Thursday, December 2, 2010

Home Alone and Elf (Day 2)

Countdown to Christmas Day 2


'Elf' was the first Christmas movie of the season for Neen and I this year, it was on TV a week or so ago, we also have it on DVD so I'm sure on one of these cold December nights we'll end up watching it again before Christmas. The 2003 movie directed by Jon Favreau and starring Will Ferrell is a great family Christmas film. It does a wonderful job at playing homage to the films of Rankin/Bass and has a pretty solid soundtrack to boot. Our favorite scene in the movie is definitely the Will Ferrell/Zooey Deschanel duet in the shower...


Home Alone really never gets old. We watched it a couple of nights ago and it has a a timeless quality unsurpassed by many other films of it's time. Director Chris Columbus, in my opinion is an extremely talented guy, 'Mrs Doubtfire' and 'Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone' being two more of my favorite Columbus films. I truly believe he established J.K. Rowling's world in a way no other movie maker could have.

The John Hughes script was simply perfect, and evidence of another creator at the top of his game. I'm a big ol' fan of the Hughes films 'Uncle Buck', 'The Breakfast Club' and of course 'Ferris Bueller's Day Off'

I remember the first time I watched this film. It was the annual Christmas party in our local church, probably around '92. As a child I wasn't allowed to watch pretty much anything. I remember rather guiltily leaving the children's party to find my parents in another room to double check I wouldn't get in trouble...

John Williams did a spectacular job on this score, some of his best work in my opinion. The soundtrack features two of my absolute favorite Christmas songs also. 'O Holy Night' and 'Carol of the Bells.' 'Jingle Bell Rock' is another great tune from the movie and is currently my Christmas ringtone on my phone. 

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