lettered | Movies you watch on Xmas Day

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Movies you watch on Xmas Day

I used to always watch a movie on Christmas. I couldn't play with my presents because they were always books (YAY) and that was unsocial. And anyway, what are you supposed to do Christmas day, after opening presents and eating cinnamon rolls, I mean? Your whole family is there and you're supposed to be spending time together, but after you eat and play the boardgames and talk (!) you've hit 3 pm and oh em gee, you're still supposed to be spending time together, and you're not on vacation seeing Redwoods or Lake Michigan or The Thing (in Arizona), you're at your house and it's boring!

So . . . any of you watch movies on Christmas day? What movie do you watch? Do you have a tradition? If you don't--are you going to watch one TODAY, and if so what? What have you watched in the past? If not on Christmas day, do you have movies you save for rewatching around Christmas time? Are they It's A Wonderful Life and A Christmas Story? Are they slightly different from the norm? What is your relationship with "Christmas classics"?

If you don't celebrate Christmas--do you watch movies on other holidays? Do you have movies for a certain time of year? For days you're supposed to be spending time with family and it gets really old after the first 8 hours?

Or any movie traditions in general? Movies you watch at a certain time? I used to watch Fight Club before taking a long car trip anywhere, because I can never sleep before trips, and it's about insomnia.

-This Christmas (TODAY, OMG) I'm watching Batman Begins and The Dark Knight with my parents. Just me and them. We are SO COOL. Yes, yes I am watching them so I can get more ideas for porn. No, no I am not telling them that.

-I used to watch Little Women every year on Christmas day. Mr. Daroga found this out!

-I want to have a new tradition of watching L.A. Confidential on Christmas Eve . . . My mom and I wanted to watch something tonight and I wanted something thoughtful but fast paced and oh my god! It opens on Christmas Eve! I had forgotten that, and it reminded me of how Little Women opens on Christmas :o) Such a holiday classic, obviously!

-Last year I believe we went to the theater to see Sweeney Todd on Christmas Day.

-I had never seen A Christmas Story before this year. Mr. Daroga said

my_daroga and I had to see it.

-I watched It's A Wonderful Life all the way through for the first time this year too. Though this strikes me as another movie you watch around Christmas just because it has some Christmas scenes, not because it's actually about Christmas. We watched it in November or so.

my_daroga said it still fit the time thematically considering the recession, and It's A . . . being about financial difficulty!

-I used to watch the animated How the Grinch Stole Christmas every year. I also watched that one about the elf who wanted to be a dentist--I always thought it was stupid, but in retrospect, it's kind of cool.

-I used to watch the George C. Scott A Christmas Carol, but not necessarily around Christmas. Daroga and I were going to watch it for the season this year, but we didn't get around to it. What versions of A Christmas Carol do other people do?

-Do you guys who celebrate Christmas even check your ljs on Christmas?

Oh well. HEE. To those who celebrate, have a merry one, to all the rest, happy holidays, happy winter, or just have a damn fine time!

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National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation!!

(: PJ

Hm! Never seen it. As it got two mentions, guess I'll have to remedy that!

Your kitten always punches me!

We watch The Queen! Then we watch whatever movie that's showing usually like last year it was Finding Nemo which I loved. If there's nothing good on we'll watch National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (which we've already watched this year) or Mixed Nuts! Happy Christmas! *hugs*

Haven't seen National Lampoon--it got two mentions, so I think I need to remedy that! Merry Christmas to you too :o)

I'll definitely catch A Christmas Story on TBS at least once. I may watch the Christmas episodes of some of my favorite shows on DVD (Invader Zim, Home Movies).

Yeah, I saw various parts of A Christmas Story before I actually saw it--it's hard to avoid on tv 'round this time of year!

I loved your take on Christmas :)) It's so true - after all those hours of imposed family time (reading forbidden) telly is the only refuge out of boredom.

I usually go with what's on TV at the time (currently that being The Sound of Music) but I did have my Little Women phase too when TV didn't provide. It's such a Christmassy movie.

Hm... if there was any Captain Von Trapp slash, imaginary fandom would definitely write him as a top. Just who'd you'd slash him with? Max is out. Rolfe? :)) I can't believe my mind just went there. Need eggnog.

I love spending time with my family, but usually I just need some time alone! But on Xmas I feel like that's verboten. We all sort of do so we all sort of stare at each other.

Glad to hear I'm not the only Little Women for Xmas fan!

Though Sound of Music is totally in my top ten, and it totally has fandom, and I totally wrote SoM fic. But I and the fen I knew did not slash the fandom (we were so hardcore Captain/Maria). But I totally always thought Max was gay. And actually the last time I saw it I think MY mind totally went there with Captain/Rolfe. That scene where he's telling Rolfe he'll never "be one of them"? *dies, a little*

You should be happy your mind isn't going Captain/Herr Zeller because obviously that is wrong. Nor did you go Captain/Friedrich, because you know Friedrich is in love with his governess. My friend did an excellent AU fic where there's another guy interested in Maria, and sparks totally fly between the Captain and Other Guy, but it is definitely straight up het.

OMG DO NOT GET ME TALKING ABOUT SOUND OF MUSIC!!!

I wrote this comment around the middle of the movie and when the scene you mention came about my mind went there with warp speed. That scene is, so, so... charged and when you look at it through slash tinted goggles it's powerful as hell. It gave me a shiver down my spine.

I'm a big fan of the movie (and books in a bit lesser degree, and soundtrack, and Salzburg), but I still don't think there is any need for slash injection, as the main pairing has the steam of any m/m one - Captain and Maria are complete equals in my mind, character and personality strength wise. And both are so individually likable, which really doesn't ask for seeking elsewhere.

Hehe see, if there was SoM slash side of the fandom big enough I'm sure some Captain/Herr Zeller BDSM would crop up. Not to mention that incest and chan section of it would have a field day with all the possibilities.

Oh, do you have a link for that fic or maybe one of your own SoM ones? I've never read anything from that fandom, I'd love to have have a taste of it when I catch a breather from hd_hols.

I am oddly enough checking my LJ on Christmas, mainly because for the first time in about two weeks I feel relaxed and have spare time. Not that I haven't checked LJ from time to time in those couple of weeks, but if I spared 5 minutes for LJ I felt guilty. Now -- ahhh, blissful free time!

We don't have a tradition of watching any specific movies on Christmas but I'm sure there will be something that we'll watch on the tube. Not TV! There's never anything good on live TV. Maybe something we've Tivo'd, or it will be the Netflix DVD of Monty Python classic episodes that we just got in the mail last week... I dunno.

The kids just watched A Christmas Story for the first time with us a few days ago and it made a huge impression on them -- they were quoting lines from it all week. "You'll put your eye out kid!" What did you think?

I like Xmas's that are relaxed. I practically slept until 2pm today!

A Christmas Story . . . I found it more intriguing than enjoyable, although obviously the intrigue kept my far on the end from any kind of dislike! I think it's interesting it's such a family Christmas "classic", for one, since it's so negative about so many things. Although there's reaffirmation at the end, it's sort of a short bit.

I was very interested in the POV. I don't like Ralphie, but I'm not sure I'm supposed to. The narrator seems very aware of all the things he does that are--either not nice or dispicable, but the narrator is also very empathetic to him. It's not an old guy regretting his youth, it's an old guy getting caught up in his youth and those feelings all over again. And I think we're supposed to feel the same way, while still being aware that many of the things Ralphie does and feels are ridiculous or even unkind. But in the end I mostly didn't like him, and it made me sort of uncomfortable. I liked the rest of his family a lot more.

I did really love the leg lamp, the Annie decoder ring, and the trip to see Santa. I found the bully plot rather lame. So anyway, I found it sort of fascinating, and something I'd definitely watch again, but not something I necessarily love.

Hee, I bet that was so much more of an explanation than you were expecting!

Jews go to the movies on Christmas day! So the four of us are off to see Slumdog Millionaire in a little bit.

Haha you totally do. I used to work at a movie theater, and it was very funny to watch different waves of people at different times/days.

I need to see that one.

I just got home and it was excellent. Highly recommended.

Good! Thanks for the verdict.

I need to too.

Interesting . . .

Awesome! Obviously, sometimes I do it too!

Glad to hear you liked it. Was thinking I needed to tell

my_daroga I wanted to see it . . .

Hopefully, I'll do a post on it tomorrow, but it was very positive and optimistic even though the most horrific things happen to the tittle character. One of the things I find that is difficult to deal with in India is that poverty of a level unheard of in this country is literally across the street from high rise office buildings. I've heard see it can be unnerving for an American but this movie doesn't shy away from portraying that.

Yeah, I've heard that it's "feel good" without being completely sappy. Those are totally my kinda movies! They have to be careful, for I am so cynical . . . I would very much like to see that sort of film about India. So many films just gloss, and then there are the Very Serious ones which are as important as hell, but so depressing, I find it difficult to come away with a message.

OMG YOU KNOW THE THING! BEST ROADSIDE ATTRACTION EVAH!!1! ILU!!!

AGREED.

I have you to thank.

Gave Dad Twin Peaks for Xmas.

I know!

my_daroga told me I needed to see it on my drive from Houston to Seattle to come live with her. So I did.

I thank my lucky stars every day for the day I met her in your journal ;o)

That's me, internet matchmaker. *g*

The feeling is mutual, by the way.

We do morning Xmas with just siblings and parents, where we tend to watch A Christmas Story in bits and pieces because my mom is obsessed with it but we're too busy to just sit and watch straight through. Then we do lunch with aunts/uncles/cousins/etc, and presents and all, and that usually ends mid to late afternoon, and there have been movies during that time, but it's not a tradition or anything. I remember watching a horror movie with them one year and thinking "This feels so inappropriate for Christmas" - and today there were no movies but the boys and menfolk whipped out video games when things were starting to get a little boring.

And yes, I check LJ, since things wrap up in the afternoon and then I have nothing else to do!

And Merry Christmas to you!

It was actually because the menfolk whipped out video games I started the Little Women tradition. It would just be my mom and I and it didn't seem fair reading so I would help her cook and we would go watch our "girly" movie.

Merry Christmas to you too, hon.

Hi hi hi! *hugs desperately*

We make watching The Ref with Denis Leary, Judy Davis and Kevin Spacey a must every year. We watched last night with popcorn!

Today we watched A Christmas Story with my mother as she'd never seen the ending. Hee!

Love, Actually is another one that we watch but only when we're ready to weep.I pretty much start crying at the beginning and by the time the credits roll I'm a spazzy mess.

Desk Set with Spencer Tracy & Katharine Hepburn is a must before Christmas. Holiday with Cary Grant and Kate is a must for January. Why? I don't know but it has something to do with why I crave Kosher deli in January/February. Seriously.

I have scads of *tradition* movies; it's kinda spooky. *hugsloveshugs*

HEY GOOD LOOKIN'! Long time no . . . type?

Never seen The Ref. But I love me my Kevin Spacey so maybe one day...

I'm not a huge fan of Love, Actually, except for Liam Neeson's dead wife plot (not his little son plot) and rock star Bill Nighy. I thought about popping it in this year just to watch his parts, but I think I have most of them memorized! (Don't buy drugs, kids.)

Never seen either of those older movies...I'll have to try them some day!

Movie traditions rock. As do music traditions, tradition traditions, and Tevye (I now have that song on my head!)

*squish*

*ponders*

No movie traditions for me, I just watch them as and when the mood takes me. Except I do have some dvds I haven't even unwrapped years after buying them. *facepalm*

I'm watching Batman Begins and The Dark Knight with my parents. Just me and them. We are SO COOL. Yes, yes I am watching them so I can get more ideas for porn. No, no I am not telling them that.

:D This news makes me extremely happy! These are my whorehouse films cos practically any pairing from them works for me... Bruce/Ducard, Bruce/Alfred, Batman/Scarecrow, Bruce/Gordon, Bruce/Harvey, Rachel/Harvey, Bruce/Rachel, Harvey/Gordon, Joker/Batman, Joker/Gordon, Joker/Harvey. I'm easy. Heck, I even read a Gordon/Rachel fic which totally worked for me! So I look forward to any fic you come up with.

And I just want to say Little Women, Fight Club and LA Confidential are just ♥

My parents have wrapped movies they haven't watched. Some of them years old.

So, I just rewatched! You're so right about there being so many pairings that work. God, every time Bruce Wayne looks at Harvey Dent his eyes get all gooey. Dude, that part at the restaurant with Rachel and ballerina!Natasha, and Dent's going on about what a hero Batman is? Bruce is just eating it up. He wants approval *so bad*. Also there was that part Alfred said Wayne was throwing the fundraiser just because he fanboys Rachel and Wayne says, "No, actually it's Dent . . ." HEE. Omg.

My heart still belongs to Bruce/Gordon though. ...Where's that Gordon/Rachel fic? I can totally see that. I keep trying Joker/Batman here and there but all the fics I find make no real sense and are horribly OOC . . .

Yes, the restaurant scene! I read a comment that Bruce looked like he just wanted to crawl under the table and blow Harvey and it's so true! What's so funny is that Bruce initially comes out with that sly put-down about Harvey being into the ballet and then a few well chosen words of Batman approval later Bruce is in love, hehe!

And then the fundraiser! I remember the first time I watched it in the cinema, that point when Bruce is waxing lyrical about Harvey and then the score kicked and it sounded more than vaguely romantic to my ears and all I could think was 'bloody hell, even the composer can see it!' :D

The Gordon/Rachel fic is here. I've just read it again and it's pretty blooming fab so I hope you enjoy it. Bruce/Gordon will always remain my OTP. I just fangirl both the characters *so hard*. Bale and Oldman have a lot to do with that but then I still feel the same reading the graphic novels which I've only started reading recently.

Joker/Batman fics - yeah, there is a lot of questionable stuff to sift through but the odd gem does pop up now and again however I do give a lot of the fics posted a miss. I do love how the Joker's written in the graphic novels and regular novels though, fills me with glee!

I was going to say Bruce wanted to hump Harvey's leg--yeah, it's even more than that, he's in luuuuuuuuurve.

Yeah, that scene at the fundraiser is totally romantic. And Rachel is all *kick kick kick* and Bruce is like, "no, totally, lol, I have a crush on your bf!"

Yay thanks for linkage! I haven't read any of the graphic novels . . . maybe I should.

I guess I'll keep trying with the Joker/Batman . . .

I'm not sure I have any movie traditions anymore. With my family, we always had to watch It's a... and the George C. Scott thing. Today we watched David and Goliath with Orson (no, he didn't play either part). We may watch something later, but that depends and it won't be Christmas-related.

I used to like watching Jaws on Thanksgiving, because I thought it was funny. And I think there used to be an X-Files marathon on FX that day.

I can't think of anything specific, otherwise. Though it'd be cool to have a Sweeney Christmas tradition, I think.

Last night, we were at Alma's and Mr. Daroga quoted Little Women and one of the other guests (a woman) stared incredulously at him. "Guys aren't supposed to know that movie," she said. I told her he was good with AoGG and P&P, too, and she continued to perpetuate a "girls only" mentality and asked if he was gay. Way to uphold a stupid status quo, dude!

Anyway. Props for mentioning The Thing. I giggled.

Well, of course Orson couldn't play David. HEE.

I love the Jaws on Thanksgiving idea ;o)

Hee, it's funny, part of the reason I'd watch Little Women is the menfolk would be off playing their new video games and I thought my mom and I should hang together, and that was something we knew they didn't want to watch with us.

But yeah, that's so stupid about her saying it was girls only. Doesn't she know it's a Batman training video? Obviously she wasn't watching closely.

We don't have a "traditional" Christmas movie, but every year Caza tapes some of the 25 Days of Christmas movies off of the family channel. My favorite of the animated ones is "Nestor the Long-Eared Donkey" (from the same people who brought us "Rudolph") and no one else likes that cheese-tastic bit of fundamentalist Christmas as much as I do. Heh.

We watched "Miracle on 34th Street" on Thanksgiving weekend this year and realized it was the first time we'd seen it. But yeah, we pretty much watch them all (although I did not watch "A Christmas Story" this year because I burned myself out on it years ago.)

I also watched that one about the elf who wanted to be a dentist - Hee, Stoney used to have an icon with his picture that read: "Dentist: 60s code for 'gay'"

Happy Holidays, Joy!!!

Hm, I don't know the Donkey one. And I haven't seen 34th St, but it's in

my_daroga's book of cult films they/we're going through (some are so awesome! Some . .. are Bedtime for Bonzo) I think, so I'll probably see it.

Actually, I think the reason I now think the dentist!elf movie is cool is Stoney's icon. I hadn't read the movie that way before, mostly because I was not old enough to be aware of subtext back when I was watching it.

Have a good one, Sue! Best to Jonah and Caza :o)

Checking my LJ on Christmas ... :D

Last night we watched Die Hard. Hey, it's a Christmas movie ...

OMG, that's a great Xmas movie! That was one of the many stupid things about Die Hard 3. . . they're all supposed to take place on Xmas Eve!

we watched the family stone. which is sort of wonderful because watching it can be uncomfortable in a way that's hard to pin down. and it's sentimental at the end.

My family's tradition is to watch the new version of "Miracle on 34th Street" sometime before Chistmas. I've watched it a zillion times and yet I still love it! =)
My own personal tradition is to watch "A Muppet Family Christmas." I just started this tradition last year and I have yet to watch the movie this year (I borrowed it from the library though), but I am still excited about this new tradition because I LOVE this movie.
There are no other movies that I watch seasonally. However, I always watch the Macy's Annual Thanksgiving Parade on Thanksgiving (though these days I multi-task and watch it while helping prepare dinner).
I did check my flist briefly yesterday, during a break when my family was all hanging out but no one really knew what to do. I guess we should have followed your advice and watched a movie instead!

I watched The Orphanage... I was so creeped out I couldn't sleep! ToT

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Movies you watch on Xmas Day

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