12 days of not-so-Christmassy Christmas movies: ‘The Apartment’

“The Apartment” (1960) – C.C. Baxter (Jack Lemmon) works extremely hard at the Consolidated Life New York City office.  He makes $94.70 per week and lives in a great apartment that costs $85 per month. Most nights, he works late – for an hour or two –  but not to get ahead.  He just cannot go home to his apartment until around 8pm.  Why is that? That’s the premise of Bill Wilder’s wildly successful rom-com that won five Oscars, including Best Picture! Now, C.C. may have his eye on a…

12 days of not-so-Christmassy Christmas movies: ‘In Bruges’

“In Bruges” (2008) – Travel experts claim that Bruges, Belgium has one of the best Christmas markets in Europe, and this city has kept its medieval construction to make the holiday festivities feel like an illustrious time warp. There’s nothing festive, however, about Ken (Brendan Gleeson) and Ray’s (Colin Farrell) Christmastime visit to Bruges, at the least the initial reason.  Their mobster boss Harry (Ralph Fiennes) orders them to Bruges and hide out until the coast is clear.  Ken tries to make the best of it by taking in the…

12 days of not-so-Christmassy Christmas movies: ‘Eyes Wide Shut’

“Eyes Wide Shut” (1999) – Christmas in New York City brings images of Rockefeller Center, ice skating and shopping on 5th Avenue.  Stanley Kubrick’s last film takes place at Christmastime, but this “holiday story” explores infidelity, visceral temptations, frank conversations between spouses, and sexual masquerade parties where mistletoe is not required. Not the “exactly” same. Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman were married in real life at the time, as they play a couple questioning their relationship during the most wonderful time of the year.   Just wondering how much will they…