Merry DKAmas!
By Chloe Hampton
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!!! My favorite thing about writing the monthly movie list for cinejournal is 1) pleading for you all to watch movies I like & 2) watching movies instead of doing homework so I can classify it as still doing work, yippie!!!! Christmas is my favorite holiday, so this time of year is really special to me. It makes me really happy, but nothing makes me happier than being surrounded by what I love (aka YOU GUYSSSS), and of course cinematic greatness. As always, if you don’t watch all these movies and hit me up with a paragraph about how much you loved each and every one, I will send you a personalized video of me crying. So do it.
THE LIST
Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012) dir. Stephen Chbosky
This literally and word for word, bar for bar, and I mean legitimately bar for bar happened to me in 9th grade so like this movie actually feels like a series of war flashbacks I’m tied to a chair and forced to watch (willing sit and watch). A handful of people throughout life have told me they didn’t like this movie because it’s kind of just about rich kids dealing with trivial problems. So like first of all that's crazy to say if you watch even half of the movie, but it also just makes me think about what we see as trivial. A lot of times during adolescence the adults around you say stuff like “Oh this will pass”/“It's just high school it’s not the end of the world” and yada yada, but at the time it really doesn’t feel like it. I feel like this film was the first time I saw these things treated like they actually matter and aren’t “just highschool” cause it never truly ends there. However, I decided to put it in the December list cause I think about the scene of Charlie laying in the snow a lot. Anyway, don’t know how these guys knew Come on Eileen and the whole The Smiths discography, but had no idea who Bowie was. LOSERSSSS.
Merry Little Batman (2023) dir. Mike Roth
Oh my glob this movie is single handedly why I wanted to start writing a monthly movie list. How can you even call yourself a Batman fan if you don’t know about this? Not only is this the most biblically accurate Bruce Wayne, Damian Wayne, and Alfred depiction but it also just fills the air with that good old holiday cheer. Never in my life did I think I’d see Home Alone Robin edition, experience joy I haven’t felt since being in elementary school sitting under one of those colorful parachute things, hear “Father Christmas” by The Kinks (BEST CHRISTMAS SONG, EVER), and not be entirely mad at The Joker being the main villain (sigh. AGAIN), all in one sitting. This movie feels like fan service, but like specifically for me. I am not even joking when I say I’m fully expecting each and every one of you to watch this by the end of break and to send me a message about how much this impacted you.
Merry Little Batman (2023)
Lady Snowblood (1973) dir. Toshiba Fujita
Kill Bill if it was peak (this is a joke I love Kill Bill, Tarantino foot lovers put down your weapons). But like no… he literally just copied and pasted this in a westernized format. I don't think I’ve ever seen such a direct influence. To be fair everything is a copy of a copy of a copy or whatever, but also I can’t say I blame Tarantino for seeing this movie and wanting to make it… or getting his whole directorial style from it. I think both are worth watching, and it’s fun when you’ve seen one to look at its connection to the other. This is like the mother of revenge movies, and when thinking about how much Kill Bill had impacted the drama, it’s interesting to see how much this impacted Kill Bill. Sure the editing is a bit clunky at times, but it’s easy to ignore because this film is just that cool. I think in general we should go back to making action movies with the brightest possible red blood. (If you ever find the time to watch this at 2x speed and slow down to 0.5x on the reaction shots I promise it’s the funniest thing ever, but don’t do that on your first watch.)
The Holdovers (2023) dir. Alexander Payne
If anybody else out there is a big Dead Poets Society fan and you haven’t watched The Holdovers, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!? This is literally for youuuu. I saw the trailer basically minutes after it dropped and less than twenty seconds in I was already ready for it to be out. First of all, Payne really knows how to tell a story about humans and their connection to one another, which to me is like the number one most important thing when watching something. This is the kind of film that makes me stop and look around and think about how much I appreciate and care for those around me. I have no notes. The writing, cinematography, pacing, the fact that the goat Paul Giamatti is in this, it’s all perfect to me.
Blade Runner 2049 (2017) dir. Denis Villeneuve
If winter has you feeling a little isolated, a little introspective, lonely even, some might say this can fix that. I’ll be the one to say it, the OG Blade Runner was absolute buns in comparison to this. Cinematography okay I see you, production design goes insane, but like substance wise it’s highly questionable… However 2049 genuinely I think of as one of the movies I feel like actually changed my life. If anyone knows me and knows my long, long list of family members you may have heard of before, I watched this movie before my first year of college, then I proceeded to tell everyone I met, Ryan Gosling was my brother. So if you’ve ever fallen victim to my celebrity family tree this movie is the reason why. Not to mention Denis Villeneuve might be on my Mount Rushmore of directors (Dune Part 1 & 2, Arrival, Prisoners, this) there’s nothing I’ve seen he’s put out that I don’t love, so technically he’s like my cousin.
Blade Runner 2049 (2017)
The Green Knight (2021) dir. David Lowery
Pre Merry Little Batman this was my favorite christmas movie, on the low it might still be. I haven’t always been the hugest A24 fan (please don’t read this give me a job please I’m just joking I WILL be watching Elden Ring and Death Stranding the moment it’s in theaters), but this film definitely opened me up to trying once more, and glad it did, because besides a few popular… overhyped films… there is so much good. I rewatch this film every winter, and every time I feel like I notice something new. Equally a knights quest, oddly whimsical, frightening, and feeling like a fever dream, there is no surprise that I love it. Plus there is Dev Patel.
Possession (1981) dir. Andrzej Żuławski
Very different from the others on this list, but I felt the need to include a more thriller type film on the list. Possession is not the typical horror film, but it definitely disturbed me more than most. The movie dives into the unraveling of a marriage, going from surreal to absolute insanity. The movie doesn’t really have any seasonal themes but it's so cold, whether it be the filter, the subject matter, or just how much is left up to interpretation. It makes you uncomfortable and leaves you with a sense of unease.
Werewolves Within (2021) dir. Josh Ruben
A perfect mix of horror, comedy, and mystery, the film takes place in a small, snowy town where a group of quirky characters must figure out who among them is a werewolf. It's actually based on a video game (which I didn’t know till like today), this film delivers both suspense and comedic wit. The winter setting, complete with snowstorms and isolation, creates the perfect atmosphere for this mystery comedy. I think of it as a cheesy Knives Out, all in a good way. The director Josh Ruben used to star in a lot of the College Humor skits on Dropout, so it’s really cool to see what he’s doing now in the industry.
Werewolves Within (2021)
Snowpiercer (2013) dir. Bong Joon-ho
Obvious by both my letterboxd and every other movie list I’ve made, I love dystopian movies. This one I reallyyy liked the first time, was eh on the second, and really liked again on the third, so kinda mixed feelings but overall super entertaining. Snowpiercer follows the remaining fraction of humanity, now aboard a massive train that constantly circles the earth. The train has a rigid class system, where the wealthy live in luxury at the front and the impoverished are forced to live in the back in awful conditions. Bong Joon-ho has never disappointed me, and I think this in comparison to some of his other work is underrated to a degree. With intense action sequences, a compelling narrative, and thought provoking commentary on inequality, Snowpiercer offers more than the typical action film.
Call Me by Your Name (2017) dir. Luca Guadagnino
I know what you’re about to say, “Chloe this literally takes place in summer” I DON’T CARE!!! Set aside the lush Italian countryside, if Hallmark can do Christmas in July I can do summer in December. I shamefully didn’t like this film the first time I watched, granted I was literally like thirteen and didn’t get what it was trying to say. However, I rewatched it a month or two back and it completely changed my mind. Luca Guadagnino has always been one of my favorite directors and if I could get him to put whatever he does to his films to make them look like that lazered in my eyeballs I would in a heartbeat. Even when I didn’t love this movie, I always thought about it way more in the winter than I ever did in the summer. I think a lot of that has to do with the ending and how impactful it was to me (iykyk… and if you don't, still nice to escape the eternal Boston winter with this movie). It’s a truly beautiful film, with such a beautiful score, but never listen to Futile Devices Doveman Remix if you want to have a good day.
Honorable Mentions aka mostly just nostalgic christmas movies:
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005), The Polar Express (2004), Carol (2015), It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)