Christmas Movie Supercut

Thanks to Neatorama for the heads up!

Christmas in July

Over at Joanna Wilson's great Christmas TV History blog this month
you will find a celebration of Christmas in July!

Not only will she have posts on Christmas entertainment from the 1990s, she will also have a Blogfest giveaway and is featuring a book sale with her two great reads
Tis the Season TV and The Christmas TV Companion!

I am doing a guest post at some point during the month,
so head on over to get in on the fun!

Day 29: Do You Believe In Santa

I believe in the spirit of kindness and giving that Santa represents.

We should all keep a bit of that - of him - alive inside ourselves, all year long.

Day 27: What Did You Feed Santa

My son used the mug and plate that are especially made for Santa to put out a drink of Hood Egg Nog and four cookies - two peanut butter with chocolate chip, 2 sugar.

I am sure Santa enjoyed it, as the Egg Nog was gone
and there was only one small piece of cookies left behind.


(online pic - not our set)

Day 6: Favorite Decoration

Another tough one to choose from!

When I was a kid, it was probably this plastic Santa:



It had a hole in the back to insert a bulb to light it up. We usually had it unlit, but I liked it just the same. Was something classic and simple about it that appealed to me.

There was a Mrs. Santa, as well:



My brother and I had found her for sale at a local discount store - Kerr Mill, for those who are curious - and we planned to save our money to buy her. And then the store burned down, Mrs. Claus along with it. We never got her, and I am unsure whatever became of Santa.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And now, with kids of my own, we have so many decorations and memories attached to them, it is hard to choose!

I love the new framed Santa picture my wife got as a gift, almost identical to this one:



My nickname for my daughter is Snowflake,
so, each year I give her a different snowflake ornament:



And my youngest son got the Elf on a Shelf a couple of years ago,
and it is a fun decoration & activity:



So, yeah... I like Christmas decorations!

Day 3: Santa or Mrs. Claus

I have to go with Santa!

Movies I Have Seen

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dogboys (1998)

[Bryan Brown, Dean Cain, Tia Carrere]

Prison movie, where certain prisoners are used to not only train and care for tracking dogs, but be the prey the dogs hunt. Cain plays the newest prisoner suddenly involved in this dangerous world.

Sounds great, doesn't it? It's not, however. The "bad" prison guards/trainers are inept. It is amazing that they would have been able to keep a scheme like this going on so long. Carrere, as the D.A. suddenly onto the goings-on, is blah.

I just didn't care for it. This was a made-for-cable movie, I believe, and it shows. Seems like NO ONE brought their A-game to this movie, except maybe the dogs.

I would not watch it again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

10,000 B.C. (2008)

[Steve Strait, Camilla Belle, Cliff Curtis]

I had this movie on DVR for about 3 weeks. I was unsure of what to expect from it and kept putting off watching it.

I have to say, I liked it. Yes, I know there are a plethora of historical inaccuracies, but I wasn't watching it for a history lesson. Think of it as a fantasy tale, and you will enjoy it more. The film itself was fun, exciting and beautifully shot.

I waited until I was done watching to check out the rank it had on IMDb, and I have to say I was shocked that it is at only 4.9 out of 10. Seems to me it should rank higher.

I liked it and I would watch it again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Beverly Hills Chihuahua (2008)

[Drew Barrymore, Piper Perabo, Andy Garcia]

Watched this Disney film with my family, and we got a few laughs out of it. It's a simple story of a lost dog trying to get home. My kids said it was "okay". Enough said.

I have to mention: This movie has the second dog-flashback scene I have ever seen, when the German Shepherd dog recalls a crucial moment from his past. This is probably the ONE time where a scene like this can work, whereas the other scene like this, in the original "The Hills Have Eyes 2", a dog has a flashback to part 1. It is horrible and makes no sense, much like the rest of that movie.

While this film isn't an award-winner, it is okay for kids.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Monsters vs. Aliens (2009)

[Reese Witherspoon, Seth Rogen, Hugh Laurie, Will Arnett]

Saw this with the family on Easter day and we all liked it. The 3D adds to the fun of it all, but the story itself is enough to keep you interested.

Susan is a normal woman who soon becomes a "monster". Upon meeting other monsters, she is soon tasked with helping to stop an alien invasion.

Fun and funny movie that has some good chuckles. We all would see it again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Funny Games (2007)

[Naomi Watts, Tim Roth, Michael Pitt, Brady Corbet]

Never heard of this movie until this past week. It is a shot-by-shot remake of a 1997 Austrian film, with the same director helming both versions.

Basically, a well-off family, arriving at their summer home, is taken hostage by two oddly polite young men. Too say anything else about the plot would be giving too much away. Suffice to say, if you don't like horror films or super-intense thrillers, then avoid this movie.

I was initially unnerved and unsettled by this movie, it was truly a scary film. But I call shenanigans: I have issues with something towards the end, and I can't really say more about it. If you have seen it, you know what I am talking about. This scene completely changed the feel of the movie for me, and not in a good way. It was just too much.

Wouldn't bother to watch it again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

MST3K "Santa Claus Conquers the Martians (1991; original film 1964)

[John Call, Leonard Hicks, Bill McCutcheon, Pia Zadora]

What can I say? Another great episode of MST3K! The original film is bad, really bad. I don't think I could stand to watch it on it's own. Really cheesy.

But the crew from MST3K does an awesome job riffing on the whole production.

Definitely recommended!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A Stocking Full of Links to Browse

Hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas! Here are some links I have found interesting over the past week. Grab a coffee (with Peppermint Mocha) and enjoy:

Here: 57 Different Way to Say "Merry Christmas". Feliz Natal!

A little late, but here is a comic book version of "A Christmas Carol", to read online.

Also late, 10 Bizarre Christmas Traditions, 10 Unintentionally Scary Santas and the 10 Most Underrated Christmas Specials.

From the FOX network, Happy Fringemas!

Some geeky Christmas trees. I like the LEGO one the best.

This looks very cool and we may be getting one ourselves. Fun & easy works!

My son got one of these for Christmas, to help create a new tradition. Very cool.

Looking towards the new year, I can't wait to see the documentary "His Name Was Jason". Here is the newly released trailer.

Interesting Pile has a rundown of the marathons airing on New Year's Eve & Day.

Hope everyone has a great week, a Happy New Year and a healthy, happy and fine 2009!

Links... No two are alike!

Some more links to share:

First off, a page with even more photos from the ice storm the Northeast has been dealing with since last week.

Viennetta is back! Do you remember it?

For the doubting little Sheldon or Leonard in your life, here is the Science Behind Santa's Magic.

Not sure I would want to live next door to any of these 17 Jaw-Dropping Christmas Light Shows, but they are very cool.

VERY cool gingerbread houses.

Horror Hacker's guide to the Saint Nicks of Horror.

Disney lets you add someone you know to Santa's Naughty or Nice list.

Classic TV Sitcom Christmas episodes. Love to see some of these again.

Even more classic TV Christmas episodes remembered. Love some of the pics they have here.

The 6 Best TV Show Rip-Offs of "A Christmas Carol". Don't remember "The Six-Million Dollar Man" doing it, but I SO want to see it now.

This site counts the 5 Best & 5 Worst Christmas specials. I remember the Star Wars Christmas Special. Sadly.

This Christmas, there are some marathons on TV. And this site is doing it's best to list them all!

And this page lists the specials you can view online and where to view them! Can it get any easier???

Addictive/frustrating "Guide Lines" game.

Another addictive game, this one involves throwing people... into buckets.

Identify the five differences.

An interesting personality test.

Handy site to check if your ID is registered on lots of sites all at once.

The cast of "How I Met Your Mother" recreating some highlights from 2008. Hilarious.

A cool holiday card from the offical website of the Boston Red Sox.

Lastly, have you ever seen a more bizarre Christmas ornament?

Links to Share (anyone got a better title?)

Okay, here are some sites I came across over the past week. Anyone got a better title for my link posts? I was thinking something like "Coffee Beans", but it just sounded ... meh ...

We are going to be heading to Bright Nights with the kids very soon!

EW.com has 100 Great Christmas Bummers. Sometimes, there is nothing like a sad Christmas song. UPDATE: EW.com posted this list again this year, with pictures!

Amazon.com has 25 days of Free Christmas Music Downloads!

Interesting 'Tree of Knowledge', from The Freethought Society of Greater Philadelphia.

I quote: "Forget Adam Sandler's Hanukkah Song, Here's the Atheism Song"

Create a Santa's Elf ID Card for your little helper.

Dr. Forrest's Cheeze Factory has a kitchsy piece of Christmas past.

kindertrauma has a list of some good, winter horror/thriller flicks. I love "Dead of Winter".

Cool new poster for the Friday the 13th remake. Here is the trailer, too.

The Aquaman Shrine posted a custom-made Aquaman set that is just too awesome for words!

A really great interactive map of Springfield, from "The Simpsons".

Lastly, my brother found this very cool, very short (less than 3 minutes) YouTube movie, "The Black Hole".