Four Holiday Movies for Cynics

Yes, everyone is supposed to love Miracle on 34^th Street and It's a Wonderful Life.I can't stand either movie. There's just only so much sweetness and good cheer I can take the last 2 months of the year.

Bah, humbug!

In Bad Santa, a con man (Billy Bob Thornton) and his partner pose as Santa and his helper as part of a plot to rob department stores on Christmas Eve. For several years, they have been relying on people's trust during Christmas to rob them. Their plan runs into trouble when Billy Bob Thornton's character meets and 8-year-old boy and a suspicious mall security officer.

The plot of Planes, Trains, and Automobilescenters around an uptight marketing executive's efforts to get home for Thanksgiving after his flight is diverted because of a snowstorm. He teams up with a shower-curtain-ring salesman on a multiple-day road trip.

In A Christmas Story, all 9-year-old Ralphie wants from Santa is an air rifle. His parents object on the grounds that he might put an eye out. But against Mom's wishes, Dad buys him the gun as a surprise gift. When Ralphie takes the gun outside to try it, he hurts himself. He then lies to hide the cause of his injury. The neighbors' dogs eat the Christmas dinner, and the family goes out for Chinese food.

Inventor Rand Peltzer tries to find a quick Christmas gift for his son before coming home from a business trip to New York in Gremlins. He finds an unusual pet in a Chinatown shop, a furry creature called a Mogwai. Before he leaves, the store's owner warns him of three rules: keep it away from bright light, don't get it wet, and never, ever feed it after midnight. Rand brings the Mogwai home to his small town, Kingston Falls. The Mogwai is a success: his son loves it, names it Gizmo and takes it everywhere he goes. Unfortunately, he and his friends break the rules of Mogwai care.