Friday Five - Christmas movies

Christmas movies are on TV and in the theaters and I love it! I love these movies, corny and stale as they might be. These movies are only the tip of the iceberg for me because I had to pick five. But almost any Christmas movie will do.

These movies aren't in any real order - but I can still remember seeing Die Hard for the very first time and was totally blown away. It's still one of my favorite thrillers and, because it's set at Christmas, and it's shown at Christmas, I still think of it as a Christmas movie.

I love the driver of the limo and the teddy bear, the cop with the donuts, the party and the relationships. It works for me.

This is probably at the top of my list. The cast is terrific, the way all the different stories weave together, and it seems to me that the way all the different types of love come together - really feels like Christmas. The music is fabulous and I watch it every year, sometimes two or three times.

The Polar Express. Need I say more? But I will say that I'd read the book before the movie came out and I saw it the first time in 3-D, with my dad and my brother before my dad died. All of us loved it - and it always makes me think of my dad. It is, even without that, a terrific movie. Definitely worth seeing - and if you can, do see it in 3-D.

This cartoon - only 27 minutes long - is Christmas for me. We watched this every single year, with the commercials, and that's how I still see it in my mind. It's funny, it's smart, it's poignant, the music is great, and Boris Karloff is fabulous. And when the Grinch's heart grows? It always makes me cry.

I'm not sure if this is officially a Christmas movie - but as it's set around the holidays, I'm going to include it. It's one of those movies that works on many different levels. Even if you don't like James Joyce, even if you don't like art films, there's just something about this movie. It's partly the pacing, partly the cast, partly the setting, the music, the story - everything seems to pull you into a kind of a dream.

It's definitely worth seeing.

Which are your favorites? Is there something I should add to my list?

Kate