There are no loveable family themes that connect this film to the holidays, but it’s Christmas in LA and Michelle Monaghan looks smashing in her red Santa dress. This might be the least well known of the films on this list, but its quick wit, fast pace and career re-launching performance from Robert Downey Jr. make Kiss Kiss Bang Bang a movie that is well worth bringing back to the big screen.
7) Lethal Weapon – tugg.com/titles/lethal-weapon
Lethal Weapon uses the holidays as a great backdrop to the film’s action sequences – come on, the gunfight in the Christmas tree lot anyone? And it also weaves in the theme of family with Martin Riggs, a suicidal cop, finding a new home for the holidays with his polar opposite partner, Roger Murthaugh.
6) Eyes Wide Shut – tugg.com/titles/eyes-wide-shut
Not many people remember Stanley Kubrick’s final film for its Christmas motifs, but there’s hardly a shot in the film that doesn’t form a dreamlike vision of the holidays. American consumerism – of possessions both material and human – is explored to satirical effect. Eyes Wide Shut, like many of Kubrick’s films, wasn’t fully appreciated in its time, but like his now accepted classics, it is a masterpiece that deserves to be revisited in theaters.
5) The Nightmare Before Christmas – tugg.com/titles/the-nightmare-before-christmas
Tim Burton & Henry Selick’s stop motion masterpiece lends Burton’s trademark macabre sensibilities and nightmarish visuals to Christmas, the happiest and most colorful of all holidays. If the world were truly just, the film’s catchy songs with lyrics like “kidnap the Sandy Claws, beat him with a stick” would be added to every carolers’ holiday list.
4) Batman Returns – tugg.com/titles/batman-returns
Another Tim Burton entry! We just realized this, but he really has some twisted ideas about Christmas. The success of Batman gave Burton the space to let his freak flag fly for the sequel, resulting in one of the most unique, exhilarating and visually arresting comic book adaptations ever – one that’s perfectly set against the dark and eerie backdrop of Christmas in Gotham.
3) Bad Santa – tugg.com/titles/bad-santa
The grandaddy of offensive holiday films (it’s a niche genre) also happens to be one of the most jaw-droppingly hilarious films of all time. Bad Santa is truly the most toxic anti-holiday film ever made and, like whiskey, only gets better with age.
2) Gremlins – tugg.com/titles/gremlins
The ultimate in cautionary Christmas consumerism, Gremlins celebrates the perfect holiday gift – something thoughtful, rare, expensive, unavailable and… deadly?
1) Die Hard – tugg.com/titles/die-hard
From its Christmas rap-rock to its home-for-the-holidays setup, Die Hard oozes Christmas cheer. Nothing, and we mean nothing, reunites and strengthens family bonds during the holidays like killing terrorists in the Nakotomi tower.
