Movies to see when the shopping's done
What are the best Christmas movies to get you in the holiday mood as the season gets under way?
That's easy. The ones that actually pay attention to the reason for the season, not the ones with stories that merely use Christmas as a backdrop.
So the following five recommended films do not include so-called Christmas movies such as "Die Hard" (action film), "Rare Exports" (horror film), or "Silent Night, Deadly Night," (horrible horror film).
Yes, most of these titles you already know. But then, really good, new Christmas movies, unlike Jesus Christ's birthday, don't come along every year.
1. "A Christmas Carol" (1951) - Alastair Sim's performance as Ebenezer Scrooge dominates this dark and mesmerizing adaptation of Charles Dickens' classic story of Britain's original Grinch. The ghosts of Christmas past, present and future have many ways of making a heart grow three times larger. Some of them are pretty scary.
2. "Miracle on 34th Street" (1947) - Not only does this sentimental tale of love and family work as a gentle reminder of spiritual mystery in the world, it's one of the few movies to make the U.S. Postal Service look heroic.
3. "A Christmas Story" (1983) - Jean Shepherd's memories of growing up in the 1940s Midwest serve as the basis for this warm and comic classic that proves Christmas can still happen no matter how many things go wrong.
4. "The Nightmare Before Christmas" (1993) - Halloweenland's Jack Skellington learns a lesson in realizing your limitations when he tries to hijack Christmas by taking over Christmastown in Henry Selick's stop-motion animated musical (with songs by Danny Elfman, who sings for Jack, too).
5. "Joyeux Noel" (2006) - Exactly one century ago this very Christmas Eve, French, German and Scottish forces did the unthinkable. Instead of putting country first, they put Christ first by honoring a timeout from killing each other during World War I. What happens next makes for one of the most moving Christmas dramas put on celluloid. Oh, it's based on a true story, too.