Joyeux Noel (2005)
Starting off on the lovely festive note of one of the biggest conflicts in the history of mankind, we have 2005’s Joyeux Noel – a heartwarming depiction of 1914’s ‘Christmas Truce’. Featuring Daniel Brühl, who Hollywood appear to just wheel out whenever they need to cast a German character, the film may not feature Santa Claus or Michael Bublé paying the trenches a visit for the festive season, yet is a brilliant portrayal of the human spirit. Few films deliver a better anti-war message than thousands of supposed-enemies singing Stille Nacht together as one. Even more powerful is the fact that the unofficial armistice of December 1914 really happened, and although many of the men who took part were dead by the war’s end, for one night they had peace.
Die Hard (1988)
Yes, it’s a Christmas film, put the gun down. I’m far from the first person to recommend Die Hard in the winter, but sometimes all you need is a classic run-and-gun movie in your life. Action was a category very much overdone by the late 80’s, but Die Hard’s refusal to depict Bruce Willis as a shirtless, screaming man brandishing a tank, three nuclear bombs and a Sports Illustrated bikini model re-vitalised the genre. Set on Christmas Eve, it’s the perfect movie to get your adrenaline rushing this holiday season.
The Thing (1982)
Unlike Die Hard and Joyeux Noel, John Carpenter’s masterpiece has very little to do with Christmas – unless your crimbo schedule involves grotesque alien parasites, of course. However, it does snow during the film, so there! Set on an arctic research base as it’s crew are, one-by-one, assimilated into the titular ‘thing’, the 1982 film is sure to put you off going out in whatever snow we might get this year. The parasite is terrifying as is, especially impressive considering that it’s entirely made through practical effects, but we watch as suspicion and mistrust become the real enemy of the surviving humans.