Movie Reviews
Film and television reviewed the way I’d want to read them — with a rating that means something, an honest accounting of what works and what doesn’t, and craft notes for writers who want to understand how the machinery operates.
Each review includes a craft notes section for writers — specific observations about structure, character, world-building, and what the film does that you can actually use. Not theory. Technique you can steal.
Christmas (37)
May 19, 2026A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965)
Charlie Brown directs the Peanuts gang in a Nativity pageant after rejecting the commercialism of the season.
May 19, 2026A Christmas Carol (1984)
George C. Scott plays Scrooge in a faithful television adaptation that became a holiday staple after theatrical release.
May 19, 2026A Christmas Story (1983)
Nine-year-old Ralphie dreams of getting a Red Ryder BB gun for Christmas in 1940s Indiana, despite warnings he'll shoot his eye out.
May 19, 2026Arthur Christmas (2011)
Santa's bumbling son Arthur must deliver a forgotten present before sunrise, using an antique sleigh and his grandfather's wisdom.
May 19, 2026Bad Santa (2003)
A drunken con artist working seasonal Santa jobs robs department stores on Christmas Eve and reluctantly bonds with a strange child.
May 19, 2026Black Christmas (1974)
A sorority house is terrorized by an unseen caller during Christmas break, in the proto-slasher that preceded Halloween by four years.
May 19, 2026Christmas in Connecticut (1945)
A magazine columnist who has fabricated her domestic Connecticut life must host a war hero and her publisher for Christmas.
May 19, 2026Elf (2003)
A human raised by Santa's elves travels to New York City to find his biological father, an embittered publishing executive.
May 19, 2026Holiday Inn (1942)
A singer retires to a Connecticut farm and converts it into an inn that only opens on holidays, leading to a rivalry with his former dance partner.
May 19, 2026How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1966)
Chuck Jones directs the animated Dr. Seuss special about a sour creature plotting to steal Christmas from the Whos in Whoville.
May 19, 2026Iron Man 3 (2013)
Tony Stark hunts a terrorist called the Mandarin while battling PTSD from the Avengers, with Christmas as the season-long backdrop.
May 15, 2026It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)
It's a Wonderful Life is the gold standard for American Christmas filmmaking. Seen it twice. The 8 rating is honest evaluation. Frank Capra directing. James Stewart as George Bailey. Donna Reed as Mary. Lionel Barrymore as Mr. Potter. Henry Travers as Clarence Odbody. Thomas Mitchell, Beulah Bondi,...
May 19, 2026Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005)
A small-time thief stumbles into an LA acting career and a noir investigation, with Robert Downey Jr. as narrator across the Christmas season.
May 19, 2026Klaus (2019)
A spoiled postman exiled to a frigid island town befriends a reclusive toymaker, and they invent the Santa tradition together.
May 19, 2026Krampus (2015)
A dysfunctional family's hostile Christmas attracts the attention of the anti-Santa demon Krampus, who arrives with monstrous helpers.
May 19, 2026Lethal Weapon (1987)
A suicidal LAPD detective is partnered with a family-man veteran during a Christmas drug investigation that turns into open warfare.
May 19, 2026Love Actually (2003)
Multiple intertwined London relationships unfold across the five weeks leading up to Christmas, from the Prime Minister to schoolchildren.
May 19, 2026Meet John Doe (1941)
A reporter invents a fictional everyman who threatens to jump off a building on Christmas Eve, then must find someone to play him.
May 19, 2026Meet Me in St. Louis (1944)
An American family in 1903 St. Louis faces upheaval when the father announces a move to New York, with Christmas as the season of crisis.
May 19, 2026Miracle on 34th Street (1947)
A department store Santa claims to be the real Kris Kringle, and a lawyer must defend him in court.
May 19, 2026National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989)
Clark Griswold's plans for a perfect family Christmas at home unravel through extended-family chaos and a frozen pool.
May 19, 2026Remember the Night (1940)
A prosecutor takes a shoplifter home to Indiana for Christmas after her trial is delayed, and they fall in love.
May 19, 2026Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964)
A young reindeer with a glowing red nose runs away with an elf who wants to be a dentist, and they find acceptance through the Island of Misfit Toys.
May 19, 2026Scrooge (1951)
Alastair Sim plays Ebenezer Scrooge in the definitive screen adaptation of Dickens, visited by three spirits on Christmas Eve.
May 19, 2026Scrooged (1988)
A cynical TV executive producing a live Christmas Carol broadcast is visited by three spirits who confront his soul.
May 19, 2026Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984)
A traumatized young man dons a Santa suit and goes on a killing spree, in the controversial slasher that protested over its release.
May 19, 2026The Apartment (1960)
An ambitious insurance clerk lends his apartment to executives for their affairs, until he falls for the boss's mistress at Christmas.
May 19, 2026The Bishop’s Wife (1947)
An Episcopal bishop praying for help with his cathedral project receives an angel who arrives to assist, though not in the way expected.
May 19, 2026The Holiday (2006)
Two women in unhappy relationships swap homes for Christmas across the Atlantic and find new romance during the holiday.
May 19, 2026The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)
Michael Caine plays Scrooge opposite Kermit, Miss Piggy, and the Muppet ensemble in a sincere adaptation of Dickens.
May 19, 2026The Polar Express (2004)
Robert Zemeckis directs the motion-capture adaptation of the picture book about a boy boarding a train to the North Pole on Christmas Eve.
May 19, 2026The Santa Clause (1994)
A divorced father inadvertently kills Santa Claus and discovers a contractual clause requiring him to take over the role permanently.
May 19, 2026The Shop Around the Corner (1940)
Two Budapest shop employees who can't stand each other are unknowingly falling in love through anonymous correspondence.
May 19, 2026Tokyo Godfathers (2003)
Satoshi Kon directs the story of three homeless Tokyo residents who find an abandoned baby on Christmas Eve and search for the parents.
May 19, 2026Trading Places (1983)
Two wealthy commodity brokers bet on whether a homeless con artist and an Ivy League executive can switch places, with the climax at the New Year's Eve trading floor.
May 19, 2026Violent Night (2022)
Santa Claus is trapped inside a wealthy family's compound as mercenaries take them hostage on Christmas Eve, and he fights back.
May 19, 2026White Christmas (1954)
Two singers join a sister act and follow them to a Vermont inn run by their former Army general, where they stage a Christmas show to save it.