Reel Life #2: Christmas Edition

I saw this one probably a week or so after it had come out. I think it came out the same weekend as the fourth Twilight and The Muppets reboot. I saw Twilight because my sibling and mother wanted to see it, so I just sort of tagged along. The ratings were strong so I was excited, and I wasn't disappointed. It's become one that I watch every Christmas. Wish I had more, but this is one of the duller ones. Sorry.

I would've seen this one around the time it came out in November of 2009. I was weirdly really looking forward to seeing this one, which only added to my disappointment when it wasn't very good. This one did not become an annual Christmas viewing, instead one that'll I'll pop in to pass the time on an early December morning when I can't sleep.

So long ago. I likely would've seen this on opening weekend, way back in November of 2003, back when the movie wasn't a holiday classic and just a pretty good Christmas movie. I guess it's always odd which films become holiday classics and which don't. Not that it's a bad film (I quite enjoy it), but had you asked me when it came out whether it'd be on many's top ten holiday movies lists, I likely would've said no. Either way, it's aged a lot better than most thought it would, and it's one that I watch every year. And it's, weirdly, one that stations show throughout the year; seriously, who the hell wants to watch a Christmas movie on New Year's Day or in the summer?

This was one of the movies that lead to me creating this list. Four Christmases is not a very good movie (in fact it may not even be a good film), but the experience was one of those classic holiday memories. Me and my family, eating pizza, playing board games, enjoying each other's company (which is a rarity in my house) on a snowy, holiday season evening. It's still one of the clearest movie memories I have, even after several years. Can a great day make a bad movie good? In this case, it did; I actually enjoyed watching this movie, then. As I've watched a few more times over the years, the feeling hasn't been replicated (I couldn't even finish it this year). The duality of a great memory merging with a sub-par film, and vice versa, is what these lists are all about. Sometimes, the movie doesn't really matter; it's the experience that counts.

I saw this probably a couple of weeks after it came out, because I'm pretty sure that something big came out against it on opening weekend, or a had a basketball game (this was during the time period that I had deluded myself into thinking that I was going to be a professional basketball player). Either way, I eventually did see it, in what I believe was a near-empty theater, in (probably) early December of 2007. The movie made no real impact on me then, or in the following years (the only reason I own it is because it was on a very low discount). The only thing the film contributed to my life was a family joke about it being our dog's favorite movie; we showed her the case of the film one night and she started dancing around the room, rather violently. She groans every time we mention it to her now.

I don't really remember the first time I saw this one; I saw it at such a young age that it's gone beyond initial viewing into my basic, common knowledge. It's not one that I watch all that often (partially because I own it on a very old VHS tape, and I'm to lazy to even look for it), but it's always a relatively enjoyable experience. I will say though, that even as a very young boy, I still knew that the McAllisters were the worst parents ever. Seriously, they're so awful. You know what, not just the parents; the whole damn, dirty family. Especially Uncle Frank, who calls an 8-year-old a little jerk and has the audacity to have his brother pay for a trip to Paris and not even pay for the pizzas. Fuck you, Uncle Frank! Happy Holidays.

I was 6 years old when this movie came out. My mother fell asleep during it, my father fell asleep during it, and I fell asleep during it, and that is some feet. I rarely ever fall asleep through a movie, and I feel incredibly guilty when I do. So it takes a really special turd to knock out. Congratulations guys, what an achievement. I can't really remember anything else about the viewing experience (I was 6) but I do recall it being a pretty packed house, and it was snowing when I left.

One of the early memories on here, but not too early that I can't remember the first time. This was the very early 2000s, maybe even 2000 itself, and we had just gotten a Playstation 2, the hottest thing on the market at the time. Aside from being a gaming console, it would also function as our DVD player. To celebrate this, my parents bought three DVDs to try out. The first DVD was 1998's The Avengers, a movie so bad that after the Connery care-bear scene, my father took it out of the PS2 and threw it in the street. The next was the very odd 1994 film Cabin Boy, a film that I remember absolutely nothing about. I assume, and hope, that they bought this on sale. The third was the movie in question, It's a Wonderful Life.


I didn't watch it immediately after we bought it; I was young and black & white movies weren't on the top of my list of priorities. Eventually I did, and it's become a part of my Christmas traditions ever sense. I've likely seen it over a dozen times. Oddly, one of the more memorable viewing I had of the film wasn't around the holidays, it was early fall (September, 2009). I had just started high school, and I guess I needed a 'pick-me-up', so I watched what is likely the most inspirational film of all time, and it worked. I just remember the image of me, watching the movie as the sun set, drifting into the night.

I first saw this on DVD, probably a year or so after it came out, even though Pat O'Brien on Entertainment Tonight said that he would take whoever couldn't get to a theater to see it (still waiting). It one that's grown on me; I thought it was too schmaltzy and weirdly plotted when I first saw it. I still believe that, but it's charms have overcome it's flaws.

This one is a genuine nostalgia-flick for me. The movie isn't necessarily great, but it's so imaginative and sweet that it brings out the kid in me. I saw it in theaters when I was young and, forgive me, but it hit me hard. I don't watch it every December, but when I do, I'm 10 again.

I saw this on a class trip to the movie theater right before our break. It wasn't necessarily willingly; it was this or the anemic Deck the Halls with Danny DeVito. It was a real Sophie's choice; if Sophie really wanted to give up both kids and just leave. Most in my class saw the other, so it was pretty empty, aside from some eighth-graders playing on their phones. Nobody was really going home happy, but I think I made the most out of a bad movie. Also, it was a day out of class at the movie theater, so even though they were shit, it was fun.

It was a few weeks after the movie had come out, and I only got to see because it was playing right across the street from the Mall in Ashland, KY; I went while my mother and sibling went shopping, and I had a good time. It was in the smallest theater in the building, and what I think was a cold, rainy Thursday evening. I knew there it wasn't going to be packed, but I was pretty surprised that I was the only person there. Not a single person showed up for the entire 90 minute runtime, not even employees checking things out. I was free to walk around, stretch, and scream anything that I wanted. It was also in 3D, and is still the only time that I've actually enjoyed the technology. All of this tied together to create of the most enjoyable cinematic experiences of my life.