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Alas, it’s the time of year for holiday specials and movies.  With the possible exception of Halloween, the winter holidays far outclass the rest of the year as far as visual propaganda.

Here are the favorite holiday movies from the bkI staff and contributors.

Joanna Roter, Fiction Contributor:

My favorite Holiday movie is Edward Scissorhands, directed by Tim Burton. This movie is smart, funny, beautiful, and tragic all at the same time. It really capture the “magic” of the season more than most of your traditional Christmas movies. The cast of this movie is wonderful and really worked well together. The music by composer Danny Elfman is sublime and really add the whimsy to this film. It’s framed as a story of a grandmother telling her granddaughter the origin of snow in their town and deals with themes of love, adversity, and acceptance.  The theme of the family is the most meaningful to me. Edward is on his own living an undisturbed life when he is taken in by a family and forced to endure their traditions and criticism. They try to mold him into a what they consider normal or acceptable, when really it is what makes him different that makes him special. However, for all the trials the family may put Edward through they still love him and understand that he has to do his own thing. Isn’t that what the Holidays are about nowadays?

Tony Smith, newly minted Music Writer:

For a classic holiday movie/special, How the Grinch Stole Christmas! leaps to mind. Not the 2007 live-action film with Jim Carrey. No, we’re talking about the original 1966 animated special directed by Chuck Jones. I had the Dr Seuss book when I was a child, and seeing the illustrations walking and talking on my television screen amazed me to no end. The sheer fact that I could sit there, book in hand, and practically have it read to me by Boris freaking Karloff was awe inspiring. Also, the holidays just are not the holidays without at least one rendition of “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch” played over the stereo.

The second selection might be considered a bit of a reach, but is still technically a Christmas movie. Brazil, directed by Terry Gilliam of Monty Python fame, is full of biting remarks over the use of consumerism as a tool to distract people from society’s inhumanity. I find that rather amusing, myself, to denounce consumerism during the season where the concept of consumerism is at its highest. The fact that the protagonist’s nemesis is not some classic villain, but really the established social order being complacent, reminds me that free thought is still the most useful and dangerous tool the human race has. After all, if a worker managed to have the foresight to catch the typo that caused the string of events in the film, then the whole giant misunderstanding could have been avoided. It’s good to have a little dark satire over the holidays. It keeps the world in perspective without going into sugar shock from all the usual feel-good Christmas specials.

Christopher A. Helton, Fiction Contributor:

Okay, my favorite all time Christmas movie is Die Hard. It came out when I was in the 6th grade and that along with Lethal Weapon were the first R rated movies my dad let me see. It is no coincidence that I started writing in the 6th grade. My first book have you was basically a GI:Joe movie which I had Bruce Willis pegged for the lead role. That early book, Rising Storm, sent me on a 10 year odyssey of reworking the original into a full length novel and later a feature length script. All along, my goal was to the write the perfect Bruce Willis movie. It became an obsession (Pat will confirm this). This man crush on Bruce Willis (Ed: Yes, Chris is totally gay for him — Pat) lasted all through my teen years but dwindled down in the middle of the decade until Bruce came out with the new Die Hard movie, which in itself is not a good Bruce Willis movie, but it tried. Bruce, if you are out there, you have enough juice left in you for one last action movie. You need this as much as I do.

Ben Kenneally, Staff Columnist and overachiever due to his awesome grades this semester:

The Ref-

What could be more filled with holiday cheer than Denis Leary? A great black comedy with an incredibly dysfunctional family whose marriage can only be held together by the intercession of Denis Leary, crappy professional thief. Wait, what?

We’re No Angels-

A Christmas caper starring Humphrey Bogart in a rare comedic role. Peter Ustinov and Basil Rathbone co-star. A movie in which a bunch of escaped convicts learn the joy of family. “We’ll slit their throats for a Christmas present,” says Bogie at one point in time.

The Nightmare Before Christmas-

Halloweentown learns about the spirit of Christmas thanks to Jack Skellington’s overly inquisitive wanderings. Watching the ghosts and goblins attempt to do things christmasy is awesome, and the songs (All by Danny Elfman) are delightfully good.

Scrooged-

A cruel and callous TV executive has the Christmas spirit explained to him, beaten into him, and finally scared into him in this Christmas classic. Starring Bill Murray, Carol Kane, David Johansen, and about 10 million pop culture references, this is not one to miss.

P.A. “Pat” Humphreys, Head Content Wrangler:

Ok, this may seem a little out of character, but my fave is A Christmas Story.

For all the Santa’s and holiday magic, I think this is the one movie that truly captures the meaning of Christmas.  I can’t watch it without being transported back to when I was myself a nine-year-old plotting and planning for whatever gift I obsessed over at the time that I completely lost interest in after acquisition.  Writer Jean Shepherd is one of those rare people that either creepily familiar with children’s’ minds, or is deep down in side still that nine-year-old. Either way, he distilled the magic that is Christmas to a child. One day, I’m going to watch all 24 hours of it.

How about the rest of you?