IF you’re in the mood for a Christmas movie but have had enough of those ‘Child’s dad becomes Santa Claus’ narrative, or those twee Hallmark films, then this is the list for you! Get your gingerbread and hot chocolate ready as you dive into the top 10 Christmas movies that aren’t technically Christmas movies this summer.
10. Iron Man 3
First up is the third instalment of Marvel’s captivating Iron Man franchise with the festive mood set when Tony Stark tests out his latest suit against the sounds of Jingle Bells – the Bombay Dub Orchestra remix. But that’s not all the festive feels; halfway through, Iron Man befriends a child who’s a younger version of himself, harkening to the ‘ghosts of Christmas past’. Some might even say Tony Stark is the Ebenezer Scrooge of the modern age – with more money and gadgets.
9. Batman Returns
Put aside Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy for now and turn to Tim Burton’s version, complete with Christopher Walken as Max Schreck AKA Gotham’s Santa Clause. He starts by handing out gifts and wishing for ‘world peace and unconditional love wrapped in a bow’. The movie even includes the notorious Penguin and his gang who jump out of Christmas gifts before destroying the Christmas tree.
8. Die Hard
This is a classic ‘Christmas movie that’s not a Christmas movie’, despite the lead actor, Bruce Willis claiming it’s not in fact a Christmas movie. The soundtrack includes a number of festive tunes, the film is set on Christmas Eve at an office Christmas party, and John McClane even sends Hans Gruber a message on a shirt reading, ‘Now I have a machine gun. Ho ho ho’. What could be more Christmassy than that?! Plus, there’s an explosion of shredded paper as the film closes with ‘Let it snow’.
7. Rocky IV
The Christmas action continues with the fourth instalment of Sylvester Stallone’s most iconic role – Rocky Balboa! In this one, Rocky fights Ivan Drago in the climactic showdown in Moscow on Christmas Day. In fact, Rocky effectively ends the Cold War with this impressive fight – a real Christmas miracle! The film then ends with him wishing his son a merry Christmas.
6. Lethal Weapon
In a similar vein to Die Hard, we have another action-packed Christmas movie, this time with a mullet. Lethal Weapon actually started the Christmas action trend a year before Die Hard was released, and it’s written by Shane Black who’s renowned for his Christmas themes in films. The movie includes a number of fight scenes set against a festive backdrop, including a shootout at a Christmas tree farm and fistfight between Mel Gibson and Gary Busey on the lawn of a holiday-decorated home.
5. You’ve Got Mail
Taking a short break from the action films, we have Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks reuniting for another romcom in You’ve Got Mail. The two characters start out as enemies, with Hanks putting Ryan out of business, but love (and Christmas) prevail! There’s lots of snowfall, Christmas tree decorating and other festive additions to make this a great holiday film.
4. Gremlins
Alright, back into the darker Christmas films with this 1980s classic. The adorable mogwai is a Christmas gift with the fearsome gremlins emerging to really ruin the festive spirit. They do some caroling, there are some stories shared about the worst Christmas of all time… something you might want to watch if you feel like some old-school horror this Christmas.
3. Home Alone
John Williams put together a wonderful score for this classic 1990s film that shot Macauley Culkin to stardom. The story line involves the youngest child being left behind on Christmas as his family heads to Paris. He has to learn how to care for himself and also fight off some bad guys attempting to break in to the family home. Some good slapstick humour and Christmas feels!
2. Edward Scissorhands
Tim Burton features again on this list with his famous movie starring his favourite actor, Johnny Depp as an artificially made human with scissors for hands. He tries to fit into the suburbs, but is chased out of town by angry villagers to the top of a mountain – much like the Grinch in reverse!
1. Grumpy Old Men
A feel-good film tops the list with Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau reuniting for some cinematic hilarity. The two neighbours have been long-time enemies, with the feud heightened when a love interest moves into the neighbourhood. Snow, fighting, love and eventually Christmas camaraderie.
