If you’re looking for a comedy-filled classic to watch with your family this holiday season, look no further; “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” is a movie that I can’t get enough of this time of year. Watch as Clark Griswold tries to maintain his sanity throughout the Christmas season while various members of his extended family vacation at his home. From the hilarious struggles of hanging up lights to the Christmas tree going up in flames, it’s fun to experience a family more dysfunctional than your own. So, grab a glass of ‘nog and mele kalikimaka.
– Sam Dunaway, News Editor
Animated or claymation holiday specials are timeless classics. However, of the many produced in the late 1960’s to early 1970’s, the most iconic and memorable is “Santa Claus is Coming to Town.” Providing sing-along tunes, a cute and heartwarming story about the origins of Kris Kringle and characters voiced by Hollywood elite — including Mickey Rooney and Fred Astaire — the movie will leave you feeling nostalgic and full of joy. It’s shown annually during the “25 Days of Christmas” on the FreeForm channel. So, as the song says, “put one foot in front of the other,” and soon you’ll be enjoying a holiday classic, as well.
– Caity Healy, Lifestyle Editor
Not in love with the idea of watching Christmas movies for the duration of December? Neither am I. Instead, try watching a movie that gives you winter vibes rather than holiday spirit, like “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.” Being both an Edgar Wright-directed film and an adaptation of a series of graphic novels, expect nothing less than a visually beautiful, fast-paced comedy that you’ll want to watch over and over again. “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World” is an action movie mixed with romance: a revenge story mixed with comedy. There is something for everyone in this film, and the wintery Canadian backdrop will leave you begging for snow.
– Jade Rayner, Copy Editor
I love a good classic movie, and in my opinion, one of the best ones is also a great winter film. “An Affair to Remember” is a 1957 film starring Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr. Grant’s character meets Kerr’s on a cruise ship and they hit it off. After the cruise, they part ways and inevitably keep seeing each other. Though it isn’t explicitly a holiday film, there’s a scene that takes place on Christmas Eve. This movie is perfect for people who want to sit on the couch while wrapped up in a blanket drinking something warm — it’s cozy, it’s cute and it has Cary Grant.
– Zoë Strickland, Managing Editor
To learn the true meaning of Christmas, slip on your pink bunny pajamas and grab some Chinese food: it’s time for “A Christmas Story.” The 1980’s classic follows Ralphie Parker through the Christmas season and the winter time shenanigans that he and his family face.
Ralphie gets really down on the holidays, which I can relate to, but he comes around in the end as everything… sort of works out. Overall, it’s funny and doesn’t over-romanticize the holidays, making it perfect for Christmas lovers and haters, alike.
-Stephanie Blair, Editor-in-Chief
Once-great M. Night Shyamalan has earned a pretty bad reputation over his slowly sinking career. This puts me in a weird position, because I’m about to recommend that you watch his found-footage horror-comedy “The Visit.”
“The Visit” isn’t a good movie per se, but it is one of the most bizarre films I’ve ever seen. It’s stuck somewhere in this weird limbo between the godawful “After Earth” and the surprisingly fun “Split.” What is Shyamalan doing? Why does a graph of his career make a parabola now? I don’t know, but this unusually entertaining film is well worth an hour and a half of your time.
-Darien Campo, Designer
