Tag: Movie

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

Jeff Mitchell

“Gremlins” (1984) – Director Joe Dante has a history in horror with “Piranha” (1978) and “The Howling” (1981) under his belt, so he’s a natural fit for “Gremlins”.    “Gremlins” isn’t a brutal trip into terror, but a PG-excursion into a group of cuddly little teddy bear creatures called mogwais that chirp, squeak and sing a bit too.  What’s not to like?  Everyone should have a mogwai.  Just don’t feed them after midnight, because if so, they will change into impish lizard-like devils that cause lots and lots of trouble.…

12 days of not-so-Christmassy Christmas movies: ‘Edward Scissorhands’

Jeff Mitchell

“Edward Scissorhands” (1990) – Twenty-eight years after Tim Burton introduced his modern-day Pinocchio story about an artificial boy (Johnny Depp) who has scissors for hands, “Edward Scissorhands” still brings the tears. Burton does include a lot of satire, as he regularly pokes fun at suburbia throughout the picture, but he delves into Christmastime in the second half, and it seems that every single modest home in the camera frame dons festive lights. This fairy tale isn’t really a Christmas movie, but the holiday makes its mark, and especially when Edward…

12 days of not-so-Christmassy Christmas movies: ‘Lethal Weapon’

Jeff Mitchell

“Lethal Weapon” (1987) – OK, Richard Donner’s buddy cop movie – set in sunny Los Angeles – does include plenty of Christmas references, including Bobby Helms’  “Jingle Bell Rock” during the opening credits and police officer Martin Riggs (Mel Gibson) going undercover to buy drugs and a Christmas tree.   Still, when one thinks of action films and Christmas, most look to “Die Hard” (1988), so that’s why we are including “Lethal Weapon” on this list. Sergeant Roger Murtaugh (Danny Glover) pairs up with the nearly (or actually) psychotic Riggs, and…