As Labor Day approaches, I’m thinking about doing a holiday movie marathon. But which holiday is really best for watching movies?
According to Hermes on ‘Futurama’, Labor Day is “that phony-baloney holiday crammed down our throats by fat-cat union gangsters.” Whom am I to argue with Hermes? I think that Labor Day will be perfect for a ‘Futurama’ marathon, possibly featuring ‘The Beast with a Billion Backs’ and ‘Into the Wild Green Yonder‘.
Of course, Halloween is coming up soon, and that’s the best time of the year for watching a few horror movies or a certain zombie-filled TV show. (Movies theaters will probably be stuck with another must-miss “found footage” flick.) Years ago, I managed to finish installing a new home theater system just in time to for Halloween and a New Line Platinum Edition ‘Nightmare on Elm Street’ DVD. Good times.
In contrast, Thanksgiving is usually a wasteland of bad football games with the Cowboys or Lions competing for the most three-and-outs.
Christmas, however, is a great time to drag the family to the movie theater to see something like ‘As Good as It Gets‘ or ‘The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo‘. When I saw the Coen brothers’ new ‘True Grit‘, I didn’t think that it was an instant classic, but I thought that its brutal wholesomeness would make it a perfect family holiday movie in twenty years.
Last year, I was really disappointed that ‘Captain America‘ wasn’t released in time for the Fourth of July. (My guess is that the producers needed to add several minutes of Tommy Lee Jones eating steak as part of his contract.) Patriotic holidays are the best time for patriotic movies. Less popular holidays like Columbus Day should be transitioned into something more thematically enjoyable like Clint Eastwood Day. April Fool’s Day could be spiced up into M. Night Day. And, obviously, Labor Day should become ‘Futurama’ Day.
I’d like to read in the Comments which specific holiday/movie combinations people enjoy. I apologize somewhat for focusing on American holidays. I say “somewhat,” because I’ve personally promoted the adoption of Halloween in Denmark while trying to eliminate that cat killing, witch burning, Midsummer holiday that the country currently has.
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Josh Zyber
I find that I’m usually too busy running around to various family events on Christmas to sit down and watch a movie. Mrs. Z and I have a tradition of ringing in New Year’s Day with a movie.
Since we don’t have any particular interest in fireworks, Independence Day also makes a good opportunity to check out a flick.
Deadbeat
I’ve taken to watching all the Rambo movies on Christmas Eve.
Brian Hoss
Christmas Eve with John Rambo. First Blood is unequivocally good, but Rambo III?
Rambo III might be a good movie to have on while taking a marathon break.
Deadbeat
Rambo III is easily the weakest of the series but we have to take the good, take the bad, take the rest and then we have a movie marathon.
Brian Hoss
That is hardcore, and it makes me wish that Alien 4 was as good as Rambo.
EM
Hardcore? I thought it was the Facts of Life theme song.
William Henley
My holiday movie watching usually begins around mid-October with Its The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, and I usually make it through Interview With The Vampire, Poltergeist, Let The Right One In, Let Me In, and The Others. This year, I may also throw in Lady In Black.
Starting Thanksgiving Day Night, I always watch Harry Potter and the Sorceror’s Stone. My first date with the girl I was planing to marry (until she passed) was on Thanksgiving in 2001 and we went to go see this movie. While I have pretty much moved on, this is my way of remembering her. I will then spend my free nights over the next week or two watching the rest of the movies in order.
This puts me around mid-December, and its time to start the Christmas movies. Charlie Brown is a must, as is The Grinch (both the cartoon and the live action). I will normally watch two or three different versions of A Christmas Carol (the musical from the 70s, The Mickey Mouse one, The Muppets one, and the Jim Carry one are my favorites, but I will normally try to throw in one or two others). White Christmas was a tradition growing up that I kept. There are other movies and TV shows I will try to watch during that time, such as the old stop-motion tv specials and stuff, and I love The Christmas Toy, but those above are the ones I must watch.
Around Easter, I watch the Bible-based movies. The Bible: In The Beginning, Prince of Egypt, Ten Commandments, Passion of the Christ, King of Kings, and The Jesus Film are all movies I try to watch around that time.
Lastly, on Fourth of July, we Always watch Independance Day.
William Henley
Also, around the week of Halloween, I usually have a Simpsons Treehouse of Horrors marathon. I think last year, I got through 12 episodes. I may try watching the rest this year.
Brian Hoss
When I was thinking about movies with ghosts for last week’s roundtable, I kept thinking of ‘Bad Dream House.’ “When you sold me this house, you forgot to mention one little thing. You didn’t tell me it was built on an Indian burial ground! … He says he mentioned it five or six times.”
Classic gold.
EM
Although any holiday that gives you an extra unstructured day off can make for a decent movie marathon, for me there are only two holidays at which movie watching is practically de rigueur: Halloween and Christmas. From my DVD/Blu-ray library I can easily pull numerous movies which I think make for great Halloween viewing—so many, that lately I’ve been experimenting with watching them over what I call “Halloweek”. I have fewer picks for Christmas, but I’m very dedicated to them. For neither holiday am I particularly sanguine about heading out to movie theaters for fare that may or may not be holiday-themed—I prefer to heighten my holiday experiences with the tried and true—but it might happen.
At some other holidays, I might watch holiday-related fare that originated on television (e.g., America Rock segments of Schoolhouse Rock! for Independence Day), but I haven’t warmed to any particular theatrical features themed for those occasions.
Chaz
Halloween and Christmas easily, everything else I dont really bother doing anything with, Halloween is easily my favorite holiday as I’m a huge horror nut. I have a couple that I have to watch every year, one is The Worst Witch, it was my favorite movie as a kid on Halloween, its horrible today but I cant get enough of Tim Curry singing that horrible song 🙂 The other is now Trick r Treat, easily the best Halloween anthology movie and a must watch for me every year now. I throw in others too but since horror is my favorite genre I’m watching them all throughout the year anyways. I miss going to see SAW at the theater though, that made Halloween for me every year.
Christmas I always watch Christmas Vacation, no other Christmas movie holds a candle to that in my house. A Christmas Story is always watched as is Elf, Home Alone and Sandler’s Eight Crazy Nights. I have more that I watch at Christmas time, but man I love from October to the end of the year, best time of the year EVERY YEAR for me 🙂