Another Christmas in the books; it always goes too fast. I did get a chance to watch several movies this year and a decent mix of selections. This is also the inaugural year for a new special event movie, Elf Celebration Day (on December twELFth). Let’s get the list of default movies.
White Christmas
8-Bit Christmas
Scrooged
A Christmas Story
A Christmas Story Christmas
Christmas Vacation
Four Christmases
We watched Four Christmases again this year, so it’s now pretty much a default choice. Believe it or not, we did not watch Spirited this year, which surprises me since my daughter enjoys it so much. Now let’s get to the non-default choices, including a 2025 Christmas movie.
Yes, you read that right. This month I watched musicals. In the spirit of full disclosure, musicals are also kind of a secret indulgence of mine. A good musical is hard to dislike and even harder not to sing along to. If you’re into that kind of thing. I realize they may not be everyone’s cup of tea. One of the things I enjoy about most modern musicals is learning about all the actors who can actually sing. I’m delighted with the selections I made, and you can see them below, including the bonus movies I fit in this month.
Sorry for the delay; the end of the year is always busy. It was scary movie season. Granted, I don’t watch many scary movies, but I do enjoy the occasional creepy flick. As I’ve mentioned in the past, there are several default movies that I watch every October, if I can fit them in, because I enjoy checking out other films. Here are the default (perhaps even classic?) films I watched this Halloween month.
I love martial arts movies, and Jackie Chan is the major reason behind that. I’ve been watching Jackie Chan movies before Rush Hour, when the only movies he was in were dubbed. Fun fact: Jackie Chan dubs himself in his non-US movies (e.g., the Police Story franchise, Who Am I, etc.). The selections this month are some of my favorite Jackie Chan films in the US.
Also, September was an ambitious month this year due to the numerous special event movies; it’s almost as busy as May.
There’s no central theme to the mystery movies this year; they’re all just random selections of films I’ve wanted to watch (or watch again). The best thing about mystery movies is the various ways they can captivate an audience. It can be through action, drama, thriller, or even comedy. I think the selections this month reflect that idea.
I’ve listed the selections for the month below, and I really enjoyed what I picked … with one exception. All of these movies, with four (or more) stars, I would watch again. There are also bonus and special event movies this month.
If the wizarding world of Harry Potter were real, my daughter would have received her letter from Hogwarts this year. Therefore, I felt the Harry Potter films were a befitting selection for Fantasy Month (which also happens to be the month she was born). I read somewhere that if you were to watch all the Harry Potter movies back-to-back, it would take you over 18 hours. However, I did not do that, but it is an interesting fact nonetheless.
I’m also not going to review each movie because, in my opinion, they are critic-proof, just like Star Wars. No doubt many disagree with that statement, but that’s okay. To each their own.
It’s been a while since I have watched these movies and I still quite enjoy them. The Order of the Phoenix might be my favorite. As strange as this may sound, the biggest takeaway from watching these movies again is that I need to go back and reread the books. It’s been too long.
Bonus and Special Event Movies
There are a couple of special event movies in April. On the 5th is First Contact Day and I did manage to find the time to watch Star Trek First Contact. It might be my favorite Star Trek film with the TNG crew. (The Voyage Home is probably still my favorite movie with the original crew.)
April 15th is Jackie Robinson Day (as well as Tax Day in the US) however I did not get a chance to watch 42 again. I’ll try to make it a point to do it next year.
I try to watch Passion of the Christ around Easter but Holy Week was one of the busiest weeks of the month. Granted that movie isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, especially if you are not Catholic. Personally, I think it’s important to watch during Holy Week as a reminder.
And now it’s time for the best movie month of them all, Star Wars month!
“The screen is a magic medium. It has such power that it can retain interest as it conveys emotions and moods that no other art form can hope to tackle.” – Stanley Kubrick
