however, played by Melinda Dillon and Darren McGavin, don’t think he’s yet old enough to handle a rifle. At times both heartwarming and hilarious, this film is a viewing delight for both young and old.

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The Santa Clause (1994): The star of this film is Tim Allen, a father who finds himself obligated to become Santa Claus after frightening the Jolly Elf and causing him to plunge from the roof, thanks to a little thing called “The Santa Clause.” So Allen dons Santa’s suit, and from this moment on, the story becomes magical entertainment.

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Elf (2003): Starring Will Ferrell, this enjoyable holiday film tells the story of a man who was raised by Santa’s elves at the North Pole but then learns of his human origins, which explains why he towers over his elfin kin, and wishes to return to the real world in order to locate his biological father.

The Polar Express (2004): This animated film is based on the children’s book by Chris Van Allsburg and was nominated for an Academy Award, for obvious reasons. The story of a young boy who doubts the existence of Santa Claus but then boards a magical train headed for the North Pole, this extraordinary film stars Eddie Deezen and Tom Hanks (at least their voices) and is a must-see Christmas film for all ages. 

In summary, these delightful, entertaining, and wholesome Christmas movies will provide hours of fun for the entire family. Moreover, they are guaranteed to fill everyone, children and adults alike,  with the true spirit of the Yule Tide season.

Reference:

Martin, M. & Porter, M. (1994) Video Movie Guide, New York: Ballantine Books

Thanksgiving Entertainment for the Entire Family

As Thanksgiving rapidly approaches, you may be looking for entertainment that reflects the spirit of the holiday—one of thankfulness and generosity—and is suitable for the entire family. If so, I would like to share a few suggestions:

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The Thanksgiving Visitor: A Beautiful Story with an Invaluable Lesson

I have read Truman Capote’s The Thanksgiving Visitor every Thanksgiving season since I first discovered it years ago. It is a masterfully written and moving story about events in one little boy’s life during this holiday when we give special thanks for our many blessings, most notably our family and friends. .

Originally published as a short story in McCall’s magazine in November 1967, The Thanksgiving Visitor was republished in book form the following year by Random House. It is not a long book, though. In the copy I own, the actual story runs a mere 55 pages, and it would be much shorter if formatted differently, so it doesn’t take very long to read at all. In fact, you can read it in less than an hour, more like 30 minutes really.

Although written for adults, The Thanksgiving Visitor is yet immensely appealing to children, mainly because they can relate to the eight-year-old narrator, Buddy; they enjoy the antics of the dog, Queenie; and they find Buddy’s elderly cousin, Aunt Sook, amusing and loveable. Capote’s tale, however, like much classic literature is more than simply entertaining because it teaches important lessons. For instance, according to the Committee for Children (2010), “The story's events, relationships, and flawed characters are guaranteed to spark lively discussions about such issues as bullying and bystander behavior, anger management, empathy, and friendship.”

Personally, however, I enjoy Capote’s story not for its moral lessons, but because it is beautifully written, with realistic characters to which I can relate, and because, regardless of how many times I read it, it always makes me cry. It is that touching.   

In addition to reading Capote’s story each year, I also like to watch a few Thanksgiving-themed movies, though it seems that good movies about this holiday, unlike Christmas, are in short supply. Then again, though few in number, there are yet some excellent movies with Thanksgiving themes and/or settings, including, but not limited to, the following. 

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A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving:

Rated four stars by Mick Martin and Marsha Porter, coauthors of Video Movie Guide 1995, and described as an “adorable seasonal special,” this short animated film was originally made for television in 1973 but is still shown in many areas around the country and is also available on DVD.  Filled with Charles Schulz’s delightful Peanuts characters, the story beautifully captures the true meaning of Thanksgiving and does so with humor, warmth, and sincerity. 

The Thanksgiving Story: 

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Another original television special, which was also made in 1973, The Thanksgiving Story stars Richard Thomas, Ralph Waite, Michael Learned, Ellen Colby, and Will Geer, otherwise known as the Walton family. John Boy (Thomas) has fallen in love with “the girl of his dreams” and is applying for a college scholarship, but then he has a serious accident that threatens to destroy everything. Although Martin and Porter claim the movie is “a bit slow-paced and overly sweet,” it’s well worth seeing and will warm even the coldest heart.

Miracle on 34^th Street:

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Granted, this movie is associated with Christmas, but it is also a Thanksgiving movie. After all, Macy’s big parade is always held on Thanksgiving Day, and one of the big scenes in the movie is the annual parade. Besides, watching it at Thanksgiving can help put you in the mood for the coming Christmas season.

Made in 1947 and starring Natalie Wood, Maureen O’Hara, and Edmund Gwenn, this family classic, as Martin and Porter say, is “one of Hollywood’s most delightful fantasies.”  It tells the story of a little girl who has lost the spirit of Christmas but has it rekindled by a department store Santa who causes a furor when he claims to be the real thing. Whether he is or isn’t the real thing, well, that’s up to you to decide.

Sources:

Committee for Children (2010) “Literature Extension Activity: Truman Capote’s The Thanksgiving Visitor,” retrieved November 1, 2010 from cfchildren.org

Maltin, L. (2009) Leonard Maltin’s 2010 Movie Guide; New York: Signet Books

Martin, M. & Porter, M. (1994) Video Movie Guide 1995; New York: Ballantine Books

Silver Bullet: A See-Again Movie for Halloween

Photo from Google Images (2014)

It's almost Halloween, and as the holiday approaches, I enjoy seeing a few good horror movies. However, the key word is “good,” because I like to think that I have discriminating taste when it comes to choices in cinematic fare, including horror movies. As a result, I don’t watch just any horror movie. For instance, I do not care for “slasher films” like Halloween (The 1978 film, starring Jamie Lee Curtis, is a different story entirely), Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13^th, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, or other splatter-fests. My idea of a good horror movie is one that meets the following criteria:

• Suspense that keeps you on edge.

• Well-developed and likeable characters.

• Good acting.

• A tight script.

• A believable plot. (Yes, I know that horror movies don’t exactly reflect reality, at least the reality I know; nevertheless, their storylines should allow the viewer to enter that state Samuel Taylor Coleridge called “a willing suspension of disbelief.)

• No gratuitous blood, gore, or profanity.

So, that said, I am going to tell you about my all-time favorite movie for Halloween viewing.

Stephen King's Silver Bullet 

 Circa 1985 and classified as a psychological horror/teen film, Silver Bullet is based upon a Stephen King novella, Cycle of the Werewolf. Directed by Dan Attias, it stars:

• Gary Busey as the reprobate Uncle Red

• Corey Haim as Marty Coslaw, Uncle Red’s nephew

• Megan Follows as Jane Coslaw, Uncle Red’s niece

• Everett McGill as Reverend Lester Lowe

• Terry O'Quinn as Sheriff Joe Haller

• Robin Groves as Nan Coslaw, Marty's mother and Uncle Red’s sister

• Leon Russom as Bob Coslaw, Nan’s husband and Marty and Jane’s father

• Other assorted actors and actresses, plus a good many extras

Set appropriately in October, in the small town of Tarker Mill, Maine (Aren’t all King’s stories set in Maine?), Silver Bullet is a superior horror film, mainly because of the relationship between Uncle Red, Marty, and Jane. Plus, the film has heart and even contains moments of humor.

Plot Overview

 Jane Coslaw (Follows) narrates the story, and she sounds rather eerily like the narrator of To Kill a Mockingbird, though I’m sure they aren’t one in the same since the film based on Lee’s novel was released 23 years before Silver Bullet. Anyway, the storyline revolves around Jane’s strained relationship with her brother Marty, who is a paraplegic and confined to a wheelchair, and their parents, who Jane feels are overly protective of Marty and treat her unfairly as a result.

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The siblings’ often tumultuous relationship changes for the better, however, after a series of gruesome murders occur in Tarker Mill. As the murders continue and the police get no closer to catching the perpetrator, the town establishes a curfew and cancels its annual October Fest, which includes a fireworks show. The event happens to correspond to Marty’s birthday (I think it’s his birthday), so Nan and Bob, not wanting to disappoint Marty, decide to have a cookout and invite Nan's brother (Uncle Red), who, regardless of his black-sheep standing in the family, is Marty’s favorite uncle. Come to think of it, maybe that’s why Red is Marty’s favorite uncle. He certainly isn’t boring. In fact, he’s anything but.  

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Uncle Red, obviously mechanically inclined, has made Marty a souped-up wheelchair/motorcycle nicknamed the “Silver Bullet” (probably because it’s silver and fast, but also because it’s an analogy—silver bullets, as you know, kill werewolves). Uncle Red also gives Marty a large bag of fireworks, so Marty, riding in the Silver Bullet, goes zooming off into the night (As if I would go zooming off into the night with a manic on the loose) to shoot his fireworks. Marty stops on a bridge in the middle of the woods, where he lights some fireworks and is having a rousing good time when he’s confronted by—you guessed it—the werewolf. Marty, being resourceful however, launches a rocket, hits the werewolf directly in the eye socket, and high-tails it for home, where he shimmies up the trellis, rolls through the window, climbs into bed, pulls the covers over his head, and shivers until he falls asleep (Could you sleep after seeing a werewolf?).

The next day Marty tells Jane that a werewolf is on the prowl in and around Tarker Mill. She tells her brother that he’s nuts, but Jane later changes her mind when she notes Reverend Lowe’s bandaged eye and finds a bloody baseball bat in the church’s garage. The kids, though, know they can’t handle a werewolf by themselves, so they solicit Uncle Red’s help. Uncle Red, despite his care-free Peter-Pan outlook on life, is a realist, so he doesn’t believe for one moment that a werewolf is terrorizing the town. Wanting to placate the kids, however, he agrees to help them kill the monster. The first step, Marty and Jane decide, is to take Jane’s silver crucifix to a master gunsmith who can melt the crucifix down and turn it into a silver bullet. The next step is to wait for the full moon¸ which appropriately is scheduled to occur on Halloween night.

Okay, that’s all I’m going to tell you about the plot; otherwise, there’ll be no need for you to see the movie.

Silver Bullet Rating 

Although you special-effects aficionados will probably cringe over the werewolf’s appearance (It isn’t exactly up to 2014 standards), Silver Bullet is a see-again movie. It’s suspenseful; it’s entertaining from beginning to end; the characters are likeable; the storyline, though fanciful, is believable; the acting is outstanding; it contains very little if any profanity (none that I can recall); and though it’s rated “R” for violence and gore, that violence and gore are mild compared to what you see in movies today. In fact, though the movie isn’t for very young children, I personally would not rate it R. If anything, Silver Bullet should receive a PG-13 rating or perhaps even a PG. After all, compared to recent horror movies, as well as a great many from earlier years, it’s tame. And, it’s fun to watch.

Disney Marvel Years Into the Merger

Several years into the merger between Disney and Marvel Entertainment and i, for one, am very excited about what has been brought (and what is in talks to be brought) to the table. What at first seemed to be the imminent "babification" of some very iconic figures, has instead turned into a serious and most lucrative enterprise.

Disney infused much need revenue but let the creative types, comfortable in their vein, stay in that vein...only now with the resources to make bold strides into the multiplex market. Long range focus, respect for the source material (if not dogged adherence) and smart choices for budgeting, direction and acting talent have proved a powerful and (seemingly) very synergistic relationship.  If nothing else, the glaring missteps (though at times well intentioned) of the past (HULK, Daredevil, Ghost Rider) appear to be drifting into the sea of forgetfulness.

I dig it, what are Your thoughts on the Disney/Marvel marriage?

~Steven