No Ho-Ho Holiday Films!
By K.A. Laity
When you've seen too many cheery reindeer, children singing and hearts growing three sizes, it's time to strike back.I know there are many who can't wait to pull out that pile of Christmas DVDs every year and spend days laughing and crying with Charlie Brown and Lucy or Rudolph and Hermie or find out what Bedford Falls would have been like without George Bailey.
The rest of us need a break from all the sappy sentiment and I will warn you if you dare get out Love Actually it will come to fisticuffs. So if like me you spend the holidays dreading the next turn of that roulette wheel in the DVD player, here are some films you can suggest that meet the criteria of "holiday" themes but aren't the same old schmaltz...
Find out what I recommend here: http://culture.bitchbuzz.com/no-ho-ho-holiday-films.html#ixzz18IQLauVJ
I'm not really a Grinch: I just get overloaded on schmaltz like everyone, considering some places start playing Xmas music in October. My pal Karen has come up with a list of sf/fantasy recommendations for holiday films: check out her blog.
Contest: Yesterday on Facebook, Kit Marlowe gave away a copy of her novel The Mangrove Legacy. I've decided I'm going to give one away here for my birthday :-) Come back tomorrow and comment on the post to have a chance to win. I'll choose a winner at random from among the commenters. I do have the hope that some of these freebies will result in reviews, too [she adds with a hopeful look].
4 comments:
There are shallow or sad bits of THE LONG KISS GOODNIGHT, but I still staunchly defend and enjoy that film in a way that I don't with DIE HARD...
I'm also fond of THE HEBREW HAMMER, a Channukah/Christmas and slightly Kwanzaa kind of film.
LOL -- hadn't heard of that one. I think LKG has had a very successful afterlife in DVD. Lots of people seem to love that film. Renny may have tanked his career, but he can make a good action flick. Cliffhanger was terrific if superficial; Deep Blue Sea is a hoot, especially Samuel L. Jackson, and Cutthroat Island is better than people gave it credit for -- it's just badly in need of trimming.
I was one of fourteen people who saw GOODNIGHT in theaters in its first run...and I still am likely to get a chuckle out of the "ham sandwich" and "you're grounded" lines, as well as the anti-smoking advice.
I didn't care for CUTTHROAT upon first viewing, but it improved on my second.
Post a Comment