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..................................................................................................................................................................... T HE M UPPET C HRISTMAS C AROL A great introduction for young kids to Charles Dickens’ story about a miserly old businessman who is visited by the ghost of his old business partner and the spirits of Christmas. In this version of the classic Dickens tale, Michael Caine plays Ebenezer Scrooge while Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy play Bob and Emily Crachit. Full of witty dialogue, catchy songs, and several instances where the fourth wall is broken, The Muppet Christmas Carol is a great movie to watch with your kids and learn a few lessons about kind- ness and redemption. Available through Amazon or Disney+ H OME A LONE Just about everyone has seen the iconic McCaulay Caulkin scream from Home Alone . After acting out for the umpteenth time, an eight-year-old boy is banished to the attic to sleep off his bad behavior. Unfortunately, everyone forgets he is there and he is left behind while his family heads off for a Christmas holiday in Paris. Two hapless burglars who have decided to take advantage of the fact that most homeowners have traveled for Christmas encounter Kevin’s numerous booby traps. If you enjoy the “Wile E. Coyote vs. Roadrunner” kind of mayhem and hilarity — then Home Alone is for you. The burglars try — and fail — to outwit Kevin with hi- larious results. Available for Hulu or Amazon E LF Even though it’s less than twenty years old, Elf is definitely a Christmas classic. With famous lines such as “You sit on a throne of lies!” and “Call me elf one more time!” — Elf is one to put on your annual list of must see Christmas movies. As movie critic Roger Ebert said, “This is one of those rare Christmas comedies that has a heart, a brain and a wicked sense of humor, and it charms the socks right off the mantelpiece.” Rated PG available through Amazon or YouTube W HITE C HRISTMAS White Christmas will conjure up dreams of Hollywood’s “Golden Age” when Hollywood stars sang and danced their way across the screen. With superstars such as Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, and Rosemary Clooney, White Christmas combines singing, danc- ing, comedy, and romance with holiday cheer and a dash of pa- triotism. There’s a lot to love! You’ll enjoy songs such as “Count Your Blessings Instead of Sheep,” “Sisters” and, of course, the Irving Berlin classic that won him an Oscar, “White Christmas.” Available through Amazon L ES M ISERABLES The 2012 film, based on the 1985 London to Broadway musical, based on the 1862 Victor Hugo novel is a sentimental musical about forgiveness, freedom, and love that will bring tears to they eyes of all with a beating heart. Les Miserables is not officially a holiday film, but it deals with many spiritual themes including sin, redemption, forgiveness, justice, mercy, and grace. The holidays seem like the absolute best time to watch a film that shows the life-changing impact grace can have when extended to another. Rated PG-13 available through Amazon or Netflix P LAINS , T RAINS AND A UTOMOBILES This one’s for all the guys! They’ll get a kick out of this comedy from the mind of the 80’s film producer, John Hughes whose film credits include iconic films such as “Sixteen Candles,” “The Break- fast Club” and “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.” With comedic superstars like Steve Martin and John Candy the comedy is top notch, but underneath all of the slapstick is a story about empathy — under- standing how the other guy feels — and the immeasurable value of spending the holidays with the ones you love. As Roger Ebert noted, it’s “strange, howmuch poignancy creeps into this comedy, and only becomes stronger while we’re laughing.” Rated R available through Amazon W HILE Y OU W ERE S LEEPING Here’s one for the gals (the guys will enjoy it too)! The 1990s was considered the hey day of romantic comedies and Sandra Bul- lock was one of the genre’s favorite sweethearts. The story in While You Were Sleeping takes place in Chicago at Christmas time and while it may be a bit formulaic, it is also heart warming and charm- ing. Rated PG available through Amazon or Disney+ T HE H ARRY P OTTER S ERIES The holidays are made for binge-watching so what better time than to revisit — assuming everyone has seen them already — the entire Harry Potter series. Plus, Harry’s adventures in the wizarding world are chock-full of the fuzzy feelings and yuletide charm that help make a Christmas movie. Not to mention, many of the Harry Potter films were released around Christmas and almost all of them feature the holiday. Rated PG and PG-13 available through Amazon n Find us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2020 29