Alongside the Christmas tree, Nativity Sets, Wreaths and Cookies, nothing defines the Christmas season more than the movies that are traditionally aired year after year on Television. Each year, November has at least a two or three Christmas movies with some being forgettable comedies like Surviving Christmas and others being future classics like Elf. With Christmas Eve being tonight and Christmas day following soon after (not to mention being a few days into Hanukkah for our Jewish readers) and slow news from the world of Hollywood there's no better time to list Chris Cookson's top ten Christmas flicks.
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Showing posts with label Christmas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Christmas. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Thursday, December 18, 2008
If you thought Episode I was bad...
Then you have to see the Star Wars Holiday Special. Aired only once on CBS in 1978 this special has become a cult classic among Star Wars fans for its camp value and use of the original Star Wars cast. In short the plot follows Chewbacca on a quest to go home to celebrate Christmas...err...Life Day. In the typical "Star Wars fashion" all things go sour as Darth Vader has plans to ruin the festivities. Throughout the special you also get to see entire scenes performed in Wookiee, meet Chewbacca's son Lumpy, Carrie Fisher singing over the Star Wars theme and an oddly suggestive video from the Jefferson Starship.
The special is absolutely horrid with the sole action scene consisting of a Stormtrooper bending down to pick up a blaster and then falling off a ledge. The special is a must-see for Star Wars fans and a great endurance test for just about anyone. I've seen it three or four times now and I still can't watch the entire thing in a single sitting. Its impossible.
George Lucas wants every copy of the special burned and forgotten. He has publically said "The special from 1978 really didn't have much to do with us, you know. I can't remember what network it was on, but it was a thing that they did. We kind of let them do it. It was done by... I can't even remember who the group was, but they were variety TV guys. We let them use the characters and stuff and that probably wasn't the smartest thing to do, but you learn from those experiences. I had a wonderful time on Young Indiana Jones. It was a great series. We did it for four years. I spent those four or five years actually working on it. That's really all I did during those years. It was really a great experience and I love television."
The special earned itself a special place in the Star Wars canon. The Star Wars Animated Adventure segment was the first time the character Boba Fett was introduced in the Star Wars mythos. This was also the first time we saw Chewbacca's home planet of Kashyyyk and this was later used as a model for Star Wars Episode III. Since the release the special has been spoofed by Robot Chicken, South Park and it even earned spot in the music video for Weird Al's White & Nerdy.
So if you haven't seen it already, cozy up against the fireplace and make a tray of Wookiee Ookies. Below is the Star Wars Holiday Special.
The special is absolutely horrid with the sole action scene consisting of a Stormtrooper bending down to pick up a blaster and then falling off a ledge. The special is a must-see for Star Wars fans and a great endurance test for just about anyone. I've seen it three or four times now and I still can't watch the entire thing in a single sitting. Its impossible.
George Lucas wants every copy of the special burned and forgotten. He has publically said "The special from 1978 really didn't have much to do with us, you know. I can't remember what network it was on, but it was a thing that they did. We kind of let them do it. It was done by... I can't even remember who the group was, but they were variety TV guys. We let them use the characters and stuff and that probably wasn't the smartest thing to do, but you learn from those experiences. I had a wonderful time on Young Indiana Jones. It was a great series. We did it for four years. I spent those four or five years actually working on it. That's really all I did during those years. It was really a great experience and I love television."
The special earned itself a special place in the Star Wars canon. The Star Wars Animated Adventure segment was the first time the character Boba Fett was introduced in the Star Wars mythos. This was also the first time we saw Chewbacca's home planet of Kashyyyk and this was later used as a model for Star Wars Episode III. Since the release the special has been spoofed by Robot Chicken, South Park and it even earned spot in the music video for Weird Al's White & Nerdy.
So if you haven't seen it already, cozy up against the fireplace and make a tray of Wookiee Ookies. Below is the Star Wars Holiday Special.
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Review: FOUR CHRISTMASES
Yes children, this movie is perfectly stupid. But it is also the kind of stupid you expect - and I don't know whether that makes me happy or sad. It's already a dumb idea. Visiting four families on Christmas is not something that should be the plot of a movie. It's something that should be one comical act of a movie, amounting to something more. Thing is, this doesn't amount to anything more.
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