By: Melanie Arvanitis
Batman Returns
This is certainly not your typical holiday film, but man is it one of the best! It must’ve been pretty tough following up a movie as good as Batman (1989) with it’s illustriously Prince soundtrack and one of the best Joker’s in DC history played by the one and only Jack Nicholson, but Tim Burton did an amazingly spooky job, as he usually did in the prime of his career! It’s pretty insane how much I love both this and the first film even though they are both completely different – the first one was a lot more colorful and wacky, while this one is very dark, Christmas-y, and has some commentary on how crazy these three bat, cat, and penguin dressed freaks really are. This might not be the best general recommendation I could have given, but if you love the Batman universe, Tim Burton, and Christmas, then I think you’ll like this cult-classic very much!
Runtime: 2 hours, 6 minutes
Where to Stream: HBO Max
Rated: PG-13
Gremlins
Joe Dante’s Gremlins is a wacky, comedic, holiday-horror film! An inventor is looking to buy a Christmas present for his son in Chinatown and buys a mogwai; he is warned to never expose it to bright light, water, and to never feed it after midnight. Obviously, these rules end up broken and insanity ensues! There is also a sequel, which is somehow even more zany, and in my opinion, even better! I recommend Gremlins if you want a fun holiday classic with some slight horror mixed in.
Runtime: 1 hour, 47 minutes
Where to Stream: FuboTV, SlingTV, & Spectrum
Rated: PG
Little Women
Little Women is a classic novel and there are dozens of film adaptations to choose from. The only one I’ve seen is the 1994 version with Winona Ryder and Susan Sarandon, which is a really lovely family movie (might especially be a good gal pal/Mom movie too)! The Greta Gerwig film looks very endearing as well, and if you’d rather see her film, which is the most recent interpretation, you can stream it on Starz. Little Women is a feminist story about the lives of four sisters and their mother as their father is fighting in war; it also showcases the sisters from their childhood to adulthood.
Runtime (1994): 1 hour, 58 minutes
Where to Stream: Roku, IMDBTV, TCM
Rated: PG