Dave White (left) and Alonso Duralde
This is probably my Los Angelesness kicking in, but I'm dumbfounded that we're about to begin December. I like to prepare in advance for my Christmas preparation, you know? I still feel like we just got done dancing to Kylie Minogue's "Timebomb" on the shores of Laguna. To be fair, maybe I just did.
Luckily, kickass movie critic gays Dave White (of Movies.com) and Alonso Duralde (of The Wrap and, formerly, AfterElton) are here to catapult us into the holiday season with the help of the New York Times' premiere crititrix, Manohla Dargis. Whether you're viciously pro- or anti-Christmas, both sides are adequately represented on the newest episode of White and Duralde's podcast Linoleum Knife, in which the couple and Dargis shout out their favorite holiday films. It's no surprise based on his comprehension of Christmas cinema alone that Duralde wrote the holiday flick guide Have Yourself a Movie Little Christmas.
Download the podcast here.
My favorite argument: that Eyes Wide Shut is a great Christmas film. My favorite quote: Dave White, regarding one of the single worst movies I've ever seen, The Family Stone: "The thing about The Family Stone is it feels about one inch deep. All the characterizations and all the situations the people are in, they don't come from anywhere. The [situations] feel like things that were invented to get a cheap laugh along the way until Diane Keaton collapses."
My personal favorite holiday movies are A Charlie Brown Christmas (so damning of holiday commercialization!), Bad Santa, and A Diva's Christmas Carol, VH1's made-for-TV version of the Dickens tale that is sincerely better than Scrooged. I swear. What are yours?
