Not out of bounds, just requiring a deliberate effort to go track down and carve out time for, and seldom having a clear reason to make that effort. I’ve got nothing against them, but there always seem to be higher priorities for how to spend free time. So I’ve seen a scattering of old movies (including Casablanca and Caine Mutiny), but haven’t gotten around to plenty more. This thread was actually making me think I should check out Die Hard, before some people got all huffy about it.
I watch a couple movies a month on average, almost all of which are with my kids and/or wife, not an audience conducive to cheesy old machismo-fests. When I have free time by myself, I’m more likely to turn to a game of some sort.
For starters, John is very specifically visiting Holly and the kids because it’s fucking Christmas. He has not been visiting Holly and the kids “whenever”. They’ve been in LA for months. He isn’t flying out every fucking weekend or even frequently (in fact, the implication is that he hasn’t seen them since they moved). He very obviously wants to see his kids, but it’s not like he can casually fly from one coast to another all the time. Both because he can’t afford to financially (and he’s not ok with just letting Holly pay for airline tickets) and because the job doesn’t afford a lot of opportunity to do so (it’s a very short weekend thanks to the time change). Also, because he’s extremely stubborn (he’s been holding out hope that someone she will change her mind and come back to New York; allowing Holly to pay for transport would feel too much like conceding ground and it’s not his nature).
@Ginger_Yellow’s post makes perfect sense. The idea that “he could fly out to see his family for any number of reasons” is the nonsensical argument here, because he hasn’t actually flown out to see the kids at all until this point. Christmas is the line he can’t cross.
Y’know, after reading about how passionate some of you are about defining Die Hard as a Christmas movie, I was almost moved to change my vote, in the spirit of Christmas.
But I can’t. For once, I’m going to agree with @divedivedive.
I’ve seen the movie dozens of times, including in the theater in July or whenever it first came out. And of all the times I’ve seen it, it was never anywhere near Christmas. Thus, I personally do not associate it with Christmas, and cannot in good faith call it a Christmas movie.
All those other films mentioned (A Christmas Story, It’s A Wonderful Life, Rudolph, etc.) I have seen pretty much exclusively around Christmas time. That’s my criteria.
And so help me, if I go now to turn the TV on, and Die Hard is on, I may reconsider. But as that has never happened in the last 30 years, I am confident in my vote, and stand united in brotherhood with Triple-dive. As much as that may pain both of us, since we rarely agree on anything.
On the other hand, I do consider “The Wizard Of Oz” a Christmas movie, because I swear I’ve only ever seen it around Christmas time. Not lately though. I haven’t caught it in decades now, but that’s my memory of it.
[steely gaze] Careful, Brian. I will fight you. :-|
Not me. I’m not someone who feels the need to chain movies to holidays just because the holiday occurs during the movie.
You guys must love DOA, that Christmas movie about Dennis Quaid being poisoned to death. It really invokes the holiday spirit because reasons, doesn’t it?
My mom was totally into Lethal Weapon and Road House and Escape from New York. My dad Predator. Both Terminator. I didn’t see Red Dawn until the remake. You tend to watch what your parents enjoy when you can.
My mom and dad really enjoyed Die Hard, but my mom was really into Bruce Willis.
So classics like Casablanca, Caine Mutiny, Debbie Does Dallas
I’ve only heard of one of these movies, but that’s what Movie Club is corning it seems, and I’m behind.
There’s Christmas in Harry Potter? Does that then mean there’s Jesus in Harry Potter? What does He think of all that magic spell nonsense those kids are doing?
Honestly, I thought Harry Potter took place in some made-up place like Narnia or Hoth.
There are dragons in Harry Potter, and if you are paying attention, dragons in Santa hats is now a thing for Christmas for any but the most sour of us.
This of course means any movie with a dragon in it can be a Christmas movie. I nominate Dragonheart. If ripping a heart out of a dragon isn’t a celebration of for Christmas, I just don’t know what else could be. Also, he’s giving his heart so, you know, that’s on the check list, gift giving.
Huh, seems to me recent movies require more effort to find the good stuff, because they haven’t entered the canon yet.
For me the criterion is simply that it’s traditionally shown/watched at Christmas. Doesn’t have to occur at Christmas at all. Though of course that does make it more Christmassy if so.
