Xmasfest 2011

One of the best comedies to come out of the 80's, i miss John Candy.

Anything with Bing and/or Astaire is classic and this is no exception. The song White Christmas alone earns it's esteemed place in movie history. The blackface routine makes for awkward viewing tho.

Two comedic giants at the top of their game plus it's directed by John Landis. Wow.

Garlands performance is breathtaking, the sentiment is laid on thick, and the songs are iconic and so goddamn catchy you can't get them out of your head. Clang clang clang went the trolley ding ding ding went the bell ARGH!

I enjoy it despite not being religious. Besides the almighty Bing we are treated to performances by The Little Rascals' Alfalfa, I Love Lucy's William Frawley and a very young Andy Williams. NOTE: The James Brown in this movie is not the "Godfather Of Soul" James Brown but in fact some white guy.

Cool idea! Too bad the dumbing down required to make it a "romantic comedy" turns it into mush that Cusack and Piven can't make better than ok despite their gallant efforts.

A harmless chick flick i don't mind watching once in a while.

Lemmon and Matthau made one of the funniest comedy duo's of all time. Here they give us a movie that's not only funny but manages to be heart touching without being sappy.

Jack Lemmon is a corporate whore using his apartment essentially to sleep his way to the top, but when he meets the girl of his dreams he is forced to choose between love and the key to the executive washroom. A great comedy well worth the 2+ hours it takes to watch it.

The brilliance of this film doesn't lie in it's story, which is pretty damn good, but rather in the ingenuity of Welles direction.

Three men and a baby and ten gallon hats. This re-telling of the nativity story as a western with cowboys instead of wisemen works pretty good despite the absurdity.

Anyone who doesn't find Mitchum's pychotic preacherman frightening have completely lost touch with their childhood. Personally he reminds me of the alcoholic madman who lived near my house that scared me shitless. That combined with it's surreal imagery makes this a memorable thriller.

I'm a sucker for movies about conmen and DiCaprio plays a very likable one.

The glorious return of Futurama finds our heroes battling spamming alien nudists. The hour and a half running time takes some getting use to and the time traveling plot may confuse you if you're not paying full attention, but overall it's great to have these characters back in action.

Rocky 4:The One With The Robot. Yes it's slightly cheesy but somewhere inside me there's still a 13 year old kid jumping up on his chair yelling "Kick his ass Rocky!!!!!".

Lamb Fries anyone? Chevy doing what he does best, playing a loveable idealistic goof-ball fish-out-of-water. This is a comedy classic that is even funnier if you're from a back-water town like I am.

A Christmas Carol............WITH DOGS. Need i say more.

Rankin/Bass give us an Irish flavoured Christmas special that seems to be centered around the classic song Christmas In Killarney. Although a tad short on plot it's quick and painless.

This Christmas Carol adaptation has Walter Matthau perfectly cast as Scrooge, but some of the songs really suck which make it drag at times.

Not really a benji escapade the dog doesn't even do anything, seriously it doesn't even move. The real star is ron moody who gives us one of the most unintentionally creepy santa's ever.

Not one of my favourite Rankin and Bass productions.

Better than Santa With Muscles. Plus it's great to watch the late great Phil Hartman doing what he did best.

Pretty good movie that's intended to be more strange than scary and thus shouldn't be viewed as a horror.

Kurt Russell kicks ass metaphorically and literally in this sci-fi action outing. It is considered a film oddity because of it's sparse dialog and the fact that Micheal Chiklis still had hair, well sort of lol.

Better known counterpart to the equally funny One Crazy Summer. Savage Steve Hollands take on ski movies, sort of. Watch for the guy who played Porky.

Considered by most to be Spielberg's big flop, but i personally love this madcap comedy. Honestly i'd rather sit thru it than ET.

An 80's Christmas roadtrip movie starring John Cusack and that chick from Spaceballs!?! Merry Christmas indeed.

Very dated, reminded me of the movies Walt used to show on the Wonderful World of Disney only not as good.

This Jim Henson production from the 80s has almost the exact same storyline as Toy Story, how did Pixar not get sued over this?

One of Burton's best and certainly most original films.

Holy shit who isn't in this movie?!? This flick alone can turn Seven Degrees Of Kevin Bacon into Two Degrees Of Kevin Bacon. A very enjoyable little film that deserves more attention than it gets.

I was really hyped to find a christmas movie starring the ever cool Ice-T, but after watching it a couple times i'm sorry to say it sucks.

An ok sequel to an 80's mega classic.

The only adaptation of A Christmas Carol that doesn't scare the bejesus out of my 2 year old son.

All hail the Riverbottom Nightmare Band! Before Fraggle Rock Jim Henson and the CBC teamed up to bring us this 70s gem, which explains why the otter in the yellow hat sounds like one of the Mackenzie brothers. Good Day Eh.

All i can say is that my 5 year old son gave it a thumbs up, made me want to jump out a window but my opinion doesn't count here.

Wait hold up...Dumbledore was in that?!? Great visuals too bad the plot is thin and the dialogue seems improvised/pointless much of the time.

I will never get too old for this shit.

Don't fuck with Chuck, especially at Christmastime. Great silly balls-out over the top 80's action flick.

The age and film quality of this adaptation give scrooge the look and feel of an old monster movie which greatly adds to it's appeal. It is a little rough around the edges tho, with scenes added or missing for no disconcernable reason.

The oldschool cartoon cat gets an update in this seasonal offering that works fairly well once you get used to it. Anyone else think Coulier's Felix sounds disturbingly like Mr.Hanky The Christmas Poo? Also the evil scientist sounds alot like the evil scientist in The Ambiguously Gay Duo, maybe these were impressions of the original Felix to begin with but if not tee hee

It never ceases to amaze me how someone who was so cute at 8 looks like a serial killer as an adult but then some people say the same of me. LOL Great movie, some of the best slapstick since the 3 Stooges.

Top ten action flick that helped define the eighties for me.

Futurecop Jack Deth is sent back to Christmas 1985 to battle an evil time traveling madman and his zombie denizens. As cheesy as it sounds but in a good way :)

It's a given that adaptations of A Christmas Carol take liberties with the story but this one takes more than the Muppet Christmas Carol. I believe that those who argue this is the best movie version are blinded by nostalgia as i've read that it was a staple on American tv for years. I will admit Gene Lockhart made a damn good Bob Cratchit.

"You're a f*cking choirboy compared to me!" Only Arnie would have the balls to take on Satan in an action movie. That's why he's the king of action heroes.

Bing and Bergman in a flick about a priest and a nun that's a little preachy at times (pun intended) but it's such a feel good movie it's hard not to like.

A modern christmas classic and still Tim Allens best movie.

Tied with Crank as the best action film I saw this year. This flick takes film noir and twists it the way Get Shorty did gangster films or the way Tarentino twists anything he touches. I highly recommend this movie.

Valley girls and zombies get together on christmas for some B-movie fun.

Thankfully they stopped making Look Who's Talking sequels after this monstrosity.

I like Jay Mohr he's a funny guy, but this rips off Groundhog Day so horribly I have to give it a bad rating.

It's growing on me.

I was expecting a awful rip-off of Home Alone, but i didn't mind it due mostly to the excellent adult supporting cast.

I like the song, dislike the movie. Feels like someone is forcing you to watch their 2 hour long dysfunctional family christmas slideshow.

This canadian Home Alone knock-off is so bad that it seems intentionally bad, like the film makers are just messing with us, for example the scene with an american character played by a actor with a thick canadian accent making fun of canadian accents.

Cut.....It.....Out. I like Dave Coulier so i'm cutting this one a bit of slack.

Great cast, unfortunately the overdose of drama really depletes the enjoyment to be had here.

A decent quality cast including Tom Arnold, Judd Nelson, Katey Sagal and the one and only Roddy Piper keep this tv movie above water, but just barely.

Not a bad little canadian movie, Tom Arnold fits perfectly into his role and i was pleased to see Leslie Jordan as christmas past. With so many takes out there of A Christmas Carol it's nice to see one that tries to be different.

This was Disneys first live action musical so they didn't have the formula perfected yet. The first half drags a bit and most of the songs are forgettable but the second half's worth the wait if you're willing to invest the time.

A nice trip back in time to the 80's, perfect for curling up with a big bowl of sugary cereal to watch.

Ok the idea of same thing happening the very next year involving the same two criminals is utterly preposterous. But what the hell, it's an opportunity to watch Pesci and Stern get the living shit kicked outta them again and that's always fun to watch. Guess I'm something of a sadist.

Nothing like little green homicidal monsters to put you in the Christmas spirit.

Any movie with Denis Leary coldcocking Santa has to be considered a seasonal classic so sayeth I.

A great ensemble cast, an ok movie, and a hilarious cameo by Garry Shandling.

Stunning visuals which look like they were directly inspired by Norman Rockwell hilight this christmas tale. The somber atmosphere makes it seem a little slow paced at times but it grows on u the second time around. My only complaint is that the Steven Tyler cameo is out of place and unnecessary. PLUS Eddie Deezen the man the legend provides the voice of the annoying kid.

Actually way better than i thought possible.

I like it alot better the second time I watched it, and consider it a classic now.

Adam Sandler has got to be the biggest product placement whore in history. I'm suprised he still manages to talk he's got so much corporate dick in his mouth. That aside this movies watchable, it has some alright songs and and shit jokes are always appreciated he just needs write some new jokes and stop re-using the old ones.

A nice change of pace for Cusack who has been stuck playing second fiddle in a string of chick flick crappers lately. Dark and funny this is possibly the most morbid holiday movie since Black Christmas. Guess what I'm gonna watching next December 24th.

What can i say i'm a sucker for mickey, donald and the goof.

Q:What if Election had been a Christmas movie, wouldn't that be great???? A:NO!

Basically The Santa Clause minus the charm, some great cameos but unfortunately alot of the jokes are blundered.

I didn't hate it but boy oh boy every character grated on my nerves horribly even the protagonists, after watching this i felt like punching someone in the face. Repeat viewings will likely improve my overall opinion of it. PS: This movie has a great cast including cameos by Colleen Camp, Carol Kane, Peter Billingsley, Dwight Yoakam and The King Of Kong Steve Wiebe.

I was really big into He-man when i was a kid so the nostalgia makes it almost possible to ignore the shear ridiculousness of this special. On a funny note the big bad guy is Horde Prime and his transforming robots, real subtle guys lol.

Pretty good overall, my only real complaint is Steward looking a little too Picard-ish, maybe they could given him chops or eyebrows or something. The scene at the end where he learns to laugh again is something else, that's all i'll say.

Not too bad for a disney made in canada for tv christmas movie.

Good cast but it can't escape that "made for tv" feel, but if you're a Kelsey Grammer fan or have some time to waste it's not so bad.

Santa gets the Superman treatment. The first half's pretty good but the second half gets a little too 80s.

Not the greatest movie ever made, but i like it a little bit more each year. Just watching Cheech Marin and Jake Busey playing cops is very amusing within itself.

Everybody else has christmas movies so why not The Fleckster. He and Gandolfini are fun to watch together.

This movie tries to answer the question that has puzzled mankind since it's conception. What do women want, nice guys or guys with money? I'm thinking the answer is guys who will sit thru a movie that addresses said question.

A little flat but the great cast make it work.

It's hard to believe that the director who gave us A Christmas Story also gave us this christmas classic. A canadian slasher flick which broke the ground for the likes of Halloween and Friday the 13th to follow.

Starts out strong but becomes tedious, maybe if it was shorter i'd enjoy it more.

Great muppet excursion which isn't hurt by the fact that the lead actor is Michael Caine; an actor so talented he can make friggin puppets believable.

So bad it's BAD. Almost two hours of irritating wookie banter mixed with a huge dose of 70s cheese that would make even Jar Jar ask "What the hell were they thinking?!?" Some of the Low Points: Bea Arthur singing lyrics to the cantina song, Harvey Korman in alien drag, Art Carney doing his Ed Norton routine with an imperial officer. Lone High Point: A pretty cool cartoon featuring the first appearance of Boba Fett.

Hey guys, a date movie that doesn't suck. Yeah it follows formula, it pulls some potentually funny punches, but I still enjoyed it. The saving grace is the great cast headed by Ryan Renolds who manage to give this film a heart. And hey, maybe just maybe, this will be the catalyst that convinces any woman who watches it to go for the smart, sensitive, somewhat chubby guys of the world. I won't hold my breath. NOTE: if u liked this movie check out Waiting, it has some of the same cast and is funnier.

While it's obvious the series is running out of gas, i still enjoyed this sequel. The blundered attempt by Martin Short's(who's canadian btw) character to disguise the north pole as canada is hilarious especially if you're canadian. The "it's a wonderful life" ending was uninspired tho.

"You sit on a throne of lies" Elf manages to be original, funny and endearing in a non-sickening way which is rare for holiday movies as of late.

I'm a sucker for christmas movies as well as road movies and here we have both hence my generous rating.

I really like George C. Scott's understated and believable Scrooge.

Cary Grant is the best looking guardian angel ever in what could have been a sequel to It's A Wonderful Life. Fairly entertaining if awkward at times.

A highly entertaining christmas classic that manages to be touching without being preachy or mushy.

Great movie, too bad it's fans can sometimes be almost as annoying as star wars nerds.

Hulk Hogan flexes his acting skills in this holiday treat that goes down better with a few eggnogs. ADDED BONUS: Two That 70s Show actors and Clint Howard are in it.

It just wouldn't be Christmas without a visit from our old friend Ernest P. Worell.

I dig it, it's kinda like an episode of Three's Company without the sex jokes.

Not only is Bob Hope perfect as the conman with a heart of gold, this movie gave us the classic song Silver Bells, and Tor Johnson in a santa suit.

It actually hits closer to the mark than big budgeted first installment, but that's not saying much. Mindless kids movie with good with good turns by Levy and Mull.

Robert Wagner does an excellent job in the role of Mr.Wilson as the old guy is given the Scrooge/Wonderful Life treatment after completely losing it on that little bastard Dennis.

Michelle Pfeiffer made a damn good catwoman, the rest of the movie sucks donkeyballs.

A modern (eighties) re-telling of a Dickens classic had a huge potential to suck, need I remind u of Great Expectations, but Bill Murray not only makes it work he makes it awesome.

This is a top ten christmas special for me, i usually watch it at least twice every december.

If you're only going to watch one Scrooge this year this is the one to watch.

Maybe a little long and slightly confusing to the average viewer but pure heaven for us fans who've waited a long time for the discworld to appear on film.

A decent story and a great cast makes this one of my favourite specials of those made in recent years.

The pink one scrounges for food on christmas eve Charlie Chaplin style.

Friggin classic, if given a chance i would totally spend christmas with bing and danny kaye partying it up at a lodge in vermont. Ah hells yeah!

I love this movie, it's my favourite holiday movies. I guess it's because I have a soft spot for good ol' Clark "Sparky" Griswold and watching it every christmas is like getting together with an old friend for eggnog and lambfries. Hallelujah! Holy Shit!

What can I say about this beloved classic that hasn't already been said a million times. Believe the hype, this film is one of the greats.

Great voice work by a talented cast and the animation has a interesting retro schoolhouse rock feel to it. Somehow somewhere it just falls flat on it's face.

Of course it could never hold up to the classic first Charlie Brown special, but more time to spend with Charlie, Snoopy, Linus, Lucy and the gang is always welcome at my house.

I love the Flintstones i own every episode, but there are way too many adaptations of A Christmas Carol. The fact that it's the Flintstones makes this one bearable.

By every right this should be horrible but it's not. I'm quite fond of this rudolph sequel maybe it's because i watched it every christmas growing up.