Around this time last month, we did the same thing we've done every Christmas for years: Our whole family--my wife and I and our three children and their three spouses and seven kiddos--moved into our younger son David's home for two weeks. From December 20 to January 3, all fifteen of us were together, eating and playing board games and shooting pool and walking and jogging (the outside temperature was in the 70s most of the time) and visiting to our hearts' content. It was the one time in the year that I took a long break from writing.
We also watched a LOT of movies. Some of them were shown in David's home movie theater, whose screen is the entire west wall of the room, and some were watched in our own house, ten miles from his. Our house, since it's the one where he and our other two children were raised, is always the place, every year, where the whole family has our Christmas dinner, family photo, the opening of presents, etc. But whichever location we happen to be in, we spend some time re-watching movies that either (1) we already know and like or (2) are new to at least some of us. Our strictest rule about these little movie sessions is that those who choose to sit and watch the movie have to stay silent. The main audience is usually me and the seven grandkids, who are now all teenagers except the youngest two, and--believe it or not--those seven are the best at following the rules. It's the adults, who sometimes wander in and out and chat about about other things, who are noisy. One year the kiddos got fed up with this, and passed out little cards to the offenders that said MANAGEMENT REQUESTS THAT YOU LEAVE QUIETLY. (Although I think "requests" was spelled wrong.)
Our most recent two-week gathering included the screening of more than a dozen DVD movies, some of them watched by me and the kids and some by just the kids--I gave up a few years ago on superhero movies, after soldiering through the likes of Loki and Justice League, so I leave those to the younger generations. (I'm so old my favorite comic-book-hero movie is still the first Superman, with Christopher Reeve.) Everything else, though, I happily sit and watch with my grandchildren, with a reasonable number of snacks at my side.
If you're at all interested, and I don't know why you would be, here are some of the movies we've viewed together over the past several Christmases (for obvious reasons, a few of them were watched after the two youngest grandkids had gone to bed):
- Airplane! -- This was a first for our Christmas group, and the audience was appropriately pleased.
- Somewhere in Time -- A time-travel romance movie. Afterward I received many congratulations for suggesting this one. Even the boys and the younger kids liked it.
- Die Hard -- My wife rolls her eyes and usually avoids it entirely, but it's a favorite for me and the older kiddos. Who says it's not a Christmas movie? (So is Lethal Weapon, by the way.)
- Raising Arizona -- I bet I've seen this one two dozen times, and the kids love it.
- The Dish -- A truly fantastic, little-known gem about the Apollo 11 moon landing. Everybody likes it.
- The Gods Must Be Crazy, I and II -- Two new ones this year, for some of us. The group was so-so on the first but liked the second.
- Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier -- Mostly for the younger viewers in the bunch, who seem to appreciate it as much as I did at age 10. (My folks even bought me a coonskin cap.)
- Davy Crockett and the River Pirates -- Ditto. The two little ones always walk around singing the Mike Fink keelboat song for the next few days.
- Chitty Chitty Bang Bang -- A bit of a misfire. I recall that some of the audience liked the first half of the movie and not the last half. Overall, my budding movie critics were unimpressed.
- Lonesome Dove -- A huge favorite, with everyone.
- The Usual Suspects -- Mostly for the older kids. They said they especially liked the ending.
- The three original Star Wars movies, the first three Indiana Joneses, the three Back to the Futures, the three Lord of the Rings movies, the three Men in Blacks, the three Knives Outs -- Strangely enough, for all six trilogies, the consensus is: The first one's the best, the third comes next, the second is the worst.
- Hatari -- John Wayne in Africa, capturing animals for the zoo. The older kids endured it, the younger ones were spellbound.
- Percy Jackson: The Lightning Thief -- Another misfire. It got a unanimous thumbs-down, and its sequel fared even worse.
- O Brother Where Art Thou? -- Big favorite. The fact that much of the movie was filmed here was a bonus.
- Other favorites: Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Jaws, 12 Angry Men, Ocean's Eleven, Signs, The Princess Bride, Crocodile Dundee, Jurassic Park, Jurassic World, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, The Man from Snowy River, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Clue, Aliens, Groundhog Day.
- Biggest favorite, by far: It's a Wonderful Life. We watch it every year, and even I get a little teary when the bell rings and Clarence gets his wings.
- Coming in second, even though it has nothing to do with Christmas, is Galaxy Quest, the all-time thought-it-would-be-terrible-but-turned-out-great movie. All of us, even the adults, love love love everything about this one.
NOTE: A few we haven't seen yet as a group, but they're on our future list: The Rocketeer, Top Gun, Romancing the Stone, Always, Shane, Rocky, The Right Stuff, the second and third Jumanji movies, High Noon, Gladiator, Spartacus, Apocalypto, Dances with Wolves, the five Mad Maxes, The Big Country, Twister, Speed, Holes, A Shot in the Dark, Liar Liar, City Slickers, Casablanca, Medicine Man, Secondhand Lions, the first three James Bonds, North by Northwest, Bullitt, The Magnificent Seven, Wait Until Dark, The Village, The Sting, To Kill a Mockingbird, Sleepless in Seattle, Father Goose, Rudy, Cat Ballou, The Black Stallion.
Now that I have the upcoming features planned and ready, all I need is a TV screen the size of our son's. Honey, are you listening? Hint, hint, hint. (My definition of acceptable size is when you have to turn your head from side to side in order to see the whole screen.)
Question: Do any of you ever play movie host to your kids/grandkids? Are any of you as obsessed with this foolishness as I am? (God help you, if you are.) IF you are, what movies or what kinds of movies do you mostly watch, as a group? Any suggestions for us, for future holidays? Are there any that you suggest we avoid? Do any of you not like family movie sessions? If you don't, I certainly understand. But in that case . . .
Management requests that you leave quietly.
Movies with the grandkids: The Secret of Roan Inish; Jabberwocky; The Lord of the Rings trilogy; The Princess Bride; The Magnificent Seven; The Navigator.
ReplyDeleteAnd of the shorts (which count!) all of the Wallace & Grommits, Crac! (Canadian, will make you cry at the end) and unbelievably hilarious "The Big Snit" (which has led to the frequent use of the line "Quit sawing the table!").
Eve, I'd forgotten about Roan Inish--that would be a good one, and Jabberwocky also. We've watched and re-watched the Lord of the Rings (Lords of the Ring?) trilogy and they're all big favorties--same goes for The Princess Bride. The Magnificent Seven is on our future list, but I've not seen the Navigator (!!!!). Surely I will, though, and don't call me Shirley.
DeleteYou are so right, about the shorts--we should doing those! One thing I should mention, there: The youngest of our grandchildren (fourth and seventh grades) discovered, thanks to me, The Little Rascals a few years ago, and we've happily watched the adventures of Spanky, Alfalfa, Buckwheat and the others about a thousand times by now.
Thanks for the tips!
Grandkids are not quite there yet, but with my own kids, yes! I have two girls, and our regulars are The Wrong Box, Cookie, We're no Angels. All make you smile at the end. That's what I need these days, John - no violence and some genuine smiles. (Oh, and how can I not mention one of my favourite lines in all movies, from The Gods Must be Crazy: "We're running out of Scotch" - and yes, I used to fly planes.)
ReplyDeleteHey Melodie -- Yep, those are good ones! I haven't seen The Wrong Box in years, but I watched We're No Angels not along ago. But I never thought of them as group movies--I will fix that. You're right, all of us need stories that put smiles on our faces. The nightly news sure doesn't.
DeleteI think The Gods Must Be Crazy was a big surprise to all audiences, when it first came out. The plot itself is special (what a quest, to take that pesky bottle all those miles to throw it off the edge of the world), and the mostly-amateur cast was fantastic. Lots of laughs, plus a great moral to the story.
Thanks as always!
I've never had enough in-person time with the grandkids to watch movies with them, though that may change, as the older one is moving in part-time in ten days when she starts her first job in the city after graduating college. On the other hand, my son certainly knows my taste in movies. When the original Pirates of the Caribbean came out, he said, "I think you'll like it. This may sound weird, but I'd call it cute violence."
ReplyDeleteCute violence--I like that, Liz. Do you know, our Christmas group hasn't yet watched any of the Pirates of the Caribbeans???? An oversight on my part--two many movies, too little time . . .
DeleteGlad to hear your granddaughter's moving in for a while!--that should give you lots of time together--or more than usual, at least. For us, two of our three kids and four of our seven grandchildren live close by (a blessing, for sure), but we're also fortunate that we get the whole group together at least once a year, always for around two weeks at Christmas. Phone calls and FaceTime are good, but it's great to have REAL face time with 'em now and then.
Thanks as always for the thoughts. Take care, and stay warm up there!
What a great list! This is all the culture anyone needs. But let me add three of my favorites that I didn't see here (maybe I just overlooked them). The original Charade with Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn, plus supporting cast of actors who would become stars. Great twist ending. Grosse Pointe Blank. Lots of great dark humor. The January Man, which never really took off, but the cast should have been a promotor's dream. The ending changes mood, but it's still worth a look for the humor and ingenious plot. John Patrick Shanley, better known as a playwright, wrote the script. He wrote a couple of other blockbusters, too.
ReplyDeleteHey Steve! I'm not sure that's all the culture we need, but it's mostly all the culture I get. Strange that you should mention Charade--I did indeed leave it out, because I forgot it!--the kids suggested Charade themselves this year, and watched it on one of the first nights they were together (I'm finding myself humming the Mancini theme song right now). And yes, I loved Grosse Pointe Blank--I have a weakness for play-on-words titles anyway.
DeleteAs for The January Man, nobody seems to know this movie! Yes, I liked it a lot--oddly enough, the scene I remember most is the one where Kevin Kline and--who was it, Mary Ann Mastrantonio, or something like that--figured out a giant clue from the notes of the song "Calendar Girl." Funny, the things that stick in your head.
I'd love to go to the movies with you sometime, old friend.
I love Grosse Point Blank too. Let's put it on the list for SleuthSayers movie night, along with Calendar Girls.
DeleteDone, Liz. I loved GPB. Calendar Girls might be a little racy, for my bunch. Helen Mirren, right? That one might have to be shown after the younger ones left the theater for the night.
DeleteBut for a bunch of us worldly SleuthSayers, it should work fine!
What? No mention of A Christmas Story?
ReplyDeleteJustin, that's one of MY favorites too--I even owned a Red Ryder BB gun as a kid--but there was a roadblock, there: I don't have that DVD. I'll have to grab a copy and we'll screen it next year.
DeleteI don't have any grandchildren & won't be getting them, unfortunately. My one child doesn't live near us, so it's just Mr. Elizabeth & me at Xmas. Recently, someone here (Eve? Melodie?) recommended "We're No Angels" & we absolutely loved it. We also watched a forgettable Hallmark Channel type of Xmas movie, which I can't remember much about. No great loss.
ReplyDeleteThat was me. "We're No Angels" is always the first Christmas movie we watch every year.
DeleteEve, We're No Angels is a good one for sure--I appreciated that suggestion.
DeleteElizabeth, my wife loves--and so did my mother--Hallmark movies, though I usually run screaming into the street if one pops up on TV. (Sorry, Mom.)
Jim Guigli (your guru still doesn't recognize my URL www.jimguigliauthor.com) I'm surprised to not see The Man Who Invented Christmas mentioned.
ReplyDeleteWhoa, Jim, it wasn't mentioned because I didn't think of it! I will acquire that one before next year--Looks like I'm gonna be well armed for future Christmas movie nights.
DeleteBy the way, Jim--our Blogger guru has more problems than that one. But I think we're stuck with him . . .
DeleteJohn, I forgot to mention that during my theater days, I played Mike Talman, the Richard Crenna role, in Wait Until Dark. I wish I'd seen the original Broadway version with Lee Remick as Susie and Robert Duvall (!) as Roat. I saw the film long before I even knew it was originally a play. The play is actually better. The film's pace drags, and while I like Audrey Hepburn, she was too whiny and weepy in the role.
ReplyDeleteOops, the site didn't recognize me for some reason. Its Steve Liskow again.
DeleteI knew this was you, Steve. As you might remember, I absolutely loved Wait Until Dark, and I too didn't know it was a play until long after I saw the movie (in college). And as much as I like and respect Robert Duvall, how could anyone play Roat better than Alan Arkin did? I do agree, though, about Hepburn. I must now watch the movie again!!
DeleteThanks as always!
If you enjoy action, "The Beekeeper" and "The Accountant" are excellent action films.
ReplyDeleteFor adventure, the "Pirates of the Caribbean" series are great (Films 1-4.)
And as a mystery author, John, surely you would enjoy the recent Agatha Christie adaptations: "Murder on the Orient Express", "Death on the Nile", and "A Haunting in Venice."
And for comedy, "Liar, Liar" and "My Cousin Vinny" are amazing films (or pretty much any '90s comedy. They don't make them like they used to.)