December is here, which means one thing: ‘tis the season for holiday movies.
All month long, GBH’s Morning Edition will have film writer Sarah G. Vincent, who writes for Cambridge Day, share her favorite movies to watch this time of year. We also asked you, our audience, and the GBH News staff to share their own favorites, from cinematic classics to the silly and sentimental.
Here’s our roundup, along with the streaming platforms carrying these movies in December 2023.
'A Christmas Carol’ (1984)
Streaming on Plex, Roku, Sling, Starz, and Tubi
Jeremy Siegel: You’re listening to GBH’s Morning Edition. Let’s talk Christmas movies. The greatest holiday movies: We all have opinions on it, especially when it comes to the last one that was mentioned there, a classic that has been remade over and over and over: A Christmas Carol, the Charles Dickens story about Ebenezer Scrooge and the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future. And today, film critic Sarah G. Vincent is back in the studio with me to talk about her favorite version of the movie. Sarah, thanks for coming in again.
Sarah G. Vincent: Thank you.
Siegel: Okay. When I hear a Christmas Carol, the first thing that comes to mind for me is the cartoon that freaked me out so much when I was younger.
Ghost of Christmas: Ebenezer Scrooge.
Ebenezer Scrooge: Go away.
Siegel: There are so many different versions of this movie, right? Which one are you talking about?
Vincent: My favorite is my childhood pick. It was from 1984. It aired on CBS and starred George C. Scott.
Vincent: Who played Patton and also with one of the villains in Firestarter with Drew Barrymore, the original. And his version is my favorite because, first of all, it was shot in the UK and it was shot actually in a village that dates back to 8 A.D. And I didn’t know that when I was watching it when I was a kid. But it is like really sumptuous and it really does feel like you’re in Victorian England. So it tells the story of Ebenezer Scrooge and he is a wealthy businessman. And in the version that I’m talking about with George C. Scott, he is someone who actually trades in food. And so he’s sort of raises the prices. He’s unfeeling, he’s not nice to his employees. He doesn’t care for Christmas at all.
Ebenezer Scrooge: All at this festive season of the year, it seems desirable that those of us with means should make some slight provision for the poor and destitute.
Ebenezer Scrooge: I don’t make merry myself at Christmas, and I can’t afford to make idle people merry.
Vincent: He doesn’t socialize with his family, which now we’d be like, Well, maybe he has a reason to be no contact. But he didn’t have a reason. He’s just sort of like someone who only cares about money. But here’s the thing. He still beats us today because at least he paid taxes.
Ebenezer Scrooge: My taxes help to support public institutions, which I mentioned, and they cost enough.
Vincent: So he really needs to go through this heart change before he ends up --- basically the stick is, if you keep on going this way, you’re going to die alone and you’re going to end up living an eternity of misery with the chains that you made in life because you have no social life and you made no friends and you had no relationships. And you need to change and not think everything’s about money. And then the reason George Scott is amazing in this is that when, you know, he tries to be tough and he is tough in real life. So in the story, he has this moment where he says, I don’t care about anyone. But when he sees the people who are in pain, he does care.
Ebenezer Scrooge: And I come for three reasons. First, to beg your pardon for the things I said about Christmas. That was a humbug, Fred.
Vincent: And he does react and show that he does care. So it’s about taking the callouses off his heart and reminding him that he does actually care when he sees something wrong and he wants to intervene. And so George Scott really goes through a convincing transformation.
Siegel: Given that there are so many different versions of this, so many different iconic versions of this, what is it about the story that you think continues to resonate?
Vincent: I think that it’s the idea of redemption and also it’s the idea of: Wouldn’t it be great if this person who has power over me could just see that they’re wrong? And they could become a better person and then how they would change the community? It’s a wonderful fantasy of this idea that you can change people and they could do better. So I love that idea and that’s why we love watching this story, I think.
Siegel: Sarah G. Vincent is a film critic for Cambridge Day. Sarah, thanks so much for coming in.
Vincent: Thank you.
Siegel: We want to hear from you as we continue this series. What are your favorite movies to ring in the holiday season? Text us with your pick at (617) 300-2008 and we’ll include it in our wrap up of the best flicks for this time of year. You’re listening to GBH’s Morning Edition.
There are many screen adaptations of Charles Dickens’ 1843 novella about greed and redemption — live-action, cartoon and Muppet. But Vincent said her favorite is one she grew up watching: The 1984 made-for-TV movie with George C. Scott as Ebenezer Scrooge.
“It was shot in the U.K., and it was shot actually in a village that dates back to 8 A.D.,” Vincent said. “But it is really sumptuous, and it really does feel like you’re in Victorian England.”
Scott’s Scrooge is “unfeeling, he’s not nice to his employees. He doesn’t care for Christmas at all,” she said. His real-life toughness plays well in the iconic role.
“It’s about taking the callouses off his heart and reminding him that he does actually care when he sees something wrong and he wants to intervene,” Vincent said. “George Scott really goes through a convincing transformation.”
There’s also something satisfying about the movie, she said.
“It’s the idea of: Wouldn’t it be great if this person who has power over me could just see that they’re wrong? And they could become a better person and then how they would change the community?” she said. “It’s a wonderful fantasy of this idea that you can change people and they could do better.” — Sarah G. Vincent, film writer for Cambridge Day
'A Christmas Story’ (1983)
Streaming on Max
“I never dreamed about BB guns like Peter Billingsley’s character Ralphie, but even at 65 years of age, I continue to sympathize with Ralphie’s brother, played by Ian Patrella, whose fictional mom put him in a snow suit so tight he couldn’t raise his arms. And the ‘gang’ of middle school kids I played with also had to deal with bullies from time to time.
“The coup de grace for me is the lamp Darrin McGavin’s character receives that the rest of the family hates. It’s shaped like the leg of a beerhall dancer, fishnet stocking and all, and reminds me of the department store mannequin I displayed in my college dorm room. It was a prop in a student movie which my girlfriend — now wife — despised, right up until the time it was infested with termites and had to be dumped in the trash. The moral of this Christmas story is simultaneously personal and universal: We long for the one gift that will give us pleasure and everyone else, extreme agitation.” — David Goodman, engineer and producer at GBH News
‘Anna and the Apocalypse’ (2018)
Streaming on Shudder
Jeremy Siegel: You’re listening to Morning Edition. Let’s talk Christmas movies. The greatest holiday movies. We all have opinions on it. And today we’re going to continue our look at unlikely Christmas classics. Film critic Sarah G. Vincent is back in the studio for her latest pick of a movie that does not fit into the usual mold of holiday flicks. Sarah, good morning.
Sarah G. Vincent: Thank you for having me.
Siegel: So what’s your pick today for a holiday movie?
Vincent: Anna and the Apocalypse. So you know I couldn’t talk about holiday movies and not include a little horror in there.
Siegel: Okay, yeah, I like that too. We both love horror.
Vincent: It sort of High School Musical meets Shaun of the Dead. So the movie takes place in Scotland, and Anna is a high school girl about to graduate. Her father’s a widower. He works for the school and she’s so excited to leave. And he’s protective because he is a widower and it’s just been the two of them. And she just wants to go to America. She wants to live her life. And she has a best friend who, of course, has a crush on her. And it’s this sort of like nerdy, goofy guy who likes wearing Christmas sweaters. There’s like an American transfer exchange student whose parents are wealthy, who aren’t paying attention to her. And there are a lot of, like, really interesting characters. And so suddenly everything changes because there’s a zombie outbreak in the world. And now if you think this is going to just be like a traditional horror movie, it actually ends up being like this really poignant, moving, emotional. Every time I’ve seen it, I’ve cried a little because it’s like, all of a sudden you are really invested in all these people’s future and you love them. And then they’re dying one by one. So it’s not like a zombie movie where you’re having fun. It ends up being this poignant movie for people who maybe are approaching the holidays with a little sadness in their heart. They’ve lost someone. This is kind of the perfect movie to get that out of your system and still appreciate the holidays. And best of all, if you’re going to have a movie that’s a musical, the tunes have to be catchy and you have to sing them afterwards. And that’s this kind of movie. And I haven’t watched it every year, but I do have a habit of like, what could I watch? And then Anna and the Apocalypse comes up.
Siegel: Anna and the Apocalypse, I’ve never seen it before. I’m really excited to watch it. And hearing all of that, I mean, it’s so much at once: A musical, a kind of comedy, also a horror movie. What makes it a Christmas movie for you?
Vincent: It does take place at Christmas. They’re preparing a Christmas play. You know, she’s stabbing zombies with, like, enormous candy canes. It’s this sort of bittersweet, poignant movie where, you know, it’s supposed to be a time of celebration. Everyone’s gathered for this musical play and then, you know, they’re unfortunately victims of a zombie outbreak. And it’s again, I have to say, even the violence isn’t like, oh, this is fun. It is a funny movie. It’s hilarious, if you will laugh. But it’s also like, oh, these people are really dying and we really care about them. So it’s not sort of this titillating violence. It does feel like, oh, this is kind of sad. And the reason for that is the person who originally conceived of the movie, he died before the film was made and his co-writer, Alan McDonald, that’s what infuses the movie with his sincere emotion because he wrote this and finished the project and expanded it to a full length movie in honor of his friend who died. I didn’t know that while watching it. But then later on, when I read about the movie, I’m like, That makes so much sense, why this feels so authentic and real. It’s because these people went through that.
Siegel: The movie is Anna in the Apocalypse, a pick for a holiday classic from film critic Sarah G. Vincent of Cambridge Day. Sarah, thanks so much for coming in again.
Vincent: Thank you.
Siegel: And over the past few weeks, we have been asking for your opinions on Christmas classics. You can find a rundown of your nominations, all of Sara’s choices and some favorites from the GBH Newsroom at GBHNews.org. This is GBH’s Morning Edition.
Sometimes poignant tales of growth and grief come from unexpected places, Vincent said. In this case, it’s a movie she described as “’High School Musical’ meets ‘Shaun of the Dead’” — a Christmas story disguised as a coming-of-age zombie musical.
Anna is in her last year of high school, handling her relationship with her widower father and her dreams of moving to America. Her best friend, who has a proclivity for Christmas sweaters, has a crush on her. And as they prepare for a Christmas play, a zombie apocalypse breaks out.
“It actually ends up being like this really poignant, moving, emotional movie,” Vincent said. “Every time I’ve seen it, I’ve cried a little because it’s like, all of a sudden you are really invested in all these people’s future and you love them. And then they’re dying one by one.”
It’s also funny, and the original songs are catchy, she said. And the heart of the movie may come from the death one of the writers, Ryan McHenry, in 2015. Co-writer Alan McDonald finished the movie after his passing.
“It ends up being this poignant movie for people who maybe are approaching the holidays with a little sadness in their heart. They’ve lost someone. This is kind of the perfect movie to get that out of your system and still appreciate the holidays.” — Sarah G. Vincent, film writer for Cambridge Day
'Batman Returns’ (1992)
“When the Tim Burton-helmed 'Batman Returns’ hit theaters in the summer of ‘92, a snow-covered Gotham City offered the perfect setting for one of the strangest holiday movies to ever be made. The 1989 'Batman’ asked audiences if they wanna get nuts, and the sequel responded with a more than healthy dose of weird. Michael Keaton does everything but turn his neck on his way to save Gotham from a Christmastime plan by Danny DeVito’s Penguin to kidnap and kill the city’s firstborn sons that, in hindsight, bears a bizarre resemblance to Herod’s plot against Christ. Doesn’t get more Christmas than that.
“While 'Edward Scissorhands’ may have been Burton’s first Christmas movie and 'The Nightmare Before Christmas’ his most beloved, 'Batman Returns’ is his best. Season’s greetings, Crime. Hope you like your present. It’s JUSTICE.” — Esteban Bustillos, reporter at GBH News
‘Daddy’s Home 2’ (2017)
Streaming on Paramount+
The holiday-themed sequel was shot in Massachusetts.
“A bunch of it is filmed around here — Westford and Concord! But the story, while funny, shows the ins and out of a blended family dynamic, father/son relationships and how communication is ok.” —Sarah, a GBH News listener
'Die Hard’ (1988)
Available to buy or rent on Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, Google Play or YouTube
“It’s not Christmas until Hans Gruber falls from Nakatomi Plaza.” — Christopher Kelly, broadcast engineer at GBH News
'Elf’ (2003)
“This movie is a classic and makes me think of my cousins every time. Will Farrell, who plays Buddy the Elf, leaves the North Pole for New York City to find his family after learning he’s a human, and not in fact, a Christmas elf. I have great memories watching this movie over and over with my family and reciting all of the best lines: ‘Smiling’s my favorite!’ Now that we have some little ones in the family, I will force this movie upon them as well.” — Alexi Cohan, digital producer for TV news at GBH
Eloise at Christmastime (2003)
Streaming on Amazon Prime Video
“This movie has all the features of a holiday classic: New York City and Julie Andrews. Six-year-old Eloise runs wild in the Plaza hotel, where she lives with her nanny (Andrews) and makes mischief with her best friend Bill (Gavin Creel), a hotel waiter. When Eloise learns Bill used to be in love with the hotel owner’s daughter, she tries her hand at holiday matchmaking. It’s fun to join Eloise’s unsupervised hotel adventures, and musical scenes with Creel’s crooning vocals make it even better.” — Hannah Loss, radio production assistant at GBH News
'Finding Nemo’ (2003)
Streaming on Disney+
“It is not a holiday movie at all. But this is the time of year I always watch 'Finding Nemo.’ I was raised by a single father – and this is a movie about a single father and his son, and how they lose and find each other again. It always makes me think of my father and how he was my anchor and my best friend. He would battle sharks to find me if he had to. He’s been gone 20 years now and still I would cross a thousand seas just to see him once.” — Paul Singer, investigations and impact editor at GBH News
'The Greatest Story Ever Told’ (1965)
Streaming free with ads on YouTube
“I’m going really traditional here: If you’re someone who celebrates the Christmas season because you’re actually a follower of Jesus, this is maybe the movie for you.” — Sarah G. Vincent, film writer for Cambridge Day
The movie was made in 1965, so Jesus — canonically a Middle Eastern Jewish man — is played by a Swede, actor Max von Sydow. And the cast has some of Hollywood’s biggest names of the era: Charlton Heston, John Wayne and Claude Rains.
It begins with the Nativity, which makes it a Christmas movie, and lays out Jesus’ entire life story. There are some odd scenes that veer from biblical language to modern vernacular — like when James the Younger (Michael Anderson Jr.) asks Jesus for his name, and retorts with “Jesus, that’s a good name” — but the music is beautiful, and the scenery striking.
'Happiest Season’ (2020)
Streaming on Hulu
“Hulu wrongly branded this queer Christmas flick as a romantic comedy. It’s not romantic, it’s messy. I don’t even think the main couple should be together. Abby (Kristen Stewart) is going to spend the holidays with her closeted girlfriend Harper (Mackenzie Davis) and her family, who all have their own drama they’re hiding. But while it’s not romantic, it is funny — especially Dan Levy’s appearances — and the characters’ flaws are part of why this film stands out among the sea of overly joyous holiday movies. I don’t need magic or Santa. I need people just trying to keep it together.” — Lisa Wardle, senior editor at GBH News
'It Happened on Fifth Avenue’ (1947)
Available to buy or rent on Amazon Prime, Apple TV, Google Play or YouTube
A comedy set on the “richest avenue in the world.” Every winter, Aloysius T. McKeever (Victor Moore) takes up residence in a vacant mansion after its owners escape to warmer climes. This year, he invites a recently evicted man to join him at a tycoon’s estate, then they welcome in some others ... including the mansion’s owners.
“A terrific ending.” — Rita, a GBH News listener from Amherst
A 25-to-45-minute segment of any ‘Harry Potter’ movie on Freeform (2001-2011)
“The recommended viewing experience is taking a break from gift wrapping or holiday meal preparing to channel-surf; stumbling on the annual ‘Harry Potter’ movie marathon on Freeform (formerly ABC Family); watching until you get bored with the incessant and extremely long commercial breaks; and then turning it off and going about your day.
“The first in the eight-movie series, ‘Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone,’ has the most holiday sense to it because of a brief but delightful scene where 11-year-old Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) gets to really, truly celebrate Christmas for the first time. Harry shocks the wizarding world when he’s the sole survivor of an attack on him and his parents, killing the evil wizard Lord Voldemort as a baby — or so it’s believed. In an effort to protect him, Albus Dumbledore (Richard Harris, for the first two movies) places the orphaned boy with his non-magical aunt, uncle and cousin for the first 11 years of his life, until it’s time for him to start at a magical wizarding school. That’s when the real fun begins.
”But any of these films will do! It’s not about the movie, it’s about the experience. It’s a slurp of warm soup for the soul.” —Hannah Reale, associate digital editor at GBH News
'The Lord of the Rings’ trilogy (2001-2003)
Streaming on Max
Jeremy Siegel: The Greatest Christmas movies. We all have opinions on it. But today, film critic Sarah G. Vincent, who’s been joining us this month for a look at unlikely holiday classics, is here to share one particularly controversial pick for what should be included in the list of the best: A series of films that were all released right around Christmas. Sarah, what is it?
Sarah G. Vincent: It’s the Lord of the Rings trilogy.
Gollum: My precious.
Vincent: So for a certain generation of people from 2001 through 2003, Christmas was about going to the movie theater and watching director Peter Jackson’s vision of J.R.R. Tolkien’s novel, seeing it on screen and come to life.
Galadriel: The dark lord Sauron of forged in secret a master ring, one ring to rule them all.
Vincent: And we were all, at the time, invested in it. So it’s really about a Christmas memory more than the story. The story is about — there are these hobbits, and hobbits are just basically these little people who live in an area. It’s sort of a fantasy world. And a wizard comes who is an old family friend, and he says, We have to ditch this ring because it’s going to destroy the whole world. So it’s an apocalypse story.
Gandalf: This is the one ring forged by the dark lord Sauron.
Frodo: Sauron was destroyed.
Gandalf: No, Frodo.
Vincent: And so the first movie is about getting together a group of people so they can make this very incredibly long journey that takes the course of three movies to make and, spoiler alert, they make it.
Siegel: I like to think there’s someone out there who doesn’t know how Lord of the Rings ends.
Vincent: Like, hey, wait, I didn’t know. But, you know, along the way, they have a lot of obstacles. People die. They lose people along the way.
Samwise: You want to know why your brother died? He tried to take the ring from Frodo after swearing an oath to protect him.
Vincent: But I think we love it, and I think it worked as a Christmas movie because it was about facing this hardship and taking on a task and just constantly moving forward. It’s about community and moving forward with community and trying to do the right thing, even if you are completely incapable of doing it. The hobbits were considered, you know, not terribly special. All they did was eat. They didn’t really have a lot. They were like social, little —
Siegel: They’re just little creatures.
Vincent: They can’t, they’re not — Some of the people, they have swords and their knife and the elves are eternal and are incredibly quick. And, you know, you have the dwarves, who are incredibly strong and industrious. What is there to what can a hobbit do? Well, a hobbit can save the world. And also a hobbit can save the world if they have the right people who are their friends. And it’s one of those wonderful moments where it has sort of that Christmas spirit feel of like, we can stop the greatest evil if we just band together and we all work hard. And it’s not because we have some innate ability, it’s because we can work together. And it’s this kind of like this really beautiful sentiment, but also great spectacle.
Siegel: Yeah, I love that sentiment and I love that you’ve created this argument for The Lord of the Rings as a Christmas movie based off of its release dates. I’m always trying to convince my wife to watch the trilogy again with me. And so now I feel like we have to do this for Christmas. But as you mentioned, the spectacle of it, I mean, it’s just incredible what Peter Jackson did on the screen, bringing these massive books, massive fantasy books together in a way that looks totally convincing.
Vincent: It’s realistic, and it’s going to stand the test of time. Whenever I go back to it, it’s one of those movies where I can’t see any like blue screen or it doesn’t look fake.
Siegel: Sarah G. Vincent is a film critic for Cambridge Day and will be joining us over the next few weeks with some of her best picks for holiday flicks. Sarah, this is so much fun. Thanks for coming in.
Vincent: Thank you.
Siegel: And we want to hear from you as we continue this series. What are your favorite movies to ring in the holiday season? Text us with your pick at 617-300-2008. And we'll include it in our wrap up of the best flicks for this time of year. You're listening to GBH News.
In the early 2000s, moviegoers knew Christmas ushered in two things: Yuletide cheer and a new movie from the “Lord of the Rings” franchise.
It’s not strictly a Christmas movie, film critic Sarah G. Vincent said. But it is a story of unlikely community triumph, with the hobbits and their allies coming together to defeat a great evil. And in that way, it does usher in some holiday spirit, she said.
“I think it worked as a Christmas movie because it was about facing this hardship and taking on a task and just constantly moving forward,” Vincent said. “It’s about community, and moving forward with community and trying to do the right thing, even if you are completely incapable of doing it.”
“What can a hobbit do? Well, a hobbit can save the world. And also a hobbit can save the world if they have the right people who are their friends. And it’s one of those wonderful moments where it has that Christmas spirit feel of like, we can stop the greatest evil if we just band together and we all work hard. And it’s not because we have some innate ability, it’s because we can work together.” — Sarah G. Vincent, film writer for Cambridge Day
“Our family developed a habit of dragging out the epic DVD collection every holiday season when our kids were home from college, and even now as they visit with their families. Tolkien’s themes of goodness represented by Elven light and his despair over the evil destruction of our land and green space resonated with our emerging family values as we moved away from our own Christian holiday traditions and toward the wonderful, ecumenical celebration of hope and light that we joined while living in New York City among people from around the world.” — Annie Shreffler, audience impact producer at GBH News
'Love, Actually’ (2003)
Streaming on Netflix
“It’s a heartwarming ensemble film that follows the relationships of eight duos in a hectic scramble to Christmas. From the iconic ensemble cast (I think this film launched some careers), the cozy London setting, Liam Neeson in a plethora of turtlenecks, Hugh Grant dancing around 10 Downing Street, I love it. Love comes in many shapes and forms and this film embraces that.” — Elena Eberwein, digital producer at GBH News
'The Nightmare Before Christmas’ (1993)
Streaming on Disney+
“As someone who loves both Halloween and Christmas, this movie is a perfect blend of the magic of the December holidays with the quirkiness of spooky szn. Much like Jack Skellington, I also like to sing randomly while forcing my friends and family to celebrate holidays with me. I love how the songs feel very somber and dissonant at times, and how intricate the stop-motion details are. It’s also a sweet reminder that even when someone’s interests may be ‘darker’ or seemingly grim, their love and desire for human connection can be just as strong as someone with a more ‘joyful’ aesthetic. All hail the Pumpkin King!” — Rachel Armany, producer at GBH News
'Scrooge’ (1951)
Streaming on Plex
It’s the classic Dickens’ tale. The New York Times reviewer said at the time: “What we have in this rendition of Dickens’ sometimes misunderstood 'Carol’ is an accurate comprehension of the agony of a shabby soul.”
“My all-time favorite Christmas film is the original 'Scrooge’ (1951) starring Alistair Sim. Nothing else comes close!” — Paulette, a GBH News listener
Note: This British production was originally titled “Scrooge” but released in the United States as “A Christmas Carol,” so you can find it under both names today.
‘Strange Days’ (1995)
Paris Alston: This is GBH’s Morning Edition. All month long, my co-host, Jeremy Siegel, has been sitting down with film critic Sarah G. Vincent to talk Christmas movies. And for New Year’s Eve, Jeremy and Sarah discuss a film that’s just right for the occasion.
Jeremy Siegel: So for this one, you have a New Year’s Eve holiday movie for us. What is it?
Sarah Vincent: It is called 'Strange Days.’ It was made in 1995. This is before director Kathryn Bigelow won the Oscar for 'The Hurt Locker.’ This is before she became famous. This actually did horribly in the theaters. I loved it. I watched it every New Year’s for a while there. It takes place in, at the time, it was the future: On December 30th and the 31st of 1999. So for those who maybe don’t remember or weren’t alive then, Y2K for the year 2000 was like, this big ominous date in the future that we were worried that all the technology would fall apart in the world was going to, you know, go to hell in a handbasket. And she sort of leveraged that. By the way, the person who wrote it is maybe some little unknown writer that you might not realize: James Cameron.
Siegel: Oh, my gosh.
Vincent: You know, like he’s her ex-husband. She’s wife number three. And the other writer is someone named, I believe, Jay Cocks. So this was a movie that bombed that had amazing cast. Ralph Fiennes plays the protagonist. He’s an anti-hero. He’s a cop who now basically, he’s like a drug dealer. But the drug of choice is virtual reality. So at the time, this was a big deal, like, oh, virtual reality. Except it’s sort of like these really horrible films. Like people only had a Puritan interest in seeing like snuff films. So trigger warning for sexual violence and just all violence in general. And he has a best friend who is Angela Bassett, who is a limo driver who really appreciated the work he did when he was a cop. And now she’s trying to encourage him to get out of this underground life. Anyway, the point of the movie is that they’re trying to basically prevent a very realistic apocalypse. So you’re watching the movie, incredibly tense, watching all these, like, horrible things going on. You’re really worried about them because they’re a part of this, like, illicit underground world and they’re trying to do the right thing and they’re the worst people to do it. And you’ve got this guy who’s basically a disgraced cop and a Black woman trying to bring down corruption in a police unit. And at the end, you think, they’re going to die. They’re going to kill them. And it all gets averted. And it’s beautiful. The technology, even though it’s obviously dated, it still actually works today.
Siegel: Well, that’s what I was going to ask about because so much about it sounds very prescient today with the virtual reality stuff. Obviously, now more a focus on AI, but it still sort of fits with all of that and also everything going on with the police. At the same time, it’s an imagined future because at this point we’ve lived through the future that this is talking about. What makes it a movie that you want to come back to for New Years?
Vincent: That cathartic feeling at the end of, it doesn’t seem like they’re going to make it, but they take on something and are willing to do it and sacrifice themselves for the greater good. And then it’s like this happy ending. And I think it’s great in the holiday season to always have that sort of hope and to be reminded of these stories where someone is completely outmatched and yet they rise to the occasion.
Siegel: You mentioned that this movie flopped at the box office.
Vincent: Oh, completely.
Siegel: But it’s kind of become a cult classic of sorts. What do you think makes movies like this — that have a weird premise, do awful at the box office — what makes them become this thing that’s then lifted up by people as a classic?
Vincent: So I think it helps that everyone connected to this movie is still working today. And so, for instance, Kathryn Bigelow was sort of under the radar. Yes, she made 'Point Break’ before this, but no one was associating 'Point Break’ with her. They were associating it with like, Patrick Swayze and Keanu Reeves. But then after 'The Hurt Locker,' I wouldn’t be surprised that other people went back and said, I want to see more of her movies. And then they found this one. Also, like when you’re at home, the threshold for watching a movie is way lower, so you’ll give something a chance that someone is praising that you wouldn’t ordinarily do by going to the theater and buying a ticket. So it did horribly, because people are like, Who’s Ralph Fiennes? The guy from Schindler’s List who played a Nazi? I don’t want to watch that. Yeah, like no one’s going to the theater for him. But now you go back in time. More people know who Ralph Fiennes is. Angela Bassett obviously has always been a big star, but again, you’re not necessarily going to like, pay money to see her as a supporting character.
Siegel: But now it’s all of these people who are some of the most famous people in Hollywood.
Vincent: And I mean, I think it’s hilarious that like, they were big names then, too, and no one cared.
Siegel: Hmm. Wow. The movie is 'Strange Days,' The final in our picks for holiday movies to watch throughout the holiday seasons. That was film critic Sarah G. Vincent of Cambridge Day. Sarah, I’m sad to be wrapping up the holiday season and all of these movies with you, but it’s been so much fun. Thanks so much for coming in.
Vincent: Thank you.
Alston: You're listening to GBH's Morning Edition.
Picture this: It’s New Year’s Eve in 1999, and Ralph Fiennes, a police officer-turned-virtual-reality-drug-dealer, is teaming up with his best friend, limo driver Angela Bassett, to root out corruption in the police department and save the world.
That’s the premise of “Strange Days,” film writer Sarah G. Vincent’s pick for a New Year’s Eve movie.
The movie initially flopped at the box office, she said, but has since gained a cult classic status. Part of what made this movie a sleeper hit is the sheer number of stars on the cast and crew: director Kathryn Bigelow, co-writer James Cameron, and Fiennes and Bassett in lead roles.
“I think it helps that everyone connected to this movie is still working today,” Vincent said. “I think it’s hilarious that like, they were big names then, too, and no one cared.”
“That cathartic feeling at the end of, it doesn’t seem like they’re going to make it, but they take on something and are willing to do it and sacrifice themselves for the greater good. And then it’s like this happy ending. And I think it’s great in the holiday season to always have that sort of hope and to be reminded of these stories where someone is completely outmatched and yet they rise to the occasion.” — Sarah G. Vincent, film writer for Cambridge Day
'Thomas Kinkade’s Christmas Cottage’ (2008)
Streaming on the Roku Channel
Art student Thomas Kinkade (Jared Padalecki) returns home for Christmas to discover that the bank wants to foreclose on the family home. He secures a job painting a mural in town.
“Based on a true event in the student life of artist Thomas Kinkade. Entire cast, with Peter O’Toole, is excellent.” — Joe, a GBH News listener from Lakeville
'The Town’ (2010)
Available to buy or rent on Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, Google Play or YouTube
“I’m a fan of non-traditional holidays movies and my family always gravitates toward an engrossing crime drama, like 'The Town,' starring our hometown hero Ben Affleck, who has proven that he is also a talented director. It’s a crowd pleaser, and it has everything: Bank robberies, car chases through the North End, Fenway Park, Jon Hamm, Blake Lively attempting a Boston accent. What more could you want as you eat your pie?” — Meghan Smith, senior digital producer at GBH News
'White Christmas’ (1954)
Streaming on Netflix and Sling
Two American platoonmates team up to create a musical act after World War II ends, meet a singing sister duo, and end up following them to Vermont — where their old captain is running a struggling inn.
“I like how this is more of a ‘Christmas Spirit’ film without too heavy a dose of the traditional holiday camp. Instead, you get some triumphant moments exhibiting charity and positivity in spite of a cynical world. I like the old Hollywood song and dance numbers and all of the great Irving Berlin songs (‘Count Your Blessings Instead of Sheep’ is truly a beautiful sentiment put to music.) Outtakes and improvisations left in the film make this look like a film that was as fun to make as it is to watch.” —Nic, a GBH News listener
