Holiday Movie Hall of Fame

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That sounds real familiar, I wonder if I've seen it yet?
Its from the 70s. Its actually called The House Without A Christmas Tree.



Its from the 70s. Its actually called The House Without A Christmas Tree.
With Jason Robards, I'm sure I seen it. It looks like a good one too as it's rated 8.2 at IMDB, but I can't really remember much about it.



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Muppet Christmas Carol



For what it's worth, this is one of the smoothest and easiest Christmas films to watch and I like that. This is another that gets piled in the watch nearly every year category.

The best thing about the film is Rizzo the rat as a side kick to "Charles Dickens" telling this tale that has been told so many other times. But perhaps he gives the best twist to it. He's easily the funniest part of the film.

Michael Caine played a great Scrooge too I thought, perhaps one of my favorite. I could be biased though because I really like his performances in general.

Christmas Present is my favorite segment of the three because of the character who portrays it. Christmas past is good too except I don't care for the song.

I like the film! I'm not big on Henson stuff but really do like this.

+



Women will be your undoing, Pépé



Scrooge aka A Christmas Carol

Jacob Marley: In life, my spirit never rose beyond the limits of our money-changing holes! Now I am doomed to wander without rest or peace, incessant torture and remorse!
Ebenezer: But it was only that you were a good man of business, Jacob!
Jacob Marley: BUSINESS? Mankind was my business! Their common welfare was my business! And it is at this time of the rolling year that I suffer most!

Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol is very much like a Baskin & Robbins Ice Cream Shoppe. With so many variations and versions, there's a favorite in there for just about everybody.
This is mine. And while I've watched just about all of them throughout my life, I continually come back to this with Alastair Sim being the epitome of Ebenezer Scrooge for me. The same goes for Mervyn Johns in regards to the timid Bob Cratchit. Invoking such sympathy and endearment to the role. I still get teary eyed when he weeps for the loss of his beloved Tiny Tim during the visit of the Spirit of Christmas Yet to Come.

Just like the opening musical score of impending doom that shifts into "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" so does this film shift seamlessly from dark ghost story to joy filled moments.
And for me, it is never truly Christmas if I miss out on watching this film.
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The trick is not minding
There was a recent ranking of all A Christmas Carol films and the 1951 version came in first with the 1935 version at #2.
Muppets came in #7



Women will be your undoing, Pépé
VERY cool!
I've only seen the 1935 version once, about a year ago, or the year before due to a conversation regarding it, with -- I want to say CR. Very good version.



The trick is not minding
VERY cool!
I've only seen the 1935 version once, about a year ago, or the year before due to a conversation regarding it, with -- I want to say CR. Very good version.
It was CR who mentioned it previously and the contagious holiday viewing spirit of MG that has me looking into it.



Women will be your undoing, Pépé
Never seen 1935, but the Musical version with Kelsey Grammar deserves a shout too
I think you'd might enjoy the '35 version.
Regarding Musical versions I'm partial to Scrooge with Albert Finney. Love that one.



You can't make a rainbow without a little rain.

The Nightmare Before Christmas
(1993)


First: I liked it....Stop motion works so much better for me than most animation does. Most animation looks flat to me, while stop motion looks three dimensional when done well...and this was done well!

Second...I'd never seen this until now, so a big thanks to Thursday Next for choosing it.

Third: The songs were great, really catchy and well placed in the movie. They conveyed the emotions of the scene. I'm not sure why people say they don't like musicals, when non-musical fans will like a movie like this.

Fourth: The world building was very detailed and dare I say 'fleshed out' I love the creativity of all the denizens of Halloween Town. I even spotted a Jacob Marley inspired character. Lots of cool stuff to see!

Firth: I especially liked the characters of Jack and Sally. The mad professor was real colorful too and fun.

The Nightmare Before Christmas reminded me of the old Adams Family TV show, I bet Tim Burton use to watch that when he was a kid. Mostly what I liked was the sadness and hope of Sally. She gave the film heart.

I've never understood that about musicals either. I understand when someone says that they don't like the concept of people "breaking out into song" for no reason, but I don't understand why there are a handful of musicals that seem to stand out as "musicals for people who don't like musicals".
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You can't make a rainbow without a little rain.
Muppet Christmas Carol



For what it's worth, this is one of the smoothest and easiest Christmas films to watch and I like that. This is another that gets piled in the watch nearly every year category.

The best thing about the film is Rizzo the rat as a side kick to "Charles Dickens" telling this tale that has been told so many other times. But perhaps he gives the best twist to it. He's easily the funniest part of the film.

Michael Caine played a great Scrooge too I thought, perhaps one of my favorite. I could be biased though because I really like his performances in general.

Christmas Present is my favorite segment of the three because of the character who portrays it. Christmas past is good too except I don't care for the song.

I like the film! I'm not big on Henson stuff but really do like this.

+

I liked Michael Caine in this too, but he's not a very good singer. He made me think that Rex Harrison might have been good in that role. Harrison's not a great singer either, but he can "speak-sing" amazingly, and I think he would have made a great Scrooge.



You can't make a rainbow without a little rain.
Never seen 1935, but the Musical version with Kelsey Grammar deserves a shout too

I didn't know there was a Musical version of A Christmas Carol with Kelsey Grammar. I'll have to find that one. Thanks.



You can't make a rainbow without a little rain.
8 crazy nights. Which is actually hilarious more I think of it lol.

I tried watching Eight Crazy Nights earlier today. (I've always wanted to see it because there aren't a lot of movies about Hanukkah.) It was so bad that I had to turn it off about about 15 minutes.



You can't make a rainbow without a little rain.
A Christmas Carol (1951)
This is a very dark and/or grim movie compared to the other movies that were nominated in this HoF, which kind of makes it hard to rank along with the other noms.

I like how we can actually see the changes in Scrooge as he sees more and more of how other people see him. From his girlfriend Alice, leaving him because he loves money more than her, to how people talk about him in the present, and him seeing that nobody is sad when he dies, we can see how he goes from being a mean and greedy person to being frightened of what will happen to him, and realizing that he still has a chance to change his ways. In only about 90 minutes, the movie goes from being dark and depressing to fun and uplifting.

I like how the different spirits are shown in this movie. The spirit of Christmas past looks like a ghost, maybe because it's all about the people in his past who have died, (or left him alone). The spirit of Christmas Present looks like a king because it's all about his money. And the spirit of Christmas yet to come looks like the grim reaper, because it's all about his death.

I love the way his maid is terrified of him while he's dancing at the end because she thinks he's gone crazy.

I never noticed this before about any version of Scrooge, but this movie feels like it's a toned-down version of The Grinch because they both go from mean and selfish to nice and generous.



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I never could get the hang of Thursdays.
I never noticed this before about any version of Scrooge, but this movie feels like it's a toned-down version of The Grinch because they both go from mean and selfish to nice and generous.
Probably more that The Grinch is a version of Scrooge.



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I never could get the hang of Thursdays.
Scrooge (A Christmas Carol) (1951)


A film I've seen so many times I don't really need to watch it again in order to review it. It certainly felt a bit weird watching it in November, since it's usually a Christmas Eve tradition in my family. This is a movie that my grandparents loved and my mum loved.

This is the version of A Christmas Carol to me, and Alistair Sim is the Scrooge. The way he goes from self-satisifed smugness in the 'are there no workhouses' scene to outright meanness and coldness to his complete transformation into as giddy as a schoolboy, standing on his head at the end is superb. I love the standing on his head part. There are some great supporting characters here, especially the lot that turn up at the pawnbrokers to flog his stuff after he's dead - I think the muppet version must be closely based on this version in that particular.

The music is great, too, the darker music mixing in with the Christmas carols, the snowy London scenes capture the cold atmophere and ghostliness of the story. My main complaint, every year, is the poshness of the Cratchitt children, talking about goose and pudding in their plummy accents.

A Christmas cracker.



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I never could get the hang of Thursdays.
Just Friends

Just awful.

Things presented as comedy in this movie: fatsuits, gay jokes, people falling over, people being tasered, people falling over after being tasered, people being spat on, people eating toothpaste, people being hit in the face...

It was tedious and unfunny. No effort was made to make any of the characters speak or behave in even remotely plausible ways. The only bit that was quite amusing was when Jamie and the ambulance guy started flirting in the ambulance over the injured Chris.

I'd hoped that the romance might work, and I did sort of sympathise with Chris once he started to realise he wanted to be with Jamie properly and not just 'get' her, but it took a long time to get to that point and I was mostly just hoping they would get together so the movie could end.



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Just Friends

Just awful.

Things presented as comedy in this movie: fatsuits, gay jokes, people falling over, people being tasered, people falling over after being tasered, people being spat on, people eating toothpaste, people being hit in the face...

It was tedious and unfunny. No effort was made to make any of the characters speak or behave in even remotely plausible ways. The only bit that was quite amusing was when Jamie and the ambulance guy started flirting in the ambulance over the injured Chris.

I'd hoped that the romance might work, and I did sort of sympathise with Chris once he started to realise he wanted to be with Jamie properly and not just 'get' her, but it took a long time to get to that point and I was mostly just hoping they would get together so the movie could end.
I liked it when movies get ripped on sometimes. Nice review to read



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I tried watching Eight Crazy Nights earlier today. (I've always wanted to see it because there aren't a lot of movies about Hanukkah.) It was so bad that I had to turn it off about about 15 minutes.
It's a so bad it's good movie I thought. I haven't seen since it's theatrical release though. I have fond memories of that theater experience