DVDizzy Forum

Recent viewings in bold

1. The Muppets
2. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
3. WALL-E
4. Pocahontas
5. Planes, Trains and Automobiles
6. The Muppet Movie
7. The Great Muppet Caper



The Great Muppet Caper

A great follow-up to the first Muppet movie, and no Hare Krishna jokes. I haven't seen this one since sometime in the 80s, and I finally decided to pop in my DVD. I still have my one Muppet Caper drinking glass from McDonald's, although it must be at my parents house. Like Peter Ustinov's and Oscar the Grouch's brief moment. I wish the new movie had a Sesame Street character cameo. Hope this one also gets a Blu-Ray release at some point.

I saw The Muppets today too. Man, it was amazing!

I also watched that classic, OLDSCHOOL Sesame Street Christmas special, Christmas Eve on Sesame Street. Man, I LOVE that one! And another fave, A Muppet Family Christmas, which I watched on a VHS taped from the Hallmark Channel. So glad I got that. Wish I didn't miss recording the first few seconds of Fozzie's intro. Oh, and I saw "A Christmas Wish", AKA "The Great Rupert". Great film with the goddess Terry Moore.

As a family tradition, I wait until the Saturday after Thanksgiving to begin my Holiday film watching in the "Holiday Movie Challenge - 100 Holiday Movies in 31 Days" and I want everyone to note that we get a couple of extra days and don't count Dec. 24 and 25 and Dec. 31 in the challenge because they are designated 'family days' and we should all allow for the family to come first during the movie challenge. And once again, I will not list the many holiday television shows and shorts that I will be watching along with the movies. With that said here goes:

Saturday, November 26, 2011:

1. Miracle on 34th Street (1947) - Maureen O'Hara, John Payne, and Natalie Wood star in this classic Holiday film.

2. Santa Claus, The Movie (1985) - Dudley Moore stars in this timeless classic.

3. Christmas in Connecticut (1945) - A 'must-watch' for anyone who enjoys great family Holiday movies.


Sunday, November 27, 2011:

4.Meet Me In St. Louis (1944) - Starring Judy Garland, Margaret O'Brien, Mary Astor, Leon Ames, Marjorie Main and Directed by Vincente Minnelli, this is a classic Holiday film that can be watched anytime of the year, and features a wonderful story with lots of memorable music and songs.

5. A Christmas Carol (1951) - Alastair Sim IS Scrooge in this classic telling of the story. As a family, we will watch this film once a week between now and Christmas (but will only count it once).

6. Jingle All The Way (1996) - Arnold Schwarzenegger is a father trying to find that special toy for his son (Jake Lloyd) for Christmas. This one makes me laugh constantly. Becoming a classic holiday film very slowly.

7. Planes, Trains & Automobiles (1987) - Another of those films that can be watched any time of the year. Starring Steve Martin and John Candy, the laughs come a mile a minute.


Monday, November 28, 2011:

8. Fred Claus (2007) - Vince Vaughn and Paul Giamatti in this hilariously funny "what if" movie. Like this one a lot.

9. Scrooged (1988) - Bill Murray is perfect in this modern version of 'A Christmas Carol'. A 'Must-See' for those who haven't seen this film.

10. The Santa Clause (1994) - Tim Allen stars in what is becoming a Disney Classic. The strongest of the three movies in the franchise, and I really watch this one almost any time of the year.


Tuesday, November 29, 2011:

11. Christmas With The Kranks (2004) - Tolerable holiday fare with Tim Allen and Jamie Lee Curtis. This movie tries very hard to be very funny, and generally ends up just being crude jokes and toilet humor. That being said, I still like it.

12. Four Christmases (2008) - Vince Vaughn and Drew Barrymore star in this really funny, but sad tale of a couple trying to appease both sides of the family by showing up at all of their Christmas parties. Very funny, and will bring a tear to your eye in its resolve.

13. Deck The Halls (2006) - Danny DeVito and Matthew Broderick make this film worth watching. It is very down to earth, and will have you laughing and crying, sometimes at the same time. Worth a watch every year.

Sunday, November 20
Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987)

Friday, November 25
SHORT: Popeye in: Seasin's Greetink's (1933)
TV SPECIAL: The Star Wars Holiday Special (With Rifftrax) (1978)

Sunday November 27
TV SPECIAL: Mr Magoo's Christmas Carol (1962)

Wednesday November 30
A Christmas Carol (Scrooge)(1951)

Friday December 2nd
TV EPISODE: Mystery Science Theater 3000: Santa Claus

Saturday December 3rd
Elf(2003)

Continuing with the 2011 Holiday movies viewing:

Wednesday, November 30, 2011:

14. The Nativity Story (2006) - Very good telling of the First Christmas story.

15. Prancer (1989) - Cute story about a little girl who thinks she has found one of Santa's reindeer.

Recent viewings in bold

1. The Muppets
2. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
3. WALL-E
4. Pocahontas
5. Planes, Trains and Automobiles
6. The Muppet Movie
7. The Great Muppet Caper
8. The Muppet Christmas Carol

Decided to take a little break and watched X-Men First Class and Super 8, but got back into the holiday viewing with...



The Muppet Christmas Carol

December is here! And decided to start the month with this one. The best of the Muppet classic story adaptions. Great music. Great gags. But it's in badly need of a Blu-Ray treatment, with the extended edition in widescreen, not fullframe. Please Disney, give the Muppet movies better treatments.

1. Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town (1970)

Watched today on ABC. (Not ABC Family. Don't have cable so can't participate in their 25 days of Christmas movie thing.) Not sure if it was shortened to fit in the hour time slot. These specials aren't my favorite, but I prefer Rudolph or Frosty to Claus. To me they have more charm.

Recent viewings in bold

1. The Muppets
2. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
3. WALL-E
4. Pocahontas
5. Planes, Trains and Automobiles
6. The Muppet Movie
7. The Great Muppet Caper
8. The Muppet Christmas Carol
9. The Santa Clause
10. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe



The Santa Clause

Haven't watched it in years. Got the DVD last year but never got around to watching it until now. When I first saw thisone in theaters, I thought it was a little depressing, and actually, I still do. Accidentally killing Santa, and then taking his place and not having a normal life? Yeah I think it's a little depressing. I still haven't seen the sequels, but plan to within the next week or so.



The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe

I'm still peeved Disney bailed on this franchise. First time watching it on Blu-Ray - looked and sounded great! I like watching Harry Potter for Halloween, but for Christmas, I like watching the Narnia movies. not your typical Christmas movie, but Santa does make an appearance, and the first half of the movie is wintery. Gonna watch the sequels as well.

After taking Thursday off for a family birthday it's time to get back into the swing of things on my 100 Holiday Movie Challenge:

16. The Bells of St. Mary's (1945) - Watched this one out of order, it is the sequel to "Going My Way", which I will watch at a later date. This one stars Bing Crosby and Ingrid Bergman and is a holiday favorite of mine.

17. Susan Slept Here (1954) - Dated but still funny comedy about an inept scriptwriter (Dick Powell) who finds a juvenile delinquent (Debbie Reynolds, as cute as ever) on his doorstep on Christmas Eve. Very good dialogue, and funny situation ensue, and look for a hilarious cameo appearance by Red Skelton. Best line in the movie - "I love dill pickles and peanut butter!!" You will laugh every time you think about this movie.

18. The Shop Around The Corner (1940) - Funny film that has been remade several times over the past years. Good holiday fare here.

19. The Matador (2005) - Quirky little film starring Pierce Brosnan, who plays a lonely hitman who runs into a 'by-the-book' salesman, Greg Kinnear, and they strike up a weird friendship that neither sees coming. The second half of the film takes place during the Christmas holidays with Brosnan appearing on the doorstep of Greg Kinnear and his wife, Hope Davis. The laughs come because of the nature of the situations and it truly should be seen by all. I recommend this film as a new Holiday tradition.

20. Pocketful of Miracles (1961) - Modern-day Frank Capra film about a bootlegger Dave the Dude (Glenn Ford) and his long-time girlfriend Queenie Martin (Hope Lange) who solicit the wares of Apple Annie (Bette Davis), who apples bring the Dude good luck. One day Annie has a favor to ask of the Dude. Her daughter, Louise (Ann-Margret", who has been raised in a convent in Spain, is coming to the US with her boyfriend and father, to ask permission to marry. This is one hilarious comedy romp supplemented by performances from Edward Everett Horton and Peter Falk. Great holiday film for all to see.

Recent viewings in bold

1. The Muppets
2. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
3. WALL-E
4. Pocahontas
5. Planes, Trains and Automobiles
6. The Muppet Movie
7. The Great Muppet Caper
8. The Muppet Christmas Carol
9. The Santa Clause
10. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe
11. The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian



The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian

Never figured out why this movie gets so much flac, and Disney bailing on the franchise. I like the movie.

More of the Holiday movies challenge:

21. O'Henry's Full House (1952) - Five vignettes directed by five directors and almost every contract player at 20th Century Fox is featured in this marvelous film what wasn't supposed to be a holiday film, but ended up being shown over the Christmas holiday every year when it made it to the television rounds. With stars like Charles Laughton, Fred Allen, Marilyn Monroe, Farley Granger, Jeanne Crain, Anne Baxter, Oscar Levant, Richard Widmark and many, many more three of the five stories are holiday stories including The Cop & The Anthem, The Last Leaf and the acclaimed The Gift of the Maji. Wonderul viewing at this time of the year.

22. Scrooge (1970) - A musical adaptation of the wonderful story of Ebenezer Scrooge starring Albert Finney in the leading role. A must see for the holidays.

23. Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe (2005) - Walt Disney Studios and Walden Media combined to bring the first of the series to the screen. This is just a wonderful holiday movie to be viewed not only at Christmas, but almost any other time of the year.

24. Arthur (1981) - Whimsical tale of an inebriated young man who finds true love in the form of a chronic shoplifter. Dudley Moore and Liza Minnelli are the main stars of this wonderful holiday film, but most of the scenes get stolen by John Gielgud as Arthur's butler and confidant. Just a lot of fun.

25. Arthur 2: On The Rocks (1988) - Sequel to the successful predecessor, this film follows Arthur (Moore) and Linda (Minnelli) after he loses his entire fortune of $750 million plus, because he didn't marry the right person. Laughs galore as Arthur tries to find gainful employment and once again, John Gielgud as Hobson, Arthur's trusty butler and confidant has some of the best lines in the film. Not as bad as the critics said it was, and it does bring a smile to my face each time I watch it, this time of the year.

dvdjunkie wrote: 24. Arthur (1981) - Whimsical tale of an inebriated young man who finds true love in the form of a chronic shoplifter. Dudley Moore and Liza Minnelli are the main stars of this wonderful holiday film, but most of the scenes get stolen by John Gielgud as Arthur's butler and confidant. Just a lot of fun.

I've watched that four or five times this year. While he talks about liking Santa Claus and sings a couple songs doesn't it take place in the Spring/Summer? I'll give you the second one though.

-Skyler

-

This was the best day for watching movies. NASCAR is done for the season and to keep from having withdrawals I am watching movies with a Holiday theme and looking forward to February when NASCAR returns to the tube.

Sunday, December 4, 2011:

26. Holiday Affair (1949) - Robert Mitchum, Wendell Corey and 19-year-old Janet Leigh star in this story about a mystery shopper, and single mother (Leigh), who almost costs a retail clerk (Mitchum) his job.
Wendell Corey is along for the ride as the non-plussed boyfriend who trys to make Leigh make choices in her life. Great holiday movie with a very good story and holiday ending.

27. Santa Claus Conquers The Martians (1964) - Silly sci-fi tale about martians who kidnap Santa Claus so he can brighten the spirits of children on Mars. Not really a waste of time, just a good way to pass an hour and a half.

28. A Christmas Carol (2009) - Jim Carrey stars in this Disney motion-capture animated story about Ebenezer Scrooge. The story is the same as the others, but the brilliance of the Disney studios makes this film worth watching at least once.

29. Babes in Toyland (1934) - Originally titled "March of the Wooden Soldiers", this film is a tour-de-force for Laurel and Hardy. Always a good watch for the Holiday season.

30. Walt Disney's Lady & The Tramp (1955) - Wonderfully animated film about a pure-bred Cocker Spaniel (Lady) and the dog from the other side of the tracks (Tramp) and all the goings on in the animal world of love and other things. "Bella Notte" is still the finest song and moment in a movie, ever!!! Watch this one with the whole family.

Recent viewings in bold

1. The Muppets
2. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
3. WALL-E
4. Pocahontas
5. Planes, Trains and Automobiles
6. The Muppet Movie
7. The Great Muppet Caper
8. The Muppet Christmas Carol
9. The Santa Clause
10. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe
11. The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
12. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
13. The Santa Clause 2



The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

Good sequel. Here's hoping the other four books make it to the big screen.


Santa Gadhafi Claus?

The Santa Clause 2

First time watching this one. Good follow-up. Except everytime I saw the Santa clone on screen, I kept thinking that he should've gone and performed in Primus' Wynona's Big Brown Beaver music video.

Decided to rate my Christmas movies with s.
[Based on a 1-5 rating scale; recent viewings (since last post) in bold.]

Dec. 1st
1. Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town (1970)

Dec. 2nd
2. How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000)

Dec. 3rd
3. Home Alone (1990)

Dec. 5th
4. A Christmas Story (1983)

Recent viewings in bold

1. The Muppets
2. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
3. WALL-E
4. Pocahontas
5. Planes, Trains and Automobiles
6. The Muppet Movie
7. The Great Muppet Caper
8. The Muppet Christmas Carol
9. The Santa Clause
10. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe
11. The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
12. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
13. The Santa Clause 2
14. The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause



The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause

Not as good as the first two. First time watching this one. It seems they ripped the story right out of Nightmare Before Christmas - where someone tries to take over the role of Santa. I did like Martin Short's Jack Frost costume/look. Of course they could continue this series, but who wants to. I acutally found this franchise to be a little strange with the whole killing and taking over the role of Santa story arc.

Continuing with my Holiday Challenge of 100 Movies in December:

Wednesday, December 7, 2011:

31. Gremlins (1984) - Searching for the perfect Christmas gift a father brings home a surprise with the only directions "Don't get them wet!". All the fun breaks loose in the building where Zack Galligan and Phoebe Cates work. Just a fun movie for the holidays.

32. Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990) - Superb sequel to the original with more adventures of the Gremlins during the Christmas holidays and depending on which version you have (I have both) you either get a cameo from Hulk Hogan, or from John Wayne. Either is superb, and this is almost more fun than the original.

Recent viewings in bold

1. The Muppets
2. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
3. WALL-E
4. Pocahontas
5. Planes, Trains and Automobiles
6. The Muppet Movie
7. The Great Muppet Caper
8. The Muppet Christmas Carol
9. The Santa Clause
10. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe
11. The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
12. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
13. The Santa Clause 2
14. The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause
15. How The Grinch Stole Christmas (live action)



How The Grinch Stole Christmas (live action)

Weird. Wacky. Fun. It's a Christmas acid trip! I haven't watched the whole thing in a long time - maybe only the second time since its theatrical release.

Thursday, December 8, 2011:

33. It's A Wonderful Life (1946) - Regularly viewed this time of the year. Starring Donna Reed and James Stewart, this one never gets old. A really great holiday movie.

34. Home For The Holidays (1995) - Directed by Jodie Foster and starring Holly Hunter, Robert Downey Jr., Anne Bancroft, and Charles Durning this film is the perfect, if not too sweet, holiday film. I like this one a lot.

35. The Grinch (How The Grinch Stole Christmas) (2000) Ron Howard directed this great Dr. Seuss story that starred Jim Carrey, Taylor Momsen, and Jeffrey Tambor. I have enjoyed this movie a lot more on DVD than I did when I saw it in the theater. I love the pacing of the film and its all-around story. I watch this one two or three times a year. It never gets old.