Tag Archives: Christmas

Die Hard 2 (1990)

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I opened my Die Hard review with an apology to Bruce Willis for my unwavering belief that the film itself is a Christmas movie. That time comes once again. If Bruce didn’t think Die Hard was a holiday flick, then I can’t imagine he’d think any differently about 1990’s Die Hard 2. However, just like the original, we find our setting taking place during the holiday season, complete with decorations, music, and a snow storm. The movie even wraps up just as the first did, with “Let It Snow” playing over the credits. I’m sorry, Bruce, but this is another holiday action-thriller, and that’s all there is to it.

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Die Hard (1988)

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All apologies to Bruce Willis for what I’m about to write. Despite his firm stance on the matter, I can’t help but classify Die Hard as a Christmas movie. It takes place at a company holiday party, features festive music, and has Bruce Willis himself whistling “Jingle Bells” in the opening act. The end credits roll to “Let it Snow”, bookending the film in festive music. That checks all the boxes I need to justify putting on this classic action-thriller during the season.

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A Christmas Story (1983)

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It’s the holiday break in the 90’s. Your family turns on the TV in the evening, and change the channel to TNT. There’s now a 50 / 50 chance you’re watching A Christmas Story. On the off chance it isn’t on, a commercial is. This was tradition at the time. It became a part of the cacophony of festive background sounds. The movie was just as much a part of the holiday as a decorated tree, or vibrant colored lights being strewn across the house.

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Black Christmas (1974)

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If you were tuned into TNT on television during the holiday seasons of the 1990’s, there was a significant chance that A Christmas Story was playing. Bob Clark’s holiday classic showcased the exploits of a young boy, his comedic family, a passionate pursuit for a “Red Ryder” air rifle, and an iconic leg lamp that was sure to put a smile on any father’s face. If Bob Clark was good at anything, it was catching the spirit of the season. And if there was anything else he was good at, it was turning it upside down to make it feel cold, isolating, and foreboding. Nearly a full decade before Bob Clark would showcase a charming winter vacation, he would terrorize a sorority of young women in his holiday horror hit, Black Christmas.

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Bad Movie Monday: Silent Night, Deadly Night 4: Initiation

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Well, it’s that time of the year again and we all know what this means! It means a bunch of obnoxious songs screaming at you to buy luxury items, malls packed full of depraved people ready to knock old ladies down in order to get the last Xbox, demented family members coming to visit and eat all your food while terrible movies play on a constant loop as if they’re pagan drumbeats that you can’t escape. Luckily, I’ve immunized myself against the last one by watching trash every Monday for the last four years. So let’s talk about that by reviewing today’s movie Silent Night, Deadly Night 4: Initiation.

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The Bootleg Files: Bob Hope’s Comedy Christmas Special

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BOOTLEG FILES 889: “Bob Hope’s Comedy Christmas Special” (1976 television offering wit guests John Wayne, Dyan Cannon and Neil Sedaka).

LAST SEEN: On YouTube.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: A perceived lack of commercial viability.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: No thanks for these memories!

On this day in 1976, NBC showed its contempt for the American public by broadcasting “Bob Hope’s Comedy Christmas Special” in prime time.

Okay, maybe that introduction was a wee bit harsh. This particular production wasn’t that bad – but as with most of Hope’s 1970s specials, it wasn’t that good, either. While Hope managed to score a number of humorous one-liners in this 90-minute presentation, the show was mostly too safe, too sedate and too square to resonate.
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