Movie Monday - Holiday Aftermath

Watched a few more holiday flicks.

A Christmas Story (1983)

[Melinda Dillon; Darren McGavin; Peter Billingsley; Ian Petrella; Scott Schwartz]

Plot: Humorist Jean Shepard's nostalgic view of Christmastime in Indiana during the 1940s. Nine-year-old Ralphie desperately wants a Red Ryder BB Gun for Christmas and wages an all-out campaign to convince his reluctant parents that the toy is safe. Meanwhile, as Ralphie prepares for the big day, his brother has a strange relationship with food, and his dad fights the never-ending furnace battle.

Definitely a classic. We watched it off and on on Christmas Eve/Day via TBS 24-hour marathon. But we put it in again after Christmas to watch from start to finish. Great movie, nostalgic holiday fun.



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A Smoky Mountain Christmas (1986)

[Dolly Parton; Lee Majors; Bo Hopkins; John Ritter; Dan Hedaya; Anita Morris]

Plot: A country/western singer on a trip through the Tennessee mountains to get away from it all runs into a reclusive backwoodsman, a family of orphans -- and a witch. Will it be a Merry Christmas for any of them?

Okay, I will be the first to admit that this is one cheesy, corny, Christmas flick. I mean, look at that cast! The Six-Million Dollar Man AND Dolly Parton! 80s TV magic right there.

If you just leave your cynicism and criticism aside and watch it for the simple pleasure of the movie, then you can have a good time. Christmastime is made for flicks that are a little on the corny side, right? Pull up a comfy chair, grab a glass of (spiked) egg nog and enjoy!



The movie is available to watch in 10 parts on YouTube. Here is part 1.

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Home Alone (1990)

[Macaulay Culkin; Joe Pesci; Daniel Stern; John Heard; Roberts Blossom; Catherine O'Hara]

Plot: Families suck. That's the opinion of 8-year-old Kevin McCallister, whose family unwittingly leaves him behind when they go on vacation. In no time, Kevin makes the most of the situation, watching forbidden flicks and pigging out on junk food. But when a pair of bungling burglars set their sights on Kevin's house, the plucky kid stands ready to defend his territory -- by planting booby traps galore!

Another Christmas classic in our house, we watch it every December. A fun movie, even if you have to suspend disbelief a little bit, it has a heart to it as well. I don't think Culkin was ever better than here.



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Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992)

[Macaulay Culkin; Joe Pesci; Daniel Stern; Catherine O'Hara; John Heard; Brenda Fricker]

Plot: Instead of flying to Florida with his folks, Kevin ends up alone in New York, where he gets a hotel room with his dad's credit card -- despite problems from a clerk and meddling bellboy. But when Kevin runs into his old nemeses, he's determined to foil their plans to rob a toy store.

While not as great as the original, and also in need of the suspension of belief, this is a pretty decent sequel. The leads all shine and make the story work. Fun way to spend some time.



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New Year's Evil (1980)

[Roz Kelly; Kip Niven; Chris Wallace; Grant Cramer]

Plot: It's New Year's Eve. You’re working alone at a punk rock station when the phone rings. A voice on the other end tells you that at the stroke of midnight in each time zone, someone will be murdered. So what do you do? Pray that you’re not next.

I have known about this movie for years, but never got around to watching it. The combination of the New Year and the flick streaming for free on FEARNet gave me enough reasons to finally watch.

Bleh. While not the worst movie I have ever seen, it is nothing great either. The acting is definitely direct-to-video fare, and the plot itself is pretty blah. Not really worthy of a second viewing, and for me, that says a lot.



Watch it for free on FEARNet!

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John Hughes

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So, yeah ... John Hughes died.

For a blog like mine, with such an emphasis on pop culture, I have to mention his death. And also because so many of his films are things I truly enjoy.

Mr. Mom

National Lampoon's Vacation

The Breakfast Club

National Lampoon's European Vacation

Weird Science

Ferris Bueller's Day Off

National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation

Home Alone

And those are just the films of his I really love! I didn't mention others I merely like. How many filmmakers can we say this about? That have had so many movies that a generation fell in love with?

And what makes them truly great, to me, is their rewatch-ability. We can watch them time and again and still laugh and enjoy them. That says it all.

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So many other bloggers are highlighting Hughes. Here are a few:

The Daily What - Movie Montage

ALPHAVILLE

...:::kindertrauma:::...

boingboing

The Kind of Face You Hate

Monkey Muck

Retrospace

Nostalgic G

That Blue Yak

Cal's Canadian Cave of Coolness

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As a side note, as a teenager, I associated most with Allison Reynolds, Ally Sheedy's character from "The Breakfast Club". She was the outcast, loner weirdo, and that is how I felt for my entire high school experience.



Was definitely cool to relate to someone else, even if it was a girl, in a movie.

L.I.M Mr. Hughes. And thank you.

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