Christmas comes with many traditions and memories and some of the fondest memories comes from the times we share with our close ones. Some of my fondest memories come from watching Christmas movies with my mother and brother after our turkey lunch. Here is a trip down memory lane.
THE MUST SEE XMAS MOVIE OF MY CHILDHOOD
THE WIZARD OF OZ (1939)
Dorothy Gale is swept away to a magical land in a tornado and embarks on a quest to see the Wizard who can help her return home.
STORYLINE
In this charming film based on the popular L. Frank Baum stories, Dorothy and her dog Toto are caught in a tornado's path and somehow end up in the land of Oz. Here she meets some memorable friends and foes in her journey to meet the Wizard of Oz who everyone says can help her return home and possibly grant her new friends their goals of a brain, heart and courage.
MY GIRLIE CHOICE FROM MY ADULT LIFE
BRIDGET JONES'S DIARY
A British woman is determined to improve herself while she looks for love in a year in which she keeps a personal diary.
STORYLINE
Bridget Jones is an average woman struggling against her age, her weight, her job, her lack of a man, and her many imperfections. As a New Year's Resolution, Bridget decides to take control of her life, starting by keeping a diary in which she will always tell the complete truth. The fireworks begin when her charming though disreputable boss takes an interest in the quirky Miss Jones. Thrown into the mix are Bridget's band of slightly eccentric friends and a rather disagreeable acquaintance who Bridget cannot seem to stop running into or help finding quietly attractive.
CHOICES FROM MY FACEBOOK FRIENDS
WHITE CHRISTMAS
Plot Synopsis:
Bob Wallace (Crosby) and Phil Davis (Kaye) are army buddies from World War II who have become a very successful song and dance team.
After World War II, song and dance men Bob Wallace and Phil Davis, form a successful partnership eventually becoming top Broadway producers. Bob agrees to take in a nightclub act by the Haynes sisters, Betty and Judy, as a favor, so he thinks, for their brother who served with Bob and Phil in the war. Phil has always been trying to get Bob interested in a girl, usually one in the show but when he realizes that Bob is smitten with Betty, he arranges to accompany them to their show at a small Vermont Inn. Imagine their surprise when they learn that their old commanding officer, Major General Tom Waverley, is the owner. He's sunk his savings and his pension into the venture but it has yet to snow and it looks like he's on the verge of bankruptcy. They come up with a plan to help the General out but a series of misunderstandings leads to a rift between Bob and Betty leaving it Phil and Judy to try and get them back together.
ELF
After inadvertently wreaking havoc on the elf community due to his ungainly size, a man raised as an elf at the North Pole is sent to the U.S. in search of his true identity.
STORYLINE
Buddy was a baby in an orphanage who stowed away in Santa's sack and ended up at the North Pole. Later, as an adult human who happened to be raised by elves, Santa allows him to go to New York City to find his birth father, Walter Hobbs. Hobbs, on Santa's naughty list for being a heartless jerk, had no idea that Buddy was even born.
Buddy, meanwhile, experiences the delights of New York City (and human culture) as only an elf can. When Walter's relationship with Buddy interferes with his job, he is forced to re-evaluate his priorities.
SANTA CLAUS THE MOVIE
The first half of this film, set hundreds of years ago, shows how the old man who eventually became Santa Claus was given immortality and chosen to deliver toys to all the children of the world. The second half moves into the modern era, in which Patch, the head elf, strikes out on his own and falls in with an evil toy manufacturer who wants to corner the market and eliminate Santa Claus.
STORYLINE
The first half of this film, set hundreds of years ago, shows how the old man who eventually became Santa Claus was given immortality and chosen to deliver toys to all the children of the world. The second half moves into the modern era, in which Patch, the inventing elf, strikes out on his own and falls in with an evil toy manufacturer who wants to corner the market and eliminate Santa Claus.
HOME ALONE
An 8-year-old boy, who is accidentally left behind while his family flies to France for Christmas, has to defend his home against idiotic burglars.
STORYLINE
It is Christmas Time and the McAllister family is preparing for a vacation in Paris, France. But, the youngest in the family named Kevin got into a scuffle with his older brother Buzz and was sent to his room which is on the third floor of his house. Then, the next morning, while the rest of the family were in a rush to make it to the airport on time, they completely forgot about Kevin who now has the house all to himself.
Being home alone was fun for Kevin, having a pizza all to himself, jumping on his parents' bed and making a mess. Then, Kevin discovers about 2 burglars, Harry and Marv about to rob his house on Christmas eve. Kevin acts quickly by wiring his own house with makeshift booby traps to stop the burglars and to bring them to justice.
MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET
When a nice old man who claims to be Santa Claus is institutionalized as insane, a young lawyer decides to defend him by arguing in court that he is the real thing.
At the Macy's Department Store Thanksgiving Day parade, the actor playing Santa is discovered to be drunk by a whiskered old man. Doris Walker, the no nonsense special events director, persuades the old man to take his place. The old man proves to be a sensation and is quickly recruited to be the store Santa at the main Macy's outlet.
While he is successful, Ms. Walker learns that he calls himself Kris Kringle and he claims to be the actual Santa Claus. Despite reassurances by Kringle's doctor that he is harmless, Doris still has misgivings, especially when she has cynically trained herself, and especially her daughter, Susan, to reject all notions of belief and fantasy. And yet, people, especially Susan, begin to notice there is something special about Kris and his determination to advance the true spirit of Christmas amidst the rampant commercialism around him and succeeding in improbable ways.
LOVE ACTUALLY
Follows the lives of eight very different couples in dealing with their love lives in various loosely and interrelated tales all set during a frantic month before Christmas in London, England.
STORYLINE
The characters are falling in love, falling out of love, some are with right people, some are with the wrong people, some are looking to have an affair, some are in the period of mourning; a capsule summary of reality. Love begins and love ends. They flirt a lot. They are all flirting with love. At all ages and social levels, love is the theme. Romantic love and brotherly love is the hotchpotch through out the movie. Most of the movie is filmed in London, during Christmas and the characters all ended up at Heathrow airport a very uplifting note.
MY FAIR LADY
A misogynistic and snobbish phonetics professor agrees to a wager that he can take a flower girl and make her presentable in high society.
STORYLINE
Gloriously witty adaptation of the Broadway musical about Professor Henry Higgins, who takes a bet from Colonel Pickering that he can transform unrefined, dirty Cockney flower girl Eliza Doolittle into a lady, and fool everyone into thinking she really is one, too!
He does, and thus young aristocrat Freddy Eynsford-Hill falls madly in love with her. But when Higgins takes all the credit and forgets to acknowledge her efforts, Eliza angrily leaves him for Freddy, and suddenly Higgins realizes he's grown accustomed to her face and can't really live without it.
HOW THE GRINCH STOLE XMAS (2000)
Big budget remake of the classic cartoon about a creature intent on stealing Christmas.
STORYLINE
Based on the book by the famous Dr. Seuss. Inside a snowflake exists the magical land of Whoville. In Whoville, live the Who's, an almost mutated sort of munchkinlike people. All the Who's love Christmas, yet just outside of their beloved Whoville lives the Grinch.
The Grinch is a nasty creature that hates Christmas, and plots to steal it away from the Whos which he equally abhors. Yet a small child, Cindy Lou Who, decides to try befriend the Grinch.
IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE
An angel helps a compassionate but despairingly frustrated businessman by showing what life would have been like if he never existed.
STORYLINE
George Bailey has spent his entire life giving of himself to the people of Bedford Falls. He has always longed to travel but never had the opportunity in order to prevent rich skinflint Mr. Potter from taking over the entire town. All that prevents him from doing so is George's modest building and loan company, which was founded by his generous father. But on Christmas Eve, George's Uncle Billy loses the business's $8,000 while intending to deposit it in the bank. Potter finds the misplaced money and hides it from Billy.
When the bank examiner discovers the shortage later that night, George realizes that he will be held responsible and sent to jail and the company will collapse, finally allowing Potter to take over the town. Thinking of his wife, their young children, and others he loves will be better off with him dead, he contemplates suicide. But the prayers of his loved ones result in a gentle angel named Clarence coming to earth to help George.
LEATHAL WEAPON 1 (1987)
A veteran cop, Murtough, is partnered with a young homicidal cop, Riggs. Both having one thing in common, hating working in pairs. Now they must learn to work with one and other to stop a gang of drug smugglers.
Martin Riggs is an L.A. cop with suicidal tendencies and Roger Murtaugh is the unlucky police officer with whom Riggs is assigned. Together they uncover a huge drug-smuggling operation, and as their success rate grows so does their friendship.
WITH MANY THANKS TO MY MANY FRIENDS
Julie Birkett - close call between Elf and Santa Claus The Movie...
Yemisi Ilesanmi Please Home Alone! Xmas is not , i say NOT complete without HOME ALONE!!! Thanks!
Alex Saville-Photography Does "Lethal Weapon" count? first one. It starts off with Jingle Bell Rock, if I recall correctly...
Stephen Lethbridge funny enough - for me, your pic is the one 'It's a wonderful life' - just full of raw emotion and shows that at xmas time - nothing is more important than family :) x
Lee Meeks "Love Actually" is a great Christmas movie...though the season is more a unifying backdrop to the many different stories than the focus of them... 8-)
