December 19, 2017

Governor Walker asks what's your favorite Christmas movie?


(I'm just a longtime fan of the charming blandness of Scott Walker tweets. No political message intended.)

98 comments:

Larry J said...

Die Hard.

What? Someone had to say it.

Curious George said...

So Hitler likes Christmas Vacation.

RMc said...

"They Shoulda Impeached You, Walker, And I'm Glad You Lost The Prez Race Hahaha LOL What A Tool!"

No, wait, that's Inga's favourite movie.

ndspinelli said...

Bad Santa.

rhhardin said...

The Sure Thing (1985)

Ann Althouse said...

The only movie I've ever rewatched at Christmas time is the movie I think is so obviously the best Christmas movie there's almost no point in saying it. I feel like people (at this late date) will just groan at the obviousness: "It's a Wonderful Life."

The question should begin "Other than 'It's a Wonderful Life' ..."

I'd say the original "Grinch" cartoon.

AllenS said...

Without a doubt, it's Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy in March of the Wooden Soldiers, also known as Babes in Toyland. A Christmas movie classic that was so great, it had two names!

Yes, I have the DVD.

tim in vermont said...

If you don’t hate Walker, that’s all they need. Look at what they are trying to do to Taylor Swift.

But I would have said Die Hard a couple of years ago, but I have watched it too many times. I will give it a rest. The real problem with Die Hard is that I have noticed the ridiculousness of it. But Rickman’s performance as one of the all time great movie villains is worth it, too.

I only allow myself to watch Blade Runner once every five years or so, so I can have enough arhythmic sleep to forget some of it. Same with The Big Lebowski.

Jim said...

Holiday Inn. Doesn’t get played anymore because liberals can’t handle Blackface Bing.

Oh, and The Ref.

gspencer said...

Trading Places is not a Christmas movie as such. But since it spans a time period from just before Thanksgiving to the early days of the next year and has elements of Christmas throughout (lights, an office party, Aykroyd dressed up like Santa, and more), with a gift to the audience of a lotta laughs and bad guys getting what they deserve, it should be seen as a Christmas movie.

David Begley said...

It’s a Wonderful Life.

It was shown frequently on TV - for free - because of a copyright screwup.

n.n said...

He would be a good choice, but would he survive the allegations? A preponderance?

Well, Merry Christmas. Controversial, I know.

urbane legend said...

Jingle All The Way or We're No Angels

Big Mike said...

I liked the original “Home Alone” and “Nightmare Before Christmas,” but the nod has to go to “Love Actually” (the 2003 version with Emma Thompson, Hugh Grant, Colin Firth, Martin Freeman, Liam Neeson, Alan Richman, Kiera Knightley, and others). I especially liked the scenes with Colin Firth, particularly when he proposes to his Portuguese-speaking housekeeper in broken Portuguese in front of ... just go rent it.

AllenS said...

Here is my favorite Christmas movie on the internets! --

March of the Wooden Soldiers

Molly said...

Hokey is okay here, right (perhaps even required)? It Happened on Fifth avenue: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0039502/

jwl said...

A Christmas Story, Ralphie's desire for a Red Ryder air rifle is classic tale.

MacMacConnell said...

It’s a Wonderful Life
Miracle on 34th Street (1947)
A Christmas Carol ( any version not a musical )
Remember the Night
The Shop Around the Corner
Holiday Affair
It Happened On 5th Avenue
Planes Trains and Automobiles

There are also actually some good ones on the Hallmark channel occasionally that aren't too corny and predictable. Before you think I'm too sentimental, one of my favorite movies of all time is A Clockwork Orange

Jason said...

This one:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MaQ6ODrQg0g

FleetUSA said...

We all (3 generations)love Hogfather based on Terry Pratchett's novel. Starring David Jason who is Detective Jack Frost (A Touch of Frost).

Sarah from VA said...

I agree with It's a Wonderful Life and then the Grinch cartoon as second place. In third place -- just because I have small children -- I would put the Muppet Christmas Carol. I know there are better movies out there, but there are NOT better holiday movies that my children are able to watch all the way through without screaming that they're too scared.

jwl said...

My partner watches Hallmark Christmas movies, I find them entirely too saccharine but her and her girlfriends absolutely love them.

MAJMike said...

Die Hard.

The Drill SGT said...

Tired of "Die Hard"?

There is always that other great Christmas movie: "Die Hard 2"

wild chicken said...

Definitely Miracle on 34th Street. Perfection in every scene.

Left Bank of the Charles said...

Stalag 17, the great libertarian Christmas movie.

VON SCHERBACH: All right, then, gentlemen. We are all friends again. And with Christmas coming on, I have a special treat for you. I'll have you all deloused for the holidays. And I'll have a little tree for every barrack. You will like that.

tcrosse said...

A Christmas Carol (1951) with Alistair Sim.

Jason said...

Battle of the Bulge.

Inga...Allie Oop said...

A Christmas Carol.

Inga...Allie Oop said...

My younger kids loved Emmet Otter Jug-band Christmas, the older ones, A Christmas Story, with Ralphie.

Robert Cook said...

Miracle on 34th Street.

Robert Cook said...

"The Sure Thing (1985)"

Ah, I do love that movie. So much better than SAY ANYTHING, a similar rom-com also starring John Cusack.

M Jordan said...

Not a fan of Christmas movies but if required to pick one it would have to be “Planes, Trains, and Automobiles.” That was a Christmas movie, wasn’t it? Or was it Thanksgiving?

Robert Cook said...

"Stalag 17, the great libertarian Christmas movie."

Another great one! I've seen it numerous times, but the last time was while I was in the hospital with leukemia, just shy of 20 years ago. I can't believe it's been that long since I've seen it!

traditionalguy said...

Going back to basics, the best movie is Zefirilli's Jesus of Nazareth. It has great acting and tells Luke's story better than any other movie.

Bay Area Guy said...

My kids like "Elf" with Will Ferrell and James Caan. Humorous and innocent, I'd say.

JPS said...

M Jordan,

Thanksgiving, but it feels Christmas-y because of the snow. And I think it's in the right spirit, anyway.

mockturtle said...

Miracle on 34th Street is special. Great cast [especially little Natalie Wood] and inspired script and direction. It's a classic.

Michael K said...

I agree with both It's a Wonderful Life and Stalag 17. We watched the second a couple of weeks ago.

Die hard is also good but not exactly about CHritstmas.

Rickman’s performance as one of the all time great movie villains is worth it, too.

Rickman died last year and was very good as a general in "Eye in the Sky" an excellent movie. I think he died before it was released.

Saint Croix said...

Interesting that the only Frank Capra movie that really holds up is It's a Wonderful Life. And nobody liked it when it came out!

One of the great afterlife movies, too.

Nobody said it so I will add A Charlie Brown Christmas.

mockturtle said...

Yes, Saint Croix! A Charlie Brown Christmas and How the Grinch Stole Christmas are also favorites. My older daughter and I still shed a few happy tears with these.

holdfast said...

It’s not Christmas until Hans Gruber plummets to his doom off Nakatomi Tower.

Matt said...

Musical Scrooge with Albert Finney is my #1.

Alistair Sim & George C. Scott A Christmas Carols.

The Bishop's Wife with Cary Grant and the stunning Loretta Young.

A Christmas They Never Forgot, Little House on the Prairie, Season 8

I also spend a lot of time listening to the old Christmas radio shows from the '40s and '50s on YouTube. Fibber McGee and Molly, Our Miss Brooks, Jack Benny, the Its a Wonderful Life radio show with Jimmy Stewart. The A Christmas Carol with Lionel Barrymore. Got hooked on them back when WFHR in Wisconsin Rapids would play the '30 Hours of Christmas' from 6 pm Christmas Eve thru midnight Christmas Day so their DJs could be home be home with their families.

Many good memories.

pfennig said...

The Onion's movie review of "Its a Wonderful Life" is the best.

Meade said...

Amahl and the Night Visitors

Mr Wibble said...

It’s not Christmas until Hans Gruber plummets to his doom off Nakatomi Tower.

Teacher told me that everytime a Eurotrash terrorist dies, and angel gets its wings.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

A pack of leftists criminals were out to make him a criminal.

Why are the leftwing criminals allowed to breath free air? They should be locked up.

Inga...Allie Oop said...

“The Bishop's Wife with Cary Grant and the stunning Loretta Young.”

Oh yes! I forgot about that one.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

"Corrupt lying leftwing progressive fascist goes to jail."

That would be a great Christmas.

Dave D said...

Christmas Vacation? Can't believe no one else thinks that's a great holiday film. Any Christmas Carol version also.

tcrosse said...

The South Park Christmas Special (NSFW)

buwaya said...

Favorite Christmas movie - "Alien"

But nobody else wants to watch it.

Original Mike said...

Blogger tcrosse said..."A Christmas Carol (1951) with Alistair Sim."

+1. Best watched late on Christmas Eve.

Sebastian said...

The Snowman.

JMW Turner said...

Actually Badder Santa for the full Billy Bob Thornton effect.

Thorley Winston said...

Die Hard

Michael K said...

" Fibber McGee and Molly, Our Miss Brooks, Jack Benny, "

I listened to those as a kid along with Fred Allen.

Where do you find them?

William said...

If there was a Christmas movie you especially enjoyed when very young, it stays with you through your life, and the interest compounds. If your children, in turn, enjoy that movie, the compound interest doubles.......Dorothy should have returned to Kansas just in time to celebrate Christmas. They missed a sure bet there.......I guess it's not possible to celebrate Christmas in a galaxy far, far away. Have the theologians ever determined whether the birth of Christ redeemed just the people on earth or was it a universe wide phenomenon? If God is omnipresent, I see no reason why Christmas cannot be celebrated by the Rebel Alliance.

Gahrie said...

Scrooged

CWJ said...

I liked "It's a Wonderful Life" right up until the moment that I realized that Potter got away with stealing the Building and Loan's deposit money. Bailey is saved, but as a result the poor are even poorer and the rich man is that much richer. Robert Cook, I would have thought this would have been your kind of movie, at least metaphorically.

I Have Misplaced My Pants said...

Love, Actually (hated it, thought it was sentimental twaddle, when I was unhappily married; feel very different now)

Little Women, 1994 (watch every year with my daughters as we decorate the tree) “If you feel your value lies in being merely decorative, I fear that someday you might find yourself believing that’s all that you really are. Time erodes all such beauty, but what it cannot diminish is the wonderful workings of your mind: Your humor, your kindness, and your moral courage."

Trading Places For the lulz, of course, including my favorite line, which is now a part of the Pants household lexicon: Didn't I tell you that the phone in my limousine is busted, and I can't get in contact with my bitches?

A Christmas Story Of course; it wouldn't be Christmas day without this playing in the background.


I Have Misplaced My Pants said...

Christmas Vacation of course. Shitter's full!

JML said...

Bay Area Guy said...
My kids like "Elf" with Will Ferrell and James Caan. Humorous and innocent, I'd say.

Where he discovers the "World's Best Cup of Coffee!"

But I agree with Saint Croix. A Charlie Brown Christmas tops, with a Wonderful life a close second.

Jay Vogt said...

I really don't have a favorite.

Both my adult kids are coming home and neither of them have seen "The Blues Brothers". One of them didn't even know it existed. I picked it up to have around to watch if the time is right. Also, picked up "Planes, Trains and Automobiles" . . . . just cuz.

Dust Bunny Queen said...

Groundhog Day (Bill Murray) Not Christmas exactly, but the theme of the movie fits well with the meaning of Christmas.

Reflection, spiritual growth, redemption.

rehajm said...

Phone rings: Buddy th Elf- what’s your favorite color?

- Buddy the Elf or Governor Walker

First Tenor said...

The Ref and Gremlins

Jay Vogt said...

It got terrible reviews and I suppose in honesty it doesn't deserve to be on an any kind of top ten list, but of the more recent fare, "Fred Clause" was pretty funny.

Professional lady said...

"Remember the Night" a 1940 movie with Fred MacMurry and Barbara Stanwyck. It's not well known. It has some flaws, such as the "colored" houseboy who has to act as if he's mentally impaired. The script is by Preston Sturgis. It's one of the few movies with courtroom scenes that I can stand to watch ("My Cousin Vinny" being one of the other exceptions). It's got a gasbag lawyer that's priceless. It's not your typical Christmas movie. It's also the only movie I know that has a scene at the Detroit/Windsor tunnel.

FWBuff said...

"Meet Me in St. Louis". It's not Christmas until I watch Judy Garland sing "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas". Beautiful and sad and sentimental, all at the same time.

Saint Croix said...

I was looking for "Linus and Lucy," that great jazz number from Vince Guaraldi, and I found this clip.

I also found this advertisement for The Charlie Brown School of Dance.

Christy said...

I avoid Christmas movies and actively dislike It's a Wonderful Life - have never been able to watch it all the way through. But you all have made interesting recommendations that I'll keep in mind for the future. And reminded me of Mame, which is a favorite.

The Cracker Emcee Refulgent said...

Another vote for A Charlie Brown Christmas, not so much for it's content but for how it effortlessly calls up the magic of my childhood Christmases.

Robert Cook said...

"I liked 'It's a Wonderful Life' right up until the moment that I realized that Potter got away with stealing the Building and Loan's deposit money. Bailey is saved, but as a result the poor are even poorer and the rich man is that much richer."

Capra recognized life's realities.

"Robert Cook, I would have thought this would have been your kind of movie, at least metaphorically."

Yes, I do love "Its A Wonderful Life," but it's not my favorite. That is--as I said above--"Miracle on 34th Street." The Capra film would be in my top 5, certainly.

Someone else said "A Charlie Brown Christmas," which, of course, is not a movie at all, but a 22 minute television program. However, if we're including that, it would also be in my top 5, as well as, no kidding,"Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol."

mockturtle said...

Christy, I watch Auntie Mame, the non-musical version with Rosaline Russell, every year about this time. Watched it the other night. Clever script and great performances. A feel-good movie, to boot.

I do a great mimic of Gloria: It was ghastly! I mean, it was just GHASTLY!.

mockturtle said...

Rosalind.

exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...

My new favorite Christmas movie is the one I watched on Sunday instead of the Packers game: "The Bishop's Wife." Cary Grant plays an angel sent to help an Episcopalian bishop. The reason I liked it was because I got to watch lots of Cary Grant. And it has David Niven as well.

"Christmas in Connecticut" was on before it. That movie has a silly plot, but its charming and fun to watch anyway.

Kevin said...

If I had to pick one, it would be Elf.

But on Christmas Eve we watch It's a Wonderful Life.

Kevin said...

"Christmas in Connecticut" was on before it. That movie has a silly plot, but its charming and fun to watch anyway.

The 1992 version was directed by Arnold Schwarzenegger. Whenever it is on, I like to turn the volume down and do an impression of Arnold giving the actors direction on their scenes.

"Ahnd on thees nahcht sien you vil be rolling in de snow. Shu vil kip rolling ahtil I sahy to de kameramann "KUTT" ahnd den zu vil shttop mid dee rolling in de snow."

Yancey Ward said...

rhhardin wrote:

The Sure Thing.

Wow, now there is an original choice, and one I can fully support, too. Hadn't thought of that movie in some time now.

Professional lady said...

Re "Christmas in Connecticut." Love Barbara Stanwyck. She's right up there with Bette Davis and Maureen O'Hara.

JML said...

Saint Croix - Brilliant! Thanks for sharing. I belong to a Peanuts Collector's Group. Most will love the school of dance. A few will have histeircal fits. Win-win!

rhhardin said...

Groundhog Day

Time-travel is a good genre when it's about figuring out what the right thing to say to a woman is.

A subgenre of antagonistic opposites are found to fit.

MadisonMan said...

I like Holiday Inn, Meet me in St. Louis, and Home Alone.

I can sing The Grinch. And can play Linus and Lucy on the piano -- so I guess I like those too.

Jim at said...

A Christmas Story

It's pretty much on the entire 24 hours when TBS or TNT airs it.

Merny11 said...

Christmas Vacation. I laugh at the squirrel scene every single time.
And White Christmas with Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye. So bad that it’s good.

Pamela said...

Miracle on 34th Street

paminwi said...

White Christmas. Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer. I like Hermie & Yukon Cornelious.

Mark said...

"The Bells of St. Mary's" and "Come to the Stable" both deserve to be on the list.

Bilwick said...

A lot of my favorites have been named; but I would like to put in a good word for a movie that is often overlooked, and for which, I gather, there was not a lot of critical or popular acclaim: FRED CLAUS, starring Vince Vaughn as Fred, the estranged brother of Santa. Certainly it's no masterpiece of cinematic art, but it has some moments that I look forward to seeing every year: the Overshadowed Brothers Support Group, featuring the real Roger Clinton, Frank Stallone and Stephen Baldwin; Vaughn's dance interpretation of Elvis Presley's "Robberneckin';" the frantic, last-minute delivery of the Christmas presents to accompaniment of the Waitresses' "Christmas Wrapping" (now my favorite rock/pop Christmas song); and most of all, Sineaid O'Connor's spine-chilling rendition of "Silent Night" during rhe verklempt-inducing climactic scene.

Anonymous said...

Tweets like this one are why I liked Walker. (And still do. He'll get another shot.)

This year I will be seeing "It's A Wonderful Life" for the first time ever.

I sort of feel like I'll be losing the one thing about me that is unique (the only person left in the western world who has never seen "It's A Wonderful Life".)

Howard said...

The Deer Hunter is my favorite Christmas movie.
http://www.tmz.com/2013/12/25/john-savage-deer-hunter-christmas-movie-perfect/

CStanley said...

Christmas Vacation of course. Shitter's full!

LOL....we camped at a state park last summer where we had to pass by the RV dump station to get to our tent site, Every time we passed it hubs and the kids would yell out, "shitters full!"

CStanley said...

We are big fans of It's a Wonderful Lifetoo. We also like Family Man with Nicholas Cage, which uses a similar device (a man getting a "glimpse" of how life might be different...)

And ALL of the classic TV specials from the 60s-70s.....The Grinch, Rudolph, and The Year Without a Santa Claus.. I guess I'll have to put Frosty on the list too although one of my children watched it incessantly a few years back and put me off of it forever.

walter said...

Still doin' that "aggressively normal" bit.
Well..normal for a Sconnie.
I saw him open a biz conference in Milwaukee last week.
Beer was on the attendees tables so he joked about how people might make a drinking game based on when he would mention Foxconn.
He was in fine form, actually...talking tax reductions..categorical deletions, even.
That from me..who is still pissed he has err..walked..away silently from the John Doe insanity.

Douglas B. Levene said...

Die Hard

Robert Cook said...

As much as I like DIE HARD, it is not a "Christmas" movie. It tells of a heist that just happens to occur during the Christmas holidays.

Smilin' Jack said...

Can't believe no one mentioned The Lion in Winter--three Academy Awards and positively dripping with Christmas spirit.