The National Lampoons Christmas Vacation

Chevy Chase

Directed by Jeremiah S. Chechik

Rating: 5 stars

To poor Clark Griswold, his Christmas vacation doesn't go exactly like he planned. What with in-laws from both sides of the family, plus an unexpected arrival of Clark's brother, Christmas in the Griswold home certainly is entertaining. Christmas is a challenge. After spending hours covering the house in lights, turning the switch to illuminate them doesn't necessarily work- until going into the basement and turning on the wrong switch does light them. Christmas dinner proves to be just as interesting with an inedible turkey and a cat that gets electrocuted by the tree. But what takes the cake in this hilarious movie is when Clark finds out he doesn't get the Christmas bonus he was expecting.

This movie deserves five stars. I've heard of this movie before but wrote it off because it was an old movie (1989) and thought it would be filled with dumb humor that wasn't funny. I couldn't be more wrong. This movie was funny from start to finish. If you're married, you might be able to relate to this movie for when you have the in-laws stay for vacation. You might understand the frustration of putting up lights and then they don't work. Or you might have a boss who is a Scrooge. I would recommend this movie to those who like a good laugh and find like dumb humor. Yes, some of the material that makes you laugh might be seen as dumb humor but who doesn't laugh when you see havoc in a Christmas movie?

Elf

Will Ferrell, James Caan

Directed by Jon Favreau

Rating: 5 stars

A cheery Christmastime movie, this might be one of the favorites people like to watch over the holidays. Buddy (Will Ferrell) is a man who was raised in the North Pole among the elves. Until one December, Buddy had always thought of himself as an elf, despite the obvious. Papa elf (Bob Newhart) decided it was time to tell Buddy where he really came from. So he makes the decision to go find his biological father, Walter (James Caan), in New York City. Walter's wife (Emily) welcomes Buddy into their home. Throughout the movie, Buddy tries to adjust to a different world than he was used to in the North Pole.

This movie deserves five stars. If you've seen it, then you understand why. It's funny and full of remember-able one-liners such as, "Smiling's my favorite!" and "I'm a cotton-headed-ninnymuggins" that make you laugh out loud. Will Ferrell is hilarious and is what makes this movie as great as it is. I think what's great about this is that no matter what your age is, it appeals to almost everyone. Of course, there are probably going to be some people out there who don't like this movie. So I would recommend this movie to those who like comedies, Will Ferrell movies, and go into this without high expectations. Not everyone has the same sense of humor; this isn't for those who like quirky intelligent laughs. It would probably be better if you went in without a high expectation because then when the movie ends, you might like it better instead of wishing it was more humorous.

The Polar Express

Tom Hanks, Nona Gaye, Eddie Deezen

Directed by Robert Zemeckis

Rating: 4 stars

A cute movie for children, this movie revives the belief in you that Santa Claus is real. The story takes place on Christmas Eve. A young boy who is nameless throughout the movie (Tom Hanks), finds out that Santa Claus does not exist. However, he hears a train outside of his house and the conductor (Tom Hanks) tells him the train is headed to the North Pole. At first, the boy does not want to go but as the train starts to leave, he climbs aboard. He meets other kids who believe and are excited to go meet Santa. When they finally reach the North Pole, one event leads to another and the main characters (Hero Boy as the main boy is called, Hero Girl, and Know-It-All) end up away from the main group and have to find their way back to the main plaza where Santa will be. As you might have guessed, the Hero Boy ends up believing in Santa Claus.

This movie was actually pretty good, albeit, a little cheesy at some times. For example, when Hero Boy, Hero Girl, and Lonely Boy start singing on the train. I thought this wasn't necessary. Then again, I personally dislike movies that have that kind of random singing in it. There are some exceptions (this movie wasn't one of them). Aside from the fact that these children don't have real names (i.e. "Hero Boy" "Know-It-All"?) this movie was based on the book. So I guess you couldn't really add a name. Also, I assume Tom Hanks got a pretty good pay check for being the voice for most of the characters. I watched this with friends and this was pretty laughable.

But hey, let's look at the positives as to why this movie deserves four stars. It wasn't that bad. It's not a must-see movie, so I wouldn't go and brag that you HAVE to watch this when you have the chance. However, when Christmastime roles around and there are kids in your household, maybe you should pop this in the DVD player and watch with them. If you don't want your kids suspicious that there is no Santa, then maybe you might not want them to see it since the topic of the movie is the doubt of Santa's existence. This might be more of a movie for twelve-year-olds. I liked it though and would recommend it to those who liked the book, Christmas movies, and want a heart-warming story about a boy who finds his belief in Santa again.