Not sure about "Hereafter", I found it a rather slow and depressing movie... but I agree with "Goonies", "Untouchables" and "Life of Pi" (didn't see the others but they're in the "pending iist")
I think "Hereafter" & "Lo Impossible" are special christmas stories, because they're based on big tsunami that happened on 12/26/2004 - on the second christmas day 2004 - and the many people who helped the suffering people in Thailand. The people around the Indian Ocean had bad hollidays, but to cope with that belonges to humanity, too. It's just fyc. :)
I think "Hereafter" & "Lo Impossible" are special christmas stories, because they're based on big tsunami that happened on 12/26/2004 - on the second christmas day 2004 - and the many people who helped the suffering people in Thailand. The people around the Indian Ocean had bad hollidays, but to cope with that belonges to humanity, too. It's just fyc. :)
Not really christmassy. It's more about a movie to think about other christians on earth that may have a bad time on the holidays like people that suffer on the streets in first world. The big tsunami at 12/26/2004 is a similie for other people on earth which suffer on these holy days. But if that issue is too negative, I understand when you skip it. It's just Fyc.
Mmm, I wouldn't call them "negative" but maybe too much gravitas to be considered in as festive and family-friendly context as Christmas. Thanks for your understanding.
American television networks frequently show The Ten Commandments during the Christmas / Hanukkah holidays. They also frequency show this film during the Easter / Passover Holidays.
American television networks first showed this film during the Christmas season in the mid 1960s. They have shown the film over the Christmas holidays many times since.
Groundhog Day is a wintry, cozy family film about a Scroogian character and about redemption, community, love, and finding greatness in little things. It also ends with snowfall.
I have a whole and very weird bunch of those thanks to idiosyncratic traditions maintained by Ukrainian television: whole certain franchises are an inevitable association with Christmas and Winter Holidays despite not being remotely close to the holidays thematically. Some examples: Letuchaya mysh (1979) Police Academy (1984) and all of the sequels Back to the Future (1985) and sequels Batman (1989) (was often shown on winter because sequel is strategically Christmas-y) Darkman (1990) (this one is very subjective, but for some reason I first saw it on a New Year's night and it stuck with me as a winter holiday moie)
I'm pretty sure I forgot some, likely more appropriate even...
Back to the Future is in... thanks! As fr Darkman, not sure a film where a man's head is getting crushed by a speeding car is very Christmas-friendly lol
15yearsIMDber aka ElMo, since New Year is dominated by Christmas-like movies in Ukraine on TV, usually, seeing that at 4 AM was an interesting if very weird option. :)
15yearsIMDber aka ElMo, this movie definitely benefits from rewatches, by the way: tons of details and cameos and overall match-made-in-Heaven between Universal Monsters and a superhero genre always cheer me up a bit. :)
Rocky is the romantic underdog movie, so it fits well with the religious underdog, the savior that was born in a stable. There are also the iconic ice skating scene and the street singers, giving hope in the dark and cold, beside a fire.
The Verdict is probably too serious for your poll, but after a rewatch I found much of the christmas spirit in it. I used to superficially assume that it simply was a story about justice served, but that's only half of the story. As you correctly point out in your review, the movie is about faith. The 'pharisees' of this movie are the doctors of the Catholic hospital and the bishop, who try to cover up the crimes and pretend to be saintly, but who are only paying lip service. The center of the movie is the sinner who redeems himself through faith (a major Christian theme), and gets rewarded with a miracle (I think the only time we get a shot from above in the movie appears right after the verdict - it is like God's verdict, coming down from heaven).
Coincidentally (or not?), The Verdict visibly takes place in winter.
I didn't add Rocky because it features Christmas during a key moment, maybe that's a stretch but I try not to exclude my own personal biases (because in this case, it's a movie I adore)
The Verdict might be too serious but there's a Capra-esque element about it... damn that zoom on Newman when the verdict is announced and Jack Warden's teary smile when he hears about the indemnity... just wow.
It's probably Paul Newman's best performance and one of Sidney Lumet's best films. The other day my mother and I had an hour-long discussion/lecture about cinematic techniques and morality, after we'd finished The Verdict. (She now wants to see it again and pay close attention).
I added "2002" but I couldn't add "2000", you know I never saw that film because my little brother spoiled it to me when he was a kid, he told me that it didn't make any sense that ......... had to ........ at the end. Do you really think it would be a good idea to watch this film for Christmas?
"my little brother spoiled it to me when he was a kid" After having a friend spoil Endgame for me - at the theater and as I was telling them to please stop - I sympathize.
'Great minds think alike, lol: I also was making a list like this but ended up being too busy to finish it, given that I didn't think to start it until yesterday. I give to you the list in case you want to use any of the movies in your list: https://www.imdb.com/list/ls093013794/.
(The films are in alphabetical order except the first five; you and I had a couple of the same movies but several are different so feel free to use any that you'd like.)
Thanks Ruby, In fact our two polls are quite different, all your films are inspirational and many of them involve heroes of conviction who sacrificed themselves and faced adversity, the problem is that the "adversity" in question should be at least watchable for Christmas, not too dark. "Schindler's List" is a masterpiece but I'm not sure I'd want to watch it for a day like Christmas, or "Hotel Rwanda" or any films where children would die... I added the 'Neighborhood' film.
Indeed. 'Definitely some differences, especially in the choice of the films, but I thought from your intro that there's some overlap, especially the general idea of non-Christmas movies that reflect the spirit of Christmas. I guess the difference is the intended audience (yours are more family films), as well as mood, although 'The Verdict' is pretty dark. There's no violence in 'The Verdict,' though. There's definitely nothing violent or dark about 'The Way Way Back,' and 'The Two Popes,' though, so feel free to add them if you'd like (and 'The Bread Winner' and 'Forrest Gump' are PG-13 but the first has its dark elements and there's a bit of violence in the second).
And HOMEPAGE POLL!!!!!!!!! Before the end of the year... Thank you, thank you, thank you dear IMDb polls editor.... I couldn't dream of a better Christmas poll gift!!!! Attaboy Clarence!
https://www.imdb.com/poll/UkA3uFBBkEM/results Results of 1,125 votes: 1. Groundhog Day (1993) - 259 2. Frozen (2013) - 143 3. Ikiru (1952) - 92 4. Amélie (2001) - 77 5. Planes, Trains & Automobiles (1987) - 70 6. Toy Story (1995) - 69 7. Back to the Future (1985) - 67 8. The Wizard of Oz (1939) - 57 9. The Goonies (1985) - 40 10. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) - 39 11. The Sound of Music (1965) - 33 10. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) - 39 11. The Sound of Music (1965) - 33 12. My Neighbor Totoro (1988) - 33 13. Mary Poppins (1964) - 30 14. The Intouchables (2011) - 26 15. City Lights (1931) - 15 16. To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) - 13 17. The Verdict (1982) - 13 18. A Walk to Remember (2002) - 10 19. A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (2019) - 10 20. You Can't Take It with You (1938) - 6 21. Life of Pi (2012) - 6 22. Billy Elliot (2000) - 5 23. Boys Town (1938) - 4 24. Happy-Go-Lucky (2008) - 4 25. Lassie Come Home (1943) - 3 26. Pollyanna (1960) - 1 - - -
Poll: Non-Christmas Movies For Christmas A poll by ElMaruecan82.
https://www.imdb.com/poll/UkA3uFBBkEM/results Results of 2,495 votes: 1. Groundhog Day (1993) - 605 2. Frozen (2013) - 322 3. Ikiru (1952) - 239 4. Amélie (2001) - 218 5. Planes, Trains & Automobiles (1987) - 143 6. Back to the Future (1985) - 135 7. Toy Story (1995) - 124 8. The Wizard of Oz (1939) - 107 9. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) - 86 10. The Sound of Music (1965) - 75 11. The Goonies (1985) - 73 12. The Intouchables (2011) - 62 13. My Neighbor Totoro (1988) - 62 14. Mary Poppins (1964) - 60 15. To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) - 33 16. City Lights (1931) - 30 17. Life of Pi (2012) - 23 18. A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (2019) - 20 19. The Verdict (1982) - 16 20. A Walk to Remember (2002) - 15 21. Billy Elliot (2000) - 14 22. You Can't Take It with You (1938) - 11 23. Boys Town (1938) - 7 24. Lassie Come Home (1943) - 6 25. Happy-Go-Lucky (2008) - 6 26. Pollyanna (1960) - 3 .
Breumaster
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https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0089218/
'Intouchables'
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1675434/
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gitte_l_yche
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MyCatDuffyTookMyLaptop
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Last year ABC aired it as part of a holiday lineup.
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Peter_pbn
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dan_dassow
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For your consideration:
The Wizard of Oz (1939)
American television networks first showed this film during the Christmas season in the mid 1960s. They have shown the film over the Christmas holidays many times since.
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albstein
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MykolaYeriomin
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Letuchaya mysh (1979)
Police Academy (1984) and all of the sequels
Back to the Future (1985) and sequels
Batman (1989) (was often shown on winter because sequel is strategically Christmas-y)
Darkman (1990) (this one is very subjective, but for some reason I first saw it on a New Year's night and it stuck with me as a winter holiday moie)
I'm pretty sure I forgot some, likely more appropriate even...
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Aris_Athanas
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albstein
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Rocky is the romantic underdog movie, so it fits well with the religious underdog, the savior that was born in a stable. There are also the iconic ice skating scene and the street singers, giving hope in the dark and cold, beside a fire.
The Verdict is probably too serious for your poll, but after a rewatch I found much of the christmas spirit in it. I used to superficially assume that it simply was a story about justice served, but that's only half of the story. As you correctly point out in your review, the movie is about faith. The 'pharisees' of this movie are the doctors of the Catholic hospital and the bishop, who try to cover up the crimes and pretend to be saintly, but who are only paying lip service. The center of the movie is the sinner who redeems himself through faith (a major Christian theme), and gets rewarded with a miracle (I think the only time we get a shot from above in the movie appears right after the verdict - it is like God's verdict, coming down from heaven).
Coincidentally (or not?), The Verdict visibly takes place in winter.
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Jessica
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Pay It Forward (2000)
A Walk to Remember (2002)
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Peter_pbn
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rubyfruit76
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(The films are in alphabetical order except the first five; you and I had a couple of the same movies but several are different so feel free to use any that you'd like.)
: )
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rubyfruit76
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ElMaruecan82
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Thank you, thank you, thank you dear IMDb polls editor....
I couldn't dream of a better Christmas poll gift!!!!
Attaboy Clarence!
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ACT_1
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Dec 25 2019
Poll: Non-Christmas Movies For Christmas
A poll by ElMaruecan82.
https://www.imdb.com/user/ur4234119/
https://www.imdb.com/poll/UkA3uFBBkEM/results
Results of 1,125 votes:
1. Groundhog Day (1993) - 259
2. Frozen (2013) - 143
3. Ikiru (1952) - 92
4. Amélie (2001) - 77
5. Planes, Trains & Automobiles (1987) - 70
6. Toy Story (1995) - 69
7. Back to the Future (1985) - 67
8. The Wizard of Oz (1939) - 57
9. The Goonies (1985) - 40
10. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) - 39
11. The Sound of Music (1965) - 33
10. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) - 39
11. The Sound of Music (1965) - 33
12. My Neighbor Totoro (1988) - 33
13. Mary Poppins (1964) - 30
14. The Intouchables (2011) - 26
15. City Lights (1931) - 15
16. To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) - 13
17. The Verdict (1982) - 13
18. A Walk to Remember (2002) - 10
19. A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (2019) - 10
20. You Can't Take It with You (1938) - 6
21. Life of Pi (2012) - 6
22. Billy Elliot (2000) - 5
23. Boys Town (1938) - 4
24. Happy-Go-Lucky (2008) - 4
25. Lassie Come Home (1943) - 3
26. Pollyanna (1960) - 1
- - -
You need to look again later ... (͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
.
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