Blog This!   Lee Geistlinger's Web Log

Blog Home
Blog Archives
LittleGhost Home

E-mail: lee AT geistlinger.com

Everyone loves lists Books, Movies and so on

My Online Aggregator

Movies - Holiday Flicks

Movies that are not only worth watching over and over again (especially at their certain holiday time), but sometimes these movies are part of the holiday tradition. (Top 10 Index)

Charlie Brown Christmas

While I haven't watched - nor felt a real desire to catch this cartoon classic the last few or so years, it is a classic.

Watch at least once, if for no other reason that the great Vince Giraldi music. Great CD; recommended.

How the Grinch Stole Christmas

The cartoon version with Boris Karloff, not the Jim Carrey version.

Hard to even define: It's - like so many Christmas movies - very loosely based on Dickens' "A Christmas Carol," but with Dr. Seuss' own wierd and wonderful twists.

Clever tale, perfect narration by Karloff, and - in a bit of trivia I just learned - the person who sings the songs in the cartoon is also the same guy who supplied the voice for Tony the Tiger in the Frosted Flakes commercials. Stump your friends with that one.

Planes, Trains and Automobiles

Somewhat sophmoric in the genre of Animal House, vs. some of Steve Martin's other more intelligent movies, such as L.A. story, this is still worth watching at some point of your life.

Starring Martin and John Candy (OK, that explains the sophmoric feel...), it's got some great sight gags (the all but not-a-car rental car) and some holiday travel trueisms (everyone in a hurry; everyone want's to be waited on now).

Great movie? No. Worth renting or buying for occassional viewing? Absolutely (I just purchased this recently, but haven't watched it. Which is fine).

Scrooged

How can you not enjoy Bill Murray playing the Scrooge character in this contemporary version of Dickens' "A Christmas Carol"? Sly humor, intentional over-the-top humor and a great cast.

Come on! Carole Kane as a pixie of the Ghost of Christmas Present, smacking him in the face with a toaster? Murray's character's name is "Frank Cross" (get it, frankly, I'm crabby??) and so on.

White Chirstmas

Sure, this is basically a vehicle to pump some more dollars out of Bing Crosby singing the title track (first sung in Holiday Inn, but still some great dance numbers and some intelligent humor.

Trivia: Directed by Michael Curtiz, who also directed Casablanca and Yankee Doodle Dandy (the latter another holiday classic).

Yankee Doodle Dandy

Yeah, wave that flag and all that, but tied together nicely with the great Cohan songs and some amazing, rubber-legged dancing by James Cagney.

No, it's no Amadeus, but it has the same effect - you learn stuff you didn't know about the man (much of which is untrue, but...it's a MOVIE..), and you get to hear some familiar music and realize that person was the source.