'Tis the Season

I generally dislike how commercialized and lengthy the Christmas season is (like people who decorate immediately after Halloween), however I do love watching Christmas movies. Well, I actually only like some Christmas movies.. they have to be funny - forget the classical and traditional, except for the stop-motion Rudolph movie, and maybe the animated Grinch. However, as much as I act like a watered down version of Scrooge in the month of December, it is actually a goal of mine to create a Christmas movie somewhere down the line. I'm not sure what it may contain yet though. But I will definitely be inspired by movies like Christmas Vacation, Elf,  Scrooged, and most prominently the South Park Christmas in Canada episode (season 7 episode 15). My score will probably include songs from 'A Very Nolan Christmas,' for those of you that don't know what that is, here is the video featuring Ithaca College's own Nolan Berkowitz!

Well, maybe not, but what I mean is that I will probably create a very witty, tongue-in-cheek, non-serious, and hilarious Christmas movie. Possibly in the form of a musical as well if I'm in the mood at the time. I don't altogether hate Christmas, just so you know, I just hate how far people take it these days. The 12 days of Christmas have now expanded to almost 2 months.

But in all seriousness, watch out for a feature-length Christmas movie (probably low budget) by Scott Walle. It will happen.

Heres my favorite clip from my favorite Christmas movie of all time.

Love Actually

Every year one of my family's Thanksgiving traditions, besides watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is to watch Christmas movies. We love to watch Home Alone, Home Alone 2, Jingle All the Way, Miracle on 34th Street, It's a Wonderful Life, several versions of A Christmas Carol, etc. However, one of my favorite holiday movies that I love to watch, but only when I am amongst friends, would be Love Actually.

Love Actually (2003) is a British romantic comedy that follows several characters' friends and family as they find love during the holiday season. Granted I am not one to like rom-coms, but this one I can sit through and watch multiple times in a row most likely because it has such a fantastic star-studded cast. Hugh Grant, Liam Neeson, Colin Firth, Keira Knightly, Alan Rickman, Rowan Atkinson, and Martin Freeman are only a few of the actors involved in this well-executed and delightful British love story. Some of the characters have office romances, one couple breaks through a language barrier, and another couple even met for the first time on the set of a movie as sex stunt doubles. Although the movie mostly focuses on couples, some characters just find the love of their family and friends that help them carry on. This movie goes to show that "love, actually, is all around us."
Besides the story and the cast, the music is another significant aspect of the film that I enjoy and cherish. The movie begins with a British has-been pop star that still has one hit left within him. Although using the same melody from one of his past hit songs, he only has to replace the word 'Love' with the word 'Christmas' and he's got a new hit. This song, although quite a bit of a joke, is used throughout the film and can be heard on the other character's radios or on their 'tele.' Another song that is particularly memorable in this movie is 'Bye Bye Baby' sung by Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. The song begins to play when Liam Neeson's character says goodbye to his late wife, the love of his life, at her funeral, and then the song carries over into the next scene where Keira Knightly's character has just been happily married and the couple is sharing their first dance. The duality of this song is beautiful. There are other moments in the film that are accentuated through the use of music as well, but I don't wish to give anymore away.
I highly recommend this British comedy for the holiday season.