Christmas Movies Actually

Kerry and Collin are joined by their good friend Jim Peebles, who also guested on the "A Very Brady Christmas" episode. "The Love Boat" is certainly cut from the same cloth, but this "Christmas Cruise" remains a mystery. Is it a movie? Is it two episodes seamlessly jammed together? Why no separate listing for it on Letterbox'd or IMDb? Currently availabel on Paramount+, this movie-sode is chock fu...

We're releasing this a day early, the 4th of July, because why not? After all, the film has "U.S.A." in the title. Kerry and Collin are joined by frequent guest, Erik Childress (host of Movie Madness) to talk about one of the dumbest films to come out of 1985, from Cannon Studios, one of the most notorious movie studios of its era. Who did Chuck Norris originally want to be his co-star and how wou...

Kerry and Collin are joined by Jeff Broitman (formerly of the podcast Fresh Perspective) to talk about one of Collin's all-time favorite films, Terry Gilliam's 1985 masterpiece "Brazil." It also happens to be one of Jeff's favorite movies as well. While the film certainly belongs in the "Christmas adjacent" category of Christmas movies, there is nevertheless a richness to it that warrants a long d...

Based on the encouragement of a GQ article from 2016, Kerry and Collin took a look back at "Bridget Jones's Diary" to see if the writer of said article had been onto something. That led them to go back and rewatch all of the "Bridget Jones" movies including the latest, which just came out on blu-ray. What/who is the Bridget Jones of today? How would we rank the boyfriends/fiancees in the entire se...

Kerry and Collin plowed through this comedy starring Matthew Broderick and Danny DeVito as two feuding neighbors at Christmastime. The experience of watching the film caused one of them to ponder, "why are we doing this podcast?" There are so many other questions, though. What makes the old, white iMacs so special? How long would it actually take to make an elaborate Christmas light trail, cook an...

Kerry and Collin, while trying desperately to recall facts about part 2, finally round out the Tim Allen "Santa Clause" trilogy with should be the best of the bunch, considering the casting of Martin Short. Did it meet the expectation? Maybe. If nothing else, he gives the viewer someone to root for. Is this really "the greatest Santa Claus story ever"? Why couldn't the elves put together a suitabl...

A listener requested this title quite some time ago and it finally happened! Film critic Nell Minow joins Kerry and Collin to talk about this relatively obscure, but wonderful movie that might just be the first ever in the sub-genre of holiday films where the family returns home for the holiday festivities and slowly start airing their grievances and secrets. Do clergymen really enjoy doing the Ch...

Kerry and Collin are joined by Catherine Mary Stewart, star of the 1984 cult classic "Night of the Comet," an apocalyptic sci-fi film where the world ends at Christmastime, which is the best time to go shopping. They are also joined by returning guest Marya E. Gates, author of the new book "Cinema Her Way: Visionary Female Directors in Their Own Words." The four of them talk in-depth about "Night...

Wayne Wang's "Smoke" doesn't look like a Christmas movie, sound like a Christmas movie or ever feel like a Christmas movie. It really isn't, but the final fifteen minutes of this terrific ensemble film features a moving and poetic Christmas story that makes it worthy of inclusion on this show (hey, it has more Chrsitmas in it than Disney's "Babes In Toyland"). The film stars Harvey Keitel, William...

Kerry and Collin look at the often maligned 2004 comedy "Surviving Christmas," starring Ben Affleck, James Gandolfini, Christina Applegate and Catherine O'Hara and find it's not quite as terrible as critics (Collin included) made it out to be twenty years ago. Is it the two decades of distance from the Bennifer annoyance of that time period? How much money would it take for you to bring in a chara...

Kerry and Collin showed up late for their discussion of the 2001 rom-com starring John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale, "Serendipity." Does the movie take its concepts about fate and destiny to absurd heights? How many movies accurately depict the lives of obituary writers? Should the filmmakers have left in the twin towers when the film came out in the fall of 2001? Also, Kerry and Collin reveal their...

The co-host of Friendship Dilemma, Morgan Gire, returns to the show to talk about Martin McDonagh's great, Oscar-nominated black comedy, "In Bruges," starring Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson and Ralph Fiennes. While the film does take place during the holiday season, it's the bleak morality play and violence that take center stage. What actually happens to Farrell's character at the very end of the...

Kerry and Collin continue the tradition of starting the new year off with a look at a Nutcracker movie. Although, this Hulu offering is not a Nutcracker-based movie, the ballet does figure into the plot eventually, as Ben Stiller has to housesit his four recently orphaned nephews, who happen to have some talent in that artform. Can he really put on a production in a matter of weeks? Do people real...

The perennial classic starring Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney and Vera-Ellen turns 70 years-old this year. Kerry and Collin are celebrating the occasion by having on one of the film's biggest fans, film critic Pat McDonald. Is Michael Curtiz's much-celebrated film more of a post-WWII nostalgia piece than it is a Christmas movie? What other Danny Kaye movies should people check out? Was...

Kerry and Collin are joined by first-time guest, longtime friend, film critic Nick Digilio, who claims "The Ref"--starring Dennis Leary, Kevin Spacey and Judy Davis--is his favorite Christmas film of all time. Collin has similar feelings and wanted to wait until the movie had an anniversary, so it could be featured prominently in the December line-up, when the movie would hopefully get more attent...

Kerry and Collin are joined by Erik Childress to talk about the enduring--and maybe not so enduring--legacy of Robert Zemeckis' "The Polar Express." Based on the beloved picture book by Chris Van Allsburg, this film pushed the boundaries of motion-capture animation at the time. How does that technology hold up today? What does the bell symbolize? Which character should've gotten the bell at the en...

Kerry and Collin take a quick dive into six newly released Christmas movies, including The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, Christmas Eve In Miller's Point, Dear Santa, Hot Frosty, Meet Me Next Christmas and Nutcrackers . They also take a look at some newly release Christmas movies on blu-ray/4K, as well as a non-Christmas Blu-ray Gift Exchange. Finally, Kerry and Collin share their recent appearance...

Aside from "Wicked," Red One" is probably the most advertised film of this season, but does it deserve to be? Film critic Leo Brady joins Kerry and Collin to talk about this much-hyped action fantasy film and why its star, Dwayne Johnson, needs to commit to different types of projects. They also talk about seeing the film in 4DX and why that format might not be suitable for all films. Why does the...

Kerry and Collin are joined by Cinema Femme's founder Rebecca Martin Fagerholm to talk about Jodie Foster's ensemble comedy "Home For The Holidays," starring Holly Hunter, Robert Downey, Jr., Anne Bancroft, Charles Durning, Cynthia Stevenson, Dylan McDermott, Geraldine Chaplin and Steve Guttenberg (wow!). Of all the holiday movies in the Family-Gathers-Together-For-The-Holidays sub-genre, this one...

Starring Mickey Rooney. Yes, that Mickey Rooney. Five years ago, Kerry, Collin and guest Patrick Ripoll made a pact to talk about the "Silent Night, Deadly Night" films every year in October. The pact has been fulfilled with "Silent Night, Deadly Night 5: The Toy Maker," as of now, the final film in the series. It did not disappoint. Rooney stars as the titular Toy Maker named Joe Petto. He has a...

First, a quick explanation over what went wrong with the "Go" episode. Then, Kerry and Collin are joined by returning guest, Christine Sellin, to talk about Laika Animation Studios' amazing 2012 movie, "ParaNorman," a movie that accomplishes so much in just under 90 minutes and does so with style, wit, astonishment and braaaiiiinnnnssss!! What is tourism like in Salem, Massachusetts? Can a rioter...

Kerry and Collin celebrate the 25th anniversary of "Go" by talking to one of its biggest fans, film programmer Mike Schindler. The film has the late-'90s influences all over it: the "Pulp Fiction"-like structure, a hyper-active techno soundtrack and a cast of young actors who made their marks in TV shows like "Party Of Five" and "Dawson's Creek." Which of the film's three main stories is the best...

Kerry and Collin are joined be frequest guest Patrick Ripoll (co-host of 96 Greers ) to talk about one of the essential Judy Garland movies, the technicolor marvel "Meet Me In St. Louis," in which the song "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" made its debut and would eventually become a standard. Vincente Minnelli's timeless classic would also make for a great Halloween movie. What were the or...

First-time guest Alejandro Riera joins Kerry and Collin to talk about the Chicago-based family comedy "Nothing Like The Holidays," which came out in 2008 and features a predominantly Puerto Rican cast. This follows the "Family Stone" and "This Christmas" formula of having all the grown-up kids coming home for the Christmas season, all of whom are facing major crossroads in heir lives. Most of it w...

The tearjerker "Six Weeks" starred Mary Tyler Moore, Dudley Moore and a talented ballerina named Katherine Healy. It came out in 1982 during awards season and managed to score two Golden Globe noms and a Razzie nomination. Frequent guest Peter Sobczynski has been waiting for over a year to talk about it with Kerry and Collin and even went so far as to buy them a copy of the book upon which the fil...