This week we're covering one of the few Christmas movies that can also be filed under the action movie genre with 1998's Die Hard. Bruce Willis plays John McClane, a cop from New York City who finds himself bound for California on Xmas Eve to visit his estranged wife, meeting her at her office Christmas party. Unfortunately some German terrorists show up, eager to break into the company safe and steal $600 million dollars. Unbeknownst to the terrorists, McClane is a bad ass and not the person you want stalking around barefoot within the building trying to foil your every move! This is one of the titular action movies of the 80s and one that spawned many, many sequels and it's well deserved. Both clever and exciting, hilarious and touching, this movie has it all! We'll talk about how we've seen this movie just once before (shame shame on us) but barely remembered anything about it, whatever happened to hostage crises and how we suddenly think Bruce Willis is pretty hot. Also, so many Large Marge alum in this movie! A Fratelli brother + the mom from Goonies, Betty Spaghetti and Vigo the Carpathian!
We did a Christmas adjacent movie this week guys! Meet Me in St. Louis from 1944 is responsible for that little melancholy diddy, "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas", but there's so much more to it! Following The Smith family for a year in early turn of the century St. Louis, this movie takes place across all four seasons and one Sweetie loved to bits when she was little. From the costumes to the quaint songs, Judy Garland's glamour and just the general vibe of director Vincent Minnelli's masterpiece, we are still digging it! We'll talk about the infamous Halloween scene, how John Truett is kinda of ehhhh, and how crazy it is that they thought Rose was a dried up old hag at the age of 18 because she wasn't married yet. But hey that's 1903 for ya! Plus, we'll chat about Judy Garland's strange eyebrows in this but goddamit she's still beautiful in every way!
Hooray it's December, time for holiday movies! From 1996, Jingle All the Way finds Arnold Schwarzenegger as "bad dad" Howard Langston, a workaholic mattress salesman who drops the Christmas ball, if you will, by forgetting to get his son Jamie the coveted Christmas toy of the season - Turbo Man. Christmas chaos ensues as Howard spends Christmas Eve on the hunt for the elusive toy, and will do whatever it takes to fulfill his son's Christmas wish! Also starring Rita Wilson, Phil Hartman, Jake Lloyd and Sinbad as the unhinged mailman nemesis also looking a Turbo Man for his son. We'll talk about some quintessential 90s thangs (Suburbans! Long cord phones! Pay phones!), our own real life remembrance of toy hysterias from history, and run through a list of some our favorite toys that we requested for Christmas back in the day!