Merry Christmas

Kind of tough trying to figure out what tone to take on this, what with Rosemary's Baby New Year on the horizon and all. But that's not here yet, and I figure we all deserve a break before we start figuring out how to face the impending nightmare barreling towards us. So let's try and look back instead of forward, at least for today.

In the case of this ridiculous blog, I guess that means taking a moment to consider what I watched that stuck with me. And this year, there was a lot.

My favorite 2024 Christmas movie was easily That Christmas. The overall response this movie's received from critics has been lukewarm, and I still can't wrap my head around that. This isn't a movie that struck me as pretty good or polarizing: That Christmas felt like a phenomenal animated movie that should should appeal to viewers of virtually every demographic. This should be (and perhaps will someday be recognized as) a holiday classic. Its reception honestly doesn't make sense to me.

Expanding our window a bit, there were several recent Christmas horror movies that won me over. As a reminder, horror hasn't traditionally been one of favorite genres, though that might be changing. The Sacrifice Game is one I can't stop thinking about - I really can't put into words just how much I love the last act. I'm also thrilled to say there's a blu-ray in the works, which I naturally preordered.

The incredibly bizarre film, Adult Swim Yule Log, also caught me off guard in the best way possible. Even knowing what it was, the movie surprised me at every turn. I can only imagine how incredible it must have been for those lucky enough to tune in when it originally aired under the pretenses of being a literal Yule Log video.

Horror definitely seems to be where the most innovation is going on, as far as holiday movies are concerned (and... you know... movie movies, too). It always feels like I'm doing catch up, because so many of these fly under the radar for a while. A sizeable portion of my holiday watchlist is recent-ish Christmas horror movies I need to see.

Sticking with horror, The Day of the Beast is one of those movies I can't believe I never saw until this year. The movie is hilarious and thought provoking - I loved it.

And speaking of "thought provoking," two other recent holiday films exemplify the term: the Romanian movie R.M.N. is fantastic and riveting. Meanwhile, the independent film, How to Blow Up a Pipeline, belongs on the shortlist of best Christmas movies of the decade (though I suspect it's a controversial nominee, as the movie by design downplays its holiday setting). I should also caution both those movies may hit a little too close to home given the political landscape we're in, so take your wellbeing into consideration before picking them.

I reviewed The Holdovers last January, so it's not exactly part of this this Mainlining Christmas season, but it wasn't part of last season, either, and it sure as hell deserves a callout. This is another contender for best holiday film of the 2020s, though there are a lot and we're only halfway through the decade.

Looking way back, there are a couple movies from the golden age of Hollywood I finally got around to that are worth acknowledging. Come to the Stable and Cover Up are both films I hadn't heard of, and both incorporate holiday elements in interesting and unique ways. Meanwhile, the new Indian film, Merry Christmas, plays with classic Hollywood tropes and traditions. I had a blast with all three.

That's ten Christmas movies I love, all newly discovered. If you'd told me when I started doing this that I'd be finding that much new stuff after fifteen years, I wouldn't have believed you (mainly about the whole "doing this for fifteen years" thing, but also there'd be that much good stuff out there). And most surprisingly, I've still got around a hundred Christmas movies on my watchlist I haven't gotten to yet.

We're not finished here. Not by a longshot.