Watch one of these instead of It’s a Wonderful Life for the zillionth time this Christmas.
Die Hard (1988)
How it's Christmas: It's Christmas Eve at Nakatomi Plaza and Bruce Willis' John McClane just wants to spend some time with his wife. But noooooo! Alan "Stop calling me Snape" Rickman has to come and ruin it. He probably hates eggnog, too.
Best Scene: The whole thing is great, but nothing beats when Rickman's Hans Gruber receives the, "Now I have a machine gun. Ho-Ho-Ho," message from McClane. Yippee-ki-yay, Merry Christmas-ers!
20th Century Fox / Via youtube.com
Lethal Weapon (1987)
How it's Christmas: It's Christmas time in Los Angeles and Mel Gibson's Martin Riggs is sad and crazy, and the only cure for him is in the form of fellow officer Roger "Too old for this shit" Murtaugh (Danny Glover). This movie is basically the template for every buddy cop movie thereafter. Plus, it's nice to remember a time before Mel let his anti-semite flag fly.
Best Scene: When batshit Riggs makes a potential jumper actually jump by jumping with him.
Warner Bros. / Via youtube.com
Gremlins (1984)
How it's Christmas: A dad gets his adult-looking son a Mogwai as a Christmas Present, because why not. However, when the adult-looking son doesn't quite follow the rules of proper Mogwai maintenance, gremlins are made.
Best Scene: When Phoebe Cates tells the story of how her dad died. JK! That was super sad and morbid and scarred me as a child. The best scene is when Gizmo the Mogwai sings because it is cute and not scary.
Warner Bros. / Via youtube.com
Trading Places (1983)
How it's Christmas: Nothing says "Christmas" better than a comedy that tackles the financial and racial inequality of early '80s New York City. Trust me, if you haven't seen it do so right now and thank me later.
Best Scene: Where to begin? Really, any time Dan Aykroyd and Eddie Murphy cross paths is fantastic, but Aykroyd drunk in a Santa suit truly takes the cake.
Paramount Pictures / Via therailrat.com
