eric`s Top 10 Christmas Movies

I`m kind of cheating and killing two birds with one stone as this Top 10 list also counts as an entertainment review.

Here we go, eric`s Top 10 Christmas Movies:

#10... Ironman 3. This is probably the worst movie in which Ironman appears, but it`s better than watching some sappy movie on the Hallmark channel.

Basically, The Mandarin is a bad guy and wants to ruin everyone`s holiday season. Tony Stark has to stop him so he can save Christmas.

The thing is, Robert Downey Jr. is hardly ever in an Ironman suit this time. And they waste Ben freakin` Kingsley. This movie should have been better.

For a story that takes place at Christmas, they decided to release this in May back in 2013. This kind of thing happens quite a bit, as you`ll see.

#9... Batman Returns. As I had just mentioned, this is another Christmastime movie that was released, oddly enough, in June of 1992.

Batman has to stop Catwoman and The Penguin from kidnapping children and blowing stuff up to ruin Christmas in Gotham City.

The violence and dark themes of this film are the reason we were punished with the next two Joel Schumacher Batman movies.

Some erickelly trivia for you: the guy who plays Christopher Walken`s character`s son is Andrew Bryniarski - the guy who was Leatherface in the Michael Bay Texas Chainsaw Massacre reboot movies.

#8... Prometheus. This is kind of an Alien prequel (sort of), and was also released in June, this time it was back in 2012.

A group of explorers and scientists cross the galaxy in search of the origins of humanity. This doesn`t go so well, people start getting killed, and it all happens at Christmastime.

Prometheus may be the least Christmassy movie on this list, but Idris Elba has his own space tree, so.

#7... They sure don`t make movies like this anymore. Lethal Weapon is buddy cop action flick from 1987. This movie has Christmas all over it, but was released in March for some reason.

We get Danny Glover, pre-crazy Mel Gibson, and pre-head injury Gary Busey.

Here`s some more erickelly trivia: Dixie is played by Lycia Naff who portrayed Ensign Sonya Gomez on two episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation and as Captain Gomez on Star Trek: Lower Decks.

She is probably most recognized as the \"extremely well endowed\" Martian mutant from Total Recall. The real Total Recall, not the one where they go through the Earth`s core.

#6... The Santa Clause. Ha, I bet you weren`t expecting this one. I don`t only watch R rated Christmas movies. The Santa Clause was deliberately delivered as a holiday film in November of 1994.

This family-friendly tale kills off Santa Claus so Tim \"The Toolman\" Taylor has to take over for him. The original is a lot better than the many many sequels, and if you need to watch a movie with kids, this one isn`t torture.

The late Peter Boyle has a cameo role, and not only was he a cool guy, he`s also from Pennsylvania.

#5... We`re halfway through the list and on to our second Tim Burton film, the excellent Christmas story of Edward Scissorhands.

The plot involves an \"outcast with a heart of gold\" character in an extremely stylized environment. This is the first film by Tim Burton that he also wrote, and you can tell.

Vincent Price plays the inventor who created Edward, which would turn out to be his final role.

This movie makes me feel old, it was release for the holiday season in December of 1990.

Oh, let me back that up. This movie makes me feel old.

#4... Gremlins is a 1984 horror comedy at Christmastime that was released in... June?

When I was a little kid I thought this movie was super scary and wanted nothing to do with it. Eventually I watched it and found out that not only is it funny, but an awesome Christmas movie.

Corey Feldman is in this because he is in every 80`s movie. Judge Reinhold makesthis list twice, as he was also in The Santa Clause.

The way it sits, Gremlins would never get made today, because... it is awesome.

Here we go, the top three...

#3... Ok, these technically aren`t movies by themselves, but I can cheat because it`s my list.

It just wouldn`t be Christmas for me without 1964`s Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and 1966`s How the Grinch Stole Christmas!

The former was produced by Arthur Rankin and Jules Bass - who was from Pennsylvania. The latter is of course a Doctor Suess story.

These are such classic shows that if you`ve never seen them I feel bad for you.

You should watch these every year.

#2... Home Alone. I mean, right? Home Alone was released in November of 1990, just before Edward Scissorhands. I was 9 years old at the time and I loved that movie then, and could still sit down and watch it now.

Home Alone is the perfect mix of a family Christmas story and graphic violence against Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern.

This movie was directed by Chris Columbus, who also wrote Gremlins. Yep, he`s from Pennsylvania.

Most people have no problem considering Home Alone a Christmas movie, but will argue with me about the number one spot. If Home Alone counts, this does too...

#1... DIE HARD!

Die Hard somehow manages to be a nearly flawless action movie and a heartwarming Christmas tale. Yes.

Even though this film is super Christmassy and literally ends with the song Let It Snow, the studios made it a summer blockbuster in July of 1988.

Many people have told me that Die Hard is NOT a Christmas movie. Besides the story taking place at a Christmas party, all the Christmas decor, and Christmas plot points...

John McClane travels across the country to see his wife and ends up not only saving her life, but the lives of many. Despite the fact that she left him, took their kids, started using her maiden name, and living like he doesn`t exist - he still loved her and saved her. That is a Christmas miracle. He should have stayed in New York and let her deal with Alan Rickman.

Well, those are my top ten Christmas movies, check out more on kellyplanet.com.