5 Christmas movie recommendations to get your bells jingling

Because we don’t have snow here in Malaysia, we’d have to set the Christmas mood with Mariah Carey… and maybe movies! Watching a Christmas movie is a cheap way to enjoy the holidays, so we asked Cilisos staff what movies they’d recommend to set the mood. Here are their picks.

1. It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)

It’s a classic movie that answers the most Gen-Z statement of all time : I wish I didn’t exist. It has great acting. It has Transatlantic accent. It has glamor. It has comedy. It has feels. It has everything except for color because that wasn’t invented till the 50’s.

Most importantly, it will save you money on Christmas gifts because the whole point of the movie is that the greatest gift is yourself.

I watched this years ago on a Metrovision (remember that channel?) Christmas special but it’s available on Netflix. A close second is The Brave Little Toaster, but that’s not technically a Christmas movie. Also, I’d avoid A Charlie Brown Christmas – that one gave me nightmares as a kid.

-UiHua, Merry Christmas to Ui

2. The Parent Trap (1998)

It’s a classic family film, the kind that can either play in the background while people are coming and going and the movie just fills the space with a nice vibe, or when everyone is present and around then it makes for a great sit-down family time kind of experience. The story itself is fun and sweet, the characters are all lovable, the plot simple and easy to follow, the dialogue very entertaining. Like who doesn’t love a good old family reunion filled with shenanigans?

And just when you think that’s all there is to the movie, the whole switcheroo thing happens and we dive into the emotions of a child who’s had to grow up without a parent and that really hit it home for me, that perfect mix of wholesomeness and mischievousness and just family love really. AND THE SONGS!!!!! :’) so nostalgic.

-Elil, our sweet summer intern

3. Die Hard (1988)

It’s literally a Christmas movie. If CNY is known for Kung Fu Hustle, Christmas should be known for Die Hard.

-Kyle, man of few words

4. Cruella (2021)

I don’t normally celebrate Christmas, so this recommendation is based on the vague feeling I get watching the Christmas specials of various shows, like Mr Bean and that Hey Arnold! episode. Dunno why, but Cruella gives me the same vibe.

Maybe because the first key scene of the movie has snow. Maybe it’s the Britishness of it all. Maybe the department store she worked in evoked ideas of shopping malls during the season. Maybe because she started her plot for revenge with a red dress, and later made a green-ish dress as the centerpiece of her vengeance; both the theme colors of Christmas. Speaking of theme colors, there’s that red and green lighting in the key scene above.

But most of all, maybe because beneath all the fashion, glam, and murder, the underlying theme is family. Obviously not your blood family, but who you choose to be with. And that’s pretty darn Christmassy to me.

-Badd, fashun enthusiast

5. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (2001)

“Harry Potter & The Philosopher’s Stone? That’s not even a Christmas film!” If you’re thinking this, please do not talk to me or my son ever again.

Okay, for real tho, I get it. Harry Potter numero uno, at its core, has zilch to do with Christmas – it’s basically about Harry finding out that he’s a wizard and going to Hogwarts for his first year of magical education. It’s the setup for many of the franchise’s core characters, concepts and locations. Nothing to do with Santa Claus, right?

I disagree. First off, there’s a bunch of wintery scenes in the movie. A European castle half-buried in snow with pine trees surrounding it? Christmas caroler ghosts? The Great Hall decked out with baubles and floating candles? Professor Flitwick decorating a Christmas tree with the good ol’ Wingardium Leviosa? What about the film’s music which sounds like it was lifted straight from Home Alone? C’mon now. There’s also the sense of magic and comfort that’s conspicuously missing from later films – none of the sequels made me feel like I’m sitting in a cosy room near a roaring fireplace.

“But Jake, by that logic, any movie that mentions Christmas in passing would be a Christmas movie!” You’d be right, dear reader, but your argument is invalid, so go watch Harry Potter & The Philosopher’s Stone cuz it’s Christmas. Jake out.

-Jake, Gilderoy Lockhart simp