Christmas Film Festival

Not to turn my blog into a dedication to holiday film festivals, but I've been a little overwhelmed at work, and upkeep has been a problem. And quite frankly, I wrote this entry about two months ago. (Admittedly, if there's any doubt about my penchant for watching holiday-appropriate films, see here and here.)

I love the Christmas season, with all it's clichés. And part of the season, for me, is watching Christmas movies, from the conventional to the unconventional. Here are some weekend suggestions for Holiday fare:

December 1-2. Start with some lighter fare:
Elf
Grumpy Old Men
National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
The Santa Clause

December 7-9. Some classics to help you get in the holiday spirit:
The Bishop's Wife (1947 version)
A Christmas Carol (1951 version)
Holiday Inn
Miracle on 34th Street
White Christmas

December 14-16. Break up the standard Christmas theme with some unconventional, even noirish, choices -- as well as action flicks that we all forgot take place on Christmas:
Bad Santa (a "Christmas comedy noir" if there ever was one)
Die Hard
Go
The Ice Harvest (underrated film, actually)
Lethal Weapon
Love Actually
Scrooged

December 21-23. It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas, so let's go with some obvious Yuletide tales:
A Charlie Brown Christmas
A Christmas Carol (1984 version, my personal favorite)
How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1966 version)
It's a Wonderful Life

December 24-25. Let's be honest. You're not going to do anything except watch A Christmas Story on TNT for 24 hours.

Thanksgiving Film Festival

I'm not as dorkily emphatic about movies on Thanksgiving as I am about Halloween, but sometimes it's nice, after the football game is over, to watch a flick that's set during the Thanksgiving holiday. Thanksgiving is a pretty social day, so I'd mostly stick with comedies.

Honestly, the best choice is probably Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, but here are some other ideas for November 22-25:

Hannah and Her Sisters
Home for the Holidays
The Ice Storm
Miracle on 34th Street
Pieces of April
Scent of a Woman

And, I almost hate to do this, because I'm not exactly a fan, but: Son in Law. Hey, don't blame me: it is a Thanksgiving movie. Whatever happened to that guy, anyway?

Halloween Film Festival

Alright, it's a little extreme, but I absolutely love Halloween. And I love it when two things I love come together: Halloween and film. At the beginning of October, I usually bump a bunch of Halloween-related flicks to the top of my Netflix Queue.

Not just scary movies, though. Watching only horror flicks for an entire month will probably start to make you either paranoid or psychotic. So, I mix it up with comedies, camp, and thrillers. Here are some recommendations to for the five weekends before Halloween, plus the 31st itself:

September 28-30. Ease your way in, with thrillers that are only slightly related to Halloween:
Alien
Psycho (1960)
Seven
Signs

October 5-7. Punch it up with some genuine horror-thrillers:
The Blair Witch Project
Bram Stoker's Dracula
The Devil's Backbone
Christine
Nosferatu
The Sixth Sense

October 12-14. Lighten up a bit, with some comedies:
Arsenic and Old Lace
The Nightmare Before Christmas
Plan 9 from Outer Space
Shaun of the Dead
Teen Wolf
Young Frankenstein

October 19-21. Throw in some camp and classics, from the '50s through the '80s:
Bride of Frankenstein
The Evil Dead
Evil Dead 2
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)
Night of the Living Dead
Village of the Damned

October 26-28. It's getting really close to Halloween now, so let's go for some robust horror:
The Exorcist
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)
The Omen (1976)
Poltergeist
The Ring
Rosemary's Baby
The Shining

October 31. If you're looking to have something to have on in the background while trick-or-treaters are ringing your doorbell, I'd pick something family-friendly. On the other hand, if you might want to want a to watch a movie with adults, I'd up the ante.

For Children:
Hocus Pocus
It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown

For Adults:
Carrie
Halloween (No shit.)
Scream