The Reds Share Favorite Christmas Movies

RHYS BOWEN: I’ve been scouring the TV listings for any of my favorite Christmas movies and do far nothing!
Do you have a particular movie that says to you “ okay, now it’s really Christmas?”

I have several: It’s a Wonderful Life”( I always cry) Love Actually ( although it always annoys me
when Liam Nielsen lets the boy push past airport security. I think he’s going to be shot until I remind
myself that it’s London and they don’t shoot people), and White Christmas are my favorites.

I almost forgot a Charlie Brown Christmas and Linus makes me cry at the end.

I also like Scrooge with Albert Finney but it’s not often on any more.
I quite enjoy The Santa Clause, especially when the obnoxious psychiatrist goes all starry eyed
and says , “Santa?”

The only one I’ve seen so far is Rudolph and I was interested to see a piece in a newspaper blasting
The bullying. I so agree. What a message—that Santa tells Dasher he should be ashamed
for having a son who is different? And the coach won’t let him play? And only the young bucks get to fly?
  Sorry. Time to retire that one

Elf makes me embarrassed. Home Alone terrifies me,

Am I too sensitive?  So how about you? What movie do you have to see each year?
And are there any good Hanukkah movies out there?

JENN McKINLAY: I love Scrooge with Albert Finney, but also A Christmas Carol with Alistair Simm, It’s a Wonderful Life, Love Actually, White Christmas...check, check, check! We can movie buddies, Rhys! I do love Charlie Brown’s Christmas and as a child of the 70’s and 80’s,

I love A Year Without a Santa Claus (Heat Miser v. Freeze Miser) and The Grinch (animated).

And, of course, the best Xmas movie of all time...Die Hard. LOL! Come at me!

RHYS: Oh yes… I remember the Heat Miser. I’m Mr. Heat Miser, I’m Mr. Snow etc. Good one.

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: I'm not big on Christmas movies--I mean, It's A Wonderful Life, sure, but I can say it word for word,  and DIE HARD, which I adore,Jenn, every time, but I wouldn't stop what I was doing to watch it. I've never seen ELF, because it looks--too dumb. (I know, I'm jumping to conclusions.) I used to LOVE  Love, Actually, and I still do, but I made the mistake of reading an article which explained why I shouldn't like it, and it had some points. There's Thin Man, too--doesn't one of them take place at Christmas?

OH! I know, I know, and yes, you MUST all see this, seriously, find it.  It's called--The Man Who Invented Christmas. It's about how Charles Dickens wrote A Christmas Carol. Seriously. truly, it is wonderful, and an absolute writer movie. Trust me, it's terrific. I am going to go find it right now.

LUCY BURDETTE: I am with Hank, I am not a big re-watcher of Christmas movies, movies in general I’d say. I did notice that National Lampoon’s Christmas vacation is going to be showing at the local Key West cinema. I’m kind of tempted by that.

DEBORAH CROMBIE: I absolutely must watch Love Actually. I know you can find fault with it, but I don't care, I still love it. And I listen to the soundtrack! I try to get in a viewing of It's a Wonderful Life, and I love A Christmas Story. I've even been to the house in Cleveland that was used for the set. Last year we watched Die Hard, which we hadn't seen in years, and thoroughly enjoyed it. You have to root for Bruce Willis.

But my very favorite Christmas movie is The Holiday, with Kate Winslet, Jude Law, Jack Black, and Cameron Diaz, written, produced, and directed by Nancy Meyer, fabulous score by Hans Zimmer. If you haven't seen this, it's a must.

Oh, and Rhys, I'm glad to know I'm not the only terrified by Home Alone. I can't watch it!

HALLIE EPHRON:  I’ve never seen Die Hard but I do have a soft spot for A Christmas Story. And You’ve Got Mail. And of course Love Actually. But I do love to haul out ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas and A Child’s Christmas in Wales for a read aloud. And the Dr. Seuss book about the Grinch. Looking forward to celebrating this holiday with our grandkids.

JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: I do love Christmas movies, and they’re a tradition in our family. (Watching movies together is a big thing for us year-round, and we have certain films we always and ever only see at one date or another.) I’ll suggest three: My personal fave is CHRISTMAS IN CONNECTICUT, the 1945 original, not the dreadful 1992 remake. Glamorous, funny Barbara Stanwick has to fake being the WWII era Martha Stewart at her all-too-eager to wed boyfriend’s house in snowy, rural Connecticut - despite the fact she can’t boil water. Will her publisher find out? Will she realize the handsome war hero she’s hosting is really the man for her? Will she stick the pancake-flipping? 

My second suggestion is another romantic comedy, but of a more recent vintage - HOLIDAY IN HANDCUFFS. Melissa Joan Hart, the perpetual screw-up in her picture-perfect family, is so desperate when her fiance dumps her right before the family Christmas vacation, she kidnaps Mario Lopez and introduces him as her boyfriend. The screenplay actually makes the insane premise work, and along with laughs and sighs, you get fabulous winter cabin p*rn and Mario Lopez wearing nothing but a towel.


My final recommendation is THE CHRISTMAS CHRONICLES, which came out on Netflix last year. It’s campy and corny, but has gee-whizz special effects and an AMAZING performance by Kurt Russel, starring as a Santa you wouldn’t mind handing your stocking to, if you know what I mean, and I think you do.

RHYS: So who has a favorite Christmas movie to recommend? Who has to watch a particular Christmas movie?

All I Want for Christmas is what???

RHYS BOWEN: Are you all in the holiday spirit? I would be if I could get the bleeping lights on the Christmas tree to work. I've ordered most of my gifts online which avoids going out in the rain. And if you're anything like me, you've received several gazillion catalogs. Some of them are fun and useful but this year I got one of those MOST OUTRAGEOUS AND USELESS GIFTS EVER type of catalog.
So here is my top ten list, starting with the most harmless.

1.The spinning spaghetti fork. It has a thumb-activated button that sets the fork rotating to wind up your spaghetti. At only $20. A bargain if you can't twist a fork by yourself.

2. The Darth Vader Toaster: toast your bread in this likeness of the iconic villain. Would you want Darth Vader staring at you, early in the morning, on your kitchen counter? Who could possibly want Darth Vader on their kitchen counter, unless you are George Lucas or have a Star Wars themed house?

3.The bearded beanie: A special knitted hat with a beard covering in contrasting color for those whose beards get cold (bearing in mind that hair has no sensitivity)

4.And if gets even colder: The Subzero Warm Breath Mask. Preferred by high altitude mountaineers (in case you have any of those on your gift list). It humidifies and warms winter air for more comfortable breathing. Maybe our Red who lives in Maine might think it's wonderful.

5. Light-casting gloves. An LED light in your gloves can shine on the front door as you try to insert your key without taking your gloves off. And the fingers are tipped with a material that mimics human skin so that you can use touch screens without taking gloves off. May be useful to see what you are eating if you go through the drive-through in your car.

6.Now we move to the more exotic. This one fascinates me: THE WORLD'S FIRST 3D PRINTING PEN. It sends out a thin stream of plastic to create 3D drawings. I still don't understand how it works but it's a steal at $99.99

7. Here is my favorite (NOT) a realistic remote controlled tarantula! Anyone who bought one of those for me for Christmas would definitely be on the "naughty" list forever.

8.And for those who like to go big: a 15 foot inflatable Rudolph. In the picture it looks like the reindeer could squash the house if it sat on it. And it's only four hundred dollars. I must get two.

9.And speaking of big things: A LIFE-SIZE TYRANNOSAURUS SKELETON. And I mean life-size. I don't know about you but a forty foot long and fifteen foot high Rex would not fit in my house. (Maybe it could go on the lawn and devour Rudolph). And it's a mere HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS!

10: And last but not least: The Celebrity Robotic Avatar. This robot is adult-sized, has appeared in movies, and is controlled by a wireless remote, small enough to escape detection so that it looks as if the robot is reacting by itself. It can engage in impromptu banter with guests. It's LED mouth lights up when it talks. Shipping weight is 500 pounds and it costs a mere $345,000.
For that amount I could hire a first-class butler whose mouth didn't light up when he talked but could move without a remote!

So Reds:Would you want to put any of these on your Christmas list?  Have you found anything more outlandish than these? Do share.