By Josef Harvey

Genres: Family/Animation/Fantasy

Guide: This is a classic Christmas family friendly movie. Nothing promotes or says holiday spirit more than this movie, showing you why Christmas is a time of gathering and family bonding. This movie is centered around a miser called Scrooge and he’s visited by three holiday spirits who show him the error of his ways, they also focus on his demeanor and tells him it would be best for him to change in the future or else he will turn out like his unfortunate business partner. Jim Cary voices the protagonist (Scrooge), which delivers a very serious yet slightly comical vibe to the character, he captures the character very well and you’ll find yourself getting drawn in by the films captivating voice acting as well as the 3D extras which they’ve included.

Pros: Excellent 3D animation with voice acting and an interesting deviation from the previous mundane story line.

Cons: The dialogue is long winded and you could loose focus quickly.

The verdict: Charles dickens classic earns an easy 6/10. Although many spinoffs have been made in the past and others will probably appear in the future but it’s still a classic that has attained a special place on every must watch list.

Find A Christmas Carol movie in Blue ray (3D) for EGP 295 here

Find the Normal version of A Christmas Carol movie for EGP 100 here

9. Elf 

Genres: Comedy/Family/Kids

Guide: (Will Ferrell) stars as Buddy, a human raised as one of Santa’s elves who discovers at age 30 that he has a real father named Walter (James Caan) who lives in New York City and is on Santa’s naughty list. Buddy leaves the North Pole to find Walter, knowing only what he’s learned from the elves. He is a whiz who makes snowflake decorations,  spreads good cheer, and he always assumes the best about everyone, not especially useful skills in Manhattan.

Pros: Funny, family friendly movie with a heart warming ending.

Cons: There is some mild swearing in the movie.

The verdict: The movie’s overall message of values, such as: honesty, acceptance, and affection for all humanity is clear and positive, which earns this movie a 7/10.

8. The Nightmare Before Christmas 

Genres: Animation/Family/Fantasy

Guide: Another animation movie has made it on to our list, this one takes a different approach to the normal holiday theme and brings a refreshing sense of enchantment and imagination, showing us that Christmas could be more than what meets the eye.
The story revolves around Jack Skellington AKA the Pumpkin King, after a displeasing Halloween the Pumpkin King realizes how bored he is, then he stumbles across Christmas town and decides to make the town his new domain.

Pros: An old vintage stop-motion animation style with catchy songs, and a nice story. The protagonist makes an excellent role model for children who enjoy watching animated movies.

Cons: Some characters may seem a bit creepy.

The verdict: An interesting magical film from the mind of Tim Burton. It truly captures your imagination as you will feel the magic, wonder, and fear while watching it and you will come back to the real world satisfied as the ending is truly one of the best. We have to give this one an 8/10.

Find the Nightmare before Christmas movie for EGP 295 here

7. Scrooged

Genres: Fantasy/Comedy

Guide: The movie stars Bill Murray as Frank Cross, a tormented TV network president who is approaching the Christmas season in a foul mood. He has cut himself off from everybody who loves him, he delights in criticizing and humiliating his colleagues, and he leads a lonely life, sitting in his high-rise office, watching TV and pouring down the vodka. His idea of an effective promotional ad is one that scares viewers into watching. His next production will be a live, multimillion-dollar Christmas Eve performance of “Scrooge,” and we follow him through the wreckage of his life as he attempts to wreck the TV show, as well.

Pros: A more contemporary approach to a Christmas Carol with some good acting.

Cons: Dark and depressing story.

The verdict: If you like a Christmas Carol but felt like it needed a darker tone, then feel free to check out this one! Bill Murray delivers and portrays a sinister devilish like character. It earned an 8/10.

6. Batman Returns 

Genres: Action/Adventure/Fantasy

Guide: Michael Keaton is the dark knight this time and he’s the one who will be protecting Gotham from the cunning evildoers. Cat woman (Michelle Pfeiffer) and the penguin (Danny Devito) joined forces and plan on making the city bow to their every wish and desire, as the penguin is running for mayor and cat women is around to satisfy her psychotic urges.

Pros: Classic batman showdown, cool gadgets and iconic vehicles, child friendly.

Cons: Some of the costumes are poorly made.

The verdict: It earned a 8/10.

5. Lethal weapon 

Genres: Action/Adventure/Drama

Guide: A movie starring L.A cop Martin Riggs (Mel Gibson) and Roger Murtaugh (Danny Glover). Martin Riggs is a loose canon with a seeming death wish; he is ruthless and relentless when it comes to busting criminals. Officer Martin has been assigned with a partner called Roger, unlike Martin, Roger is quite happy with his life and only wants to enjoy the time he has with his family due to his old age. The two are made partners and now they must work together to bring down a formidable drug dealer called the General.

Pros: Lots of explosions, amazing acting, and great chemistry between characters, its just a very enjoyable movie to watch.

Cons: There might be some violent scenes.

The verdict: An action movie that takes a peak into two paradoxical minds and personalities, but what’s even better about this movie is the bond the two characters as its quite unique and earns it an astounding 9/10.

4. Home Alone 

Genres: Comedy/Family

Guide: Home Alone is the highly successful and beloved family comedy about a young boy named Kevin (Macaulay Culkin) who is accidentally left behind when his family takes off for a vacation in France over the holiday season. Once he realizes they’ve left him home alone, he learns to fend for himself and, eventually has to protect his house against two bumbling burglars (Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern), these two men plan on robbing his entire suburban area and make off with their stolen riches. This has become one of the world’s favorite movies.

Pros: It’s a great fun to watch the movie with kids. It creates a nice Christmassy feeling.

Cons: The constant head banging, slipping, hurting, and bruising may get a bit tiring. There are a few scenes that may advocate violence but it’s very mild.

The verdict: This  one is a must watch.  It’s perfect for laughs and it brings back some pretty sweet memories. I’d give it a 9/10.

3. Die-hard 

Genres: Action/Mystery/Suspense

Guide: It’s Christmas time in L.A., and there’s an employee party in progress on the 30th floor of the Nakatomi Corporation building. Unfortunately,it comes to a violent end when the attendees are taken hostage by a group of terrorists headed by Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman), police authorities try to negotiate with the terrorists then surround the building. They are mislead by Hans Gruber into thinking that the terrorists are politically motivated when in fact they are only after the 600 billion dollars within a high tech safe.
That sounds like a really tough situation, let’s not fret about it because John Mcclane (Bruce Willis) has decided to take matters in his own hands to save the hostages and ignores the orders he got from the police.

Pros: A great movie to watch on Christmas with some very intense action scenes as it escalates really quickly at certain moments but even more so at the very end.

Cons: There’s nothing wrong with this movie.

The verdict: This has to be one of our top three movies, as nothing beats a good old classic action movie with Bruce Willis in it. It earned 10/10.

2. Love actually 

Genres: Comedy/Romance

Guide: This is the ultimate romantic comedy. Love Actually involves more than a dozen main characters, each weaving his or her way into another’s heart over the course of one particularly eventful Christmas. This story revolves around the general idea and theme of love, encapsulating it’s different shapes and manifestations, what’s even more interesting is the number of peculiar situations and obstacles which each couple or person has to overcome in the most unconventional ways imaginable to reach his goal.

Pros: The movie follows multiple characters so it never gets dull. Every scene is concise and well delivered.

Cons: The only con is that it doesn’t have a sequel.

The verdict: An all time Christmas favorite, as anyone can relate to this movie. It’s truly a masterpiece and that’s why it also gets a 10/10.

1. The Shop Around The Corner 

Genres: Drama/Romance/Classics/Comedy

Guide: The Shop Around the Corner is adapted from the Hungarian play by Nikolaus (Miklos) Laszlo. A Budapest gift shop clerk Alfred Kralik (James Stewart) and newly hired shop girl Klara Novak (Margaret Sullavan) hate each other almost at first sight. Both of them can’t stand each other and they both correspond with their secret pen pals which they’ve never laid eyes on before.
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that they have been writing letters to each other in secret and that they both actually admire one another.

Pros: Charming actors and great romantic atmosphere. This movie is perfect for couples.

Cons: There aren’t any to include in a classic such as this.

The verdict: A timeless romantic comedy that has continued to entertain us for more than 70 years. This movie is an expected but not overestimated 10/10.

We hope you have a pleasant, warm and happy Christmas.  You can also shop for Christmas decorations and gifts through www.yaoota.com

If you need some help with Christmas decorations check out this article.

Merry Christmas 🙂