My Top Ten Christmas Movies

Here are my all time favorites...

1. Pee Wee’s Playhouse Christmas Special – While Pee Wee was controversial after that unfortunate movie theater incident, this show was one of my favorites growing up. I watched it every Saturday afternoon and still have the entire 1988 season on VHS. I don’t have a VHS player anymore, but that’s beside the point. This should be in everyone’s holiday film repertoire. You can’t go wrong with guest stars like Cher, Oprah, Magic Johnson, Dina Shore, Joan Rivers, Grace Jones, and Frankie and Anette.
2. National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation – You cannot escape Christmas Eve with my family without eating Italian sausage and fried potatoes, and watching Christmas Vacation. It never fails. “The little lights aren’t twinkling, Clark.”
3. Home Alone – My little brother was obsessed with this movie. We decided it was a must watch this year, but agreed to wait to watch it together. We did take a few sneak peeks on Hulu, though. Kevin!!!
4. Bad Santa – Billy Bob Thornton as burger Santa and a chubby kid looking for love. My favorite part is when he eats all the kid’s chocolates from his advent calendar and replaces it with random things from around the house.
5. The Family Stone – I have a soft spot for most of the actors in this movie. It’s a little cheesy, but the cast is fantastic. Sarah Jessica Parker, Diane Keaton, Luke Wilson, Rachel McAdams, and my favorite My So Called Life-r Claire Danes.
6. Home for the Holidays – Who doesn’t relate to awkward family holidays?
7. The Muppet Christmas Carol – The Muppets make anything worth watching.
8. A Christmas Story – The classic scenes make this totally worth it to watch again. Who can forget “You’re going to shoot your eye out!” and the Christmas dinner at the Chinese restaurant. “Deck the harrs with barrs of horrry, fa ra ra ra ra, ra ra ra ra.”
9. Elf – Because I love Will Ferrell.
10. Scrooged – Because I love Bill Murray.

My top 10 scary movies

In honor of our visit tonight to the Netherworld Haunted House, I give you my favorite scary movies. I love a good really really scary movie. Not gory or gross, but suspenseful, something that makes me jump out of my seat. The true test of a scary movie is whether you are still scared hours, days...years later.

In no particular order, here they are -

1. The Ring (2002) - I saw this in the theater with a friend when I first moved into an apartment on my own. I was terrified to look at the TV screen when I got home.
2. The Blair Witch Project (1999) - I re-watched this movie last weekend, by myself. I do not recommend this. I also recall that at one point in my life I liked the woods, and even camped by myself. Probably not doing that again any time soon!
3. The Descent (2005) - This is a newer movie, but one of my faves. A bunch of kick-ass, cave monster stomping girls go spelunking...and some of them make it out alive. Those cave monsters are creepstown.
4. Psycho (1960) - One of my all time favorite movies of any genre. Genius. Total genius.
5. Candy Man (1992) - For anyone that played Bloody Mary a kid, I challenge you to watch Candy Man and not be scared to look in the mirror in the bathroom after. Also a great scary movie for urban-ites like me. Sometimes the wrong side of the tracks can be scarier than anything.
6. Drag Me to Hell (2009) - Also a newer movie, but scary and funny at the same time.
7. The Exorcist (1973) - The story is that my dad went to see this when it came out and it creeps him out to this day. For those of you that haven't watched it beginning to end in a while, don't knock it until you've sat through the whole thing. Still scary.
8. The Shining (1980) - The movie is fantastic, but the book is scarier than the movie. I read it in high school, and I remember screaming when my cat jumped on the bed unexpectedly while I was reading. I have issues. Shelley Duval's wardrobe is almost as frightening as the ghosts.
9. Jaws (1979) - Not a traditional scary movie, but Jaws made me afraid of the deep end in the pool.
10. Cape Fear (1991) - My mom called me from the theater when my parents went to go see this movie on a date night. I was babysitting, and she said she was just calling to make sure we were OK. I didn't understand this until I watched it years later. Just try to overlook Robert De Niro's bad southern accent.