Guest Post: Top 5 Films You Watch at Christmas Without Fail – Zoe’s Choices

Guest post time 🙂

I would like to welcome a talented blogger, Zoe from The Sporadic Chronicles of a Beginner Blogger.  Check out her blog, it’s very cool!

After doing a guest post on her blog, it was only natural to return the favour and since we are edging close to Christmas, it felt right to do a Christmas themed post.  So without further ado, Zoe – what films do you watch at this time of year without fail? Answers below.

I was honoured when Kelechi asked me for my top five Christmastime movies, and I was thrilled to hear that they did not have to be Christmas movies, per se, because I can guarantee you I would have had to skip this post then. I am not a Grinch, I love Christmas, but I am really not a fan of the movies that get churned out for the holiday. They don’t make me happy, they don’t make me more excited for the holiday season and they sure as hell don’t make me nostalgic. But then again, there are movies that I watch annually, sometimes more than once.

That is what this list is about. This is about the movies that I go back to every year, and the ones that I especially enjoy viewing again in my December holidays, when there is nobody to interrupt me and absolutely no reason I cannot have a lazy day and enjoy some super awesome films (for whatever varying reason it is on my list). Well, here are my Top 5 Christmastime Movies, and I thank Kelechi for having involved me!

The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (2001 – 2003)

Yes, I know that this is not just one movie, but I believe this entire trilogy exists as one totally epic movie. For me there is nothing that separates them (except maybe the bathroom breaks). I watch this trilogy every two to three months without fail, and it is amazing every single time. I am very big on watching the whole lot of them the moment my leave sets in at the end of every year just so that I have a veg day and it is uninterrupted for the most part. I love these movies, and it is my favourite trilogy of all time. What a great cast that keeps you hooked all the time, a phenomenal story that never lets you down or fails to impress you, some damn fine effects (especially when you take into consideration how old these films are actually becoming) and the air of epic from the minute you start to the minute you end. The costume design is incredible, the setting and sets were great to look at and the implementation of bringing Middle Earth to the big screen is breath-taking. There are no words that I can type that can ever really let on as to how much I love The Lord of the Rings, there is nothing that I can say that justifies it.

The Dark Knight (2008)

This movie is amazing! It snatches my breath from my lungs each time, and just gets better and better no matter how many times I have seen it. This is on my list, and is typically one of those movies that I simply love revisiting in December when I have leave and nobody to rain on my parade and interrupt me. Man, you have to love annual leave! Heath Ledger delivered the best performance of The Joker that I have ever seen (yep, sorry, but he completely tops Jack Nicholson, too, no matter how unpopular that opinion may make me). I love the trilogy, which I watch regularly, but this movie stands out above all the others, and is the one that I am sure to check out. Stellar performances, fantastic effects, great dialogue and super cool costume design and a director whom I believes walks on water? ‘Twas going to be a success no matter what!

Casino Royale (2006)

I have got to put this movie in here. I have such a blast with Casino Royale, and it is the one Bond flick that I go back and revisit all the time. It is sharp, witty, incredibly well shot, has presentation and style up the wazoo and a damn fine cast (going to harp on Mads Mikkselsen here, the man is a master). It has a solid plot so it makes it something meatier than the average Bond flick, and really just works on so many levels. Casino Royale is cheeky and sharp and fun and there is a hell of a lot of poker going on, and I am a big poker fan. Also, it kept the poker interesting, and not boring or time wasting on the screen. Also, I really like Daniel Craig, and love watching his Bond debut – he is gritty and fresh and new and not so smooth and refined as his predecessors and so definitely makes it a new watch.

Inception (2010)

This movie is going up everywhere because it is my favourite movie in forever. This film makes me rave about it every time, and it is simply a joy to watch, and probably the one movie I recommend to people all the time because I believe it is a piece of cinematic perfection. Christopher Nolan really brings the goods to the table here, and it is a showcase of breath-taking cinematography, an marvellous soundtrack, plenty of scenes to get you right onto the edge of your seat and is worth every good compliment it gets. It is a wonderful film, and I really, really like the story. Then again, I am a sucker for a drama flick, and one that contains one of my favourite actors of all time? I am there to watch Leonardo DiCaprio rock the screen always. Inception is a mesmerising bit of cinema that packs a punch and has a pretty in depth concept and story to chew on, which is refreshing. This movie never gets old for me, and is a must to watch over my December holidays.

Forrest Gump (1994)

I go back to this movie once a year at least, and more often than not it happens to be in December, so I consider it to be one of my Christmastime movies. It is sad, sweet, inspiring, hilarious, silly and overall a bag of fun movie, and definitely worth checking out time after time. Tom Hanks really delivered in his role as Forrest Gump, and I love watching him and Lieutenant Dan and, as well as how he lays out his story while waiting for the bus on a bench. Be it as it may that this is a popular film, there is a damn good reason that it is popular, and worth the watch. It is heartwarming and sad in equal amounts, and I am truly a sucker for it and cannot help but be drawn into it, not matter what is going on.