Need a new Christmas movie? Try these fun alternatives

CNN
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Most would agree: One of the best things about the holidays is downtime to cozy up on the couch with a cup of hot cocoa and watch a tried-and-true favorite holiday movie.

This year, I offer you a challenge when you’re tempted to watch “Home Alone” for the tenth time since November: Try something new that might still give you the warm and cozy familiar feel of what you’re used to.

Not that “The Holiday” or “Batman Returns” or “Scrooged” aren’t great.

But there is a wealth and breadth of options out there within the category of holiday movie that you may have not discovered yet. So if you’re searching for something to watch when the cousins come over for Christmas dinner, consider these options below.

(Note: I have excluded the obvious – like “A Christmas Story Christmas” or the new series “The Santa Clauses” – because I shouldn’t have to tell you that those are worth a try if you like the originals.)

For those in the mood for a Christmas movie not for the faint of heart, “Violent Night” features an ass-kicking Santa Claus who doesn’t take any crap and fights off the bad guys with aplomb. While David Harbour’s (“Stranger Things”) Santa may not be as “bad” as Billy Bob Thornton’s trash-talking Father Christmas in 2003’s “Bad Santa,” the pair could definitely drink each other under the table, each eschewing the smiley/cheesy vision of the character for something gleefully grittier.

If for no other reason than to witness the union of two Hollywood greats, this year’s “Spirited” is a safe and fun bet since it brings together Will Ferrell and Ryan Reynolds, who were featured in two of the most beloved and hilarious Christmas movies from earlier this century – Ferrell in 2003’s “Elf” and Reynolds in “Just Friends” from 2005. The new film is filled with song and dance built around a(nother) fresh take on the classic “A Christmas Carol” tale, and it still manages to showcase Reynolds’s trademark smart-aleck delivery as well as Ferrell’s zaniness. The only thing that seems to be missing is Anna Faris’s brilliant and sidesplitting pop star Samantha James from “Just Friends.”

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