A film advent calender

It's the first of December tomorrow. And like it or not the Christmas month is upon us. Here's a lil filmy Advent calendar. Start tomorrow (beforehand Toy show of course)) and watch one Christmassy film every day until the eve of the day itself. I've left out Die Hard cos for some reason it's inclusion in Christmas lists makes people fierce briary altogether. Watch one of these or watch them all, they'll all get you in the mood for demolishing a load of food and lying on the couch moaning about the meat sweats. And isn't that what it's really all about.

Home Alone  

Nothing starts off the season of goodwill like seeing a pair of scumbags get tortured by an 8yr old who's parents forgot all about him. Brilliant.

Black Christmas 

The Holidays are just starting and a group of girls start getting odd phone calls at their dorm. A properly scary Christmas gem that was Elvis Presley's Christmas day traditional watch. What more reason do you need??!

Elf 

A man raised as an elf goes to NYC to find his Da. I hate Will Ferrell but this film is warm and fun enough that it just about cancels him out. Just about. 

Scrooged 

A modern take on a Dickens classic. A nice bit of 80's fun. If you are able for Bill Murray of course.

3 Godfathers 

The story of the 3 wise men with a western twist. You can't go wrong with a John Wayne/John Ford film on a list.

Trapped In Paradise 

A Christmas bank robbery goes right and then wrong. Back when Nicholas Cage in a film was a good thing. Warm hearting, fierce likable fun.

Santa Claus The Movie 

Well you have to have this one. Watch this one before Gremlins BTW.

Bad Santa 

A festive tale of a thieving bastard with a penchant for sodomy and vodka who has no issue with beating up kids. The film that by itself kind of created the 16 certificate in Irish cinemas. Hilarious though. And with a moral too. 

Lethal Weapon 

YES IT'S A CHRISTMAS FILM. Starts off with Jingle Bell Rock. There's a shootout among Christmas trees. A man gets shot through a carton of eggnog!! And another man finds redemption and a surrogate family and a reason to live. That's Christmassy as hell right there.

Gremlins 

A boy gets a special Christmas present. One he'll never forget. And we'll never forget the story of a young girl and her father who dressed up as Santy......

The Nightmare Before Christmas 

Tim Burton's idea of a Christmas story is just as dark and ghoulishly funny as you'd expect as the residents of a Halloween themed town attempt a bit of a change. Brilliant, inventive, funny and beautiful....in it's own way. 

A Muppet Christmas Carol 

The Muppet's take on Dicken's famous tale. The Muppet's make everything better. The Muppet's could make a Hague war crime tribunal fun.

National Lampoons Christmas Vacation 

Attic ladder to the face. And Danny fuckin' Kaye. That is all.

Fred Claus 

An awful, awful film but worth watching to help you realise just how good some of the others on this list are.

White Christmas

Bob and Phil fancy Betty and Judy and they all team up to save a hotel with their Christmas Show. The perfect film for when you are so full of turkey and roast spuds that death would be a welcome release. Bing Crosby and Rosemary Clooney, sure how could you go wrong.

Miracle On 34th Street (1994 version)

One of the perfect family films. Richard Attenborough as a man claiming to be Santy and Mara Wilson as the little girl helping him prove it. If you don't like this you have a cold black dead heart.

The Dead 

A Christmas film done the Irish way. OK, it's not Christmas but it's during the Christmas period.  A group of family and friends get together to dine and reminisce and we get a film that will kick you in the heart in a way only Irish films can.

The Santa Clause

When he puts Santy out of action a man is forced to take his place and do his job. Silly, funny, perfect. If the start doesn't traumatise yer kids of course.

A Charlie Brown Christmas 

Pure and utter nostalgia. Great medicine. You'll be instantly transported back to the 70's/80's/90's when you watch this.

It's A Wonderful Life 

I only saw this for the first time this week and it lived up to the hype. Ye all know what it's about. The lows are low but the highs are HIGH. So good.

Trading Places 

A tale of PCP, pork belly's, institutional racism, attempted suicide, lives being ruined, stock market shenanigans, frozen orange juice, gorilla lovin' and prostitution sounds like an unlikely Christmas film right?? This mixture makes one of the very best.

Hostile Hostages 

A thief robbing a house over Christmas finds himself refereeing a family row. Acerbic, biting, hilarious. But I've just remembered who's in this so i won't mention anything else....

Rare Exports 

Christmas done Finland style. Aka dark and weird as fuck. But still festive in its own way.

A Christmas Story 

The best one of all. You haven't lived until you see a comedy Chinese person trying to sing "Deck The Halls With Bows Of Holly." But really, this one is brilliant. A 1940's set tale of a young boys mission to get a BB gun for Christmas. Perfection.