What does your family like to do on Christmas? We always went to the movies. It was such a transformative way to spend time together, to foster community not just among ourselves but among a theater full of folks, and to stir the conversational pot after. This time of year also happens to be a time when the film industry puts both their most prestigious, award-friendly filmsandtheir most crowd-pleasing, often milquetoast films in the cinema, giving folks ample room to decide what to experience on this particular holiday. Many of these films are released days or even months before the actual date of December 25th… but what of the ones that drop on Christmas Day proper?
In the year of our Lord 2020, my Christmas ain’t gonna look like these Christmases of Multiplexes Past. If it’s similar circumstances for you, and you’re feeling bummed about it too, then I’m hoping this list of the 25 best Christmas-released movies of the 21st century will help put the spark back in your heart of what it means to go see a movie, a movie thatjustcame out to make this holiday more special, on Christmas Day. All of these films featured are different from one another, representing a wide swath of genre, tone, and directorial vision; but all manage to, because of their association with this holiday, elevate beyond their status as just “a movie.” Like everything else on Christmas Day, they begin to mean something a little more…
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27. Into the Woods (2014)
On paper, and largely in practice,Into the Woodsis one of the most “down the middle, crowd-pleasing, fun for the whole family” flicks you’ll see on this list. But like its source material’s devastating “everything changes in Act II” twist, this big-screen Disney musical has more than a few tricks up its sleeve.Rob Marshall, who previously gave a welcome sense of kineticism to the movie musical form inChicago, works with DPDion Beebeto give this film a frighteningly dark, saturated, evenTim Burton-esque color palette, with a startlingly tactile production design to boot. AndMeryl Streepis more than willing to commit to being The Witch in her moments both terrifying and pathos-inducing. It might not be as brutal asStephen Sondheim’s original stage musical, but the film version ofInto the Woodsworks very well as a best-of-both-worlds approach.
26. The Hateful Eight (2015)
Take the “hateful” part of the title seriously.The Hateful Eightis a polarizing, perilous, and punishing film, playing something likeKnives OutmeetsOldboymeetsSalò.Quentin Tarantinolenses an appropriately wintry landscape with beyond-gorgeous 70mm photography (kudos toRobert Richardson) that is until you realize the film locks itself indoors for the majority of its 3-hour running time. Then, the photography turns the various phenomenal performers into landscapes of their own, withSamuel L. Jacksonin particular becoming the mythical arbiter of a kind of justice Jules waffled in and out of inPulp Fiction. If you need a giant kick of blood-vomit-inducing poison in your eggnog, you just might loveThe Hateful Eight.
25. The Illusionist (2010)
Told largely in silence and inspired by an abandoned screenplay from French film maestroJacques Tati,The Illusionist(L’illusionniste) is a charming, heartfelt, melancholy, and absorbing animated feature from French film maestroSylvain Chomet(The Triplets of Belleville). As the title implies, it’s a story of magic, but of realization that “magic” comes from a different source than the performative tricks our lead illusionist, beaten down by a career of uncaring audiences and a waning appetite for his old school schtick, tends to peddle. Instead, Chomet’s work shows us, with brilliantly bittersweet, courageous, and bittersweet élan, that real “magic” comes from leaving the people and places we come in contact with better than before. If you have a child, this film will make youweep.
24. Notes on a Scandal (2006)
This Christmas, how about sometea?Notes on a Scandalis a professionally but deliriously arted-up psychosexual suspense thriller, with acting luminariesCate BlanchettandJudi Denchenjoying the hell out of tormenting each other. The pair begin the film striking up an unlikely friendship, with the lonely Dench especially instigating their camaraderie. But when Blanchett becomes embroiled in an underage sex scandal with a student she teaches, Dench becomes judge, jury, executioner, lawyer, and prodding news reporter all at once. It’s a queasy film made queasier by the sheen, the outright repression of its cinematic form;Philip Glass' outstanding score especially painting the lurid material with a coat of prestige. It’s what you might get if you askedPaul Verhoevento make a 2000s Miramax Best Picture bait, and if you’re onboard for that, you’ll be more than onboard forNotes on a Scandal.
23. The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)
When I left the theater forThe Wolf of Wall Street, I felt sick to my stomach and I’m pretty sure that’s a compliment. A film of excess in length, cinematic technique, and provocative imagery,Martin Scorsese’s lightning bolt (sometimes literally!) against unchecked capitalism plays like the answer to a dare. Yes, it’s going to go there, and yes, it’s going to walk right against the line of “depiction versus endorsement” until they become blurred and intractable within your conscience. It’s also, like,reallyfunny, Scorsese’s closest take on a screwball comedy we’re likely to get, withLeonardo DiCaprioproving that when he works broad and works physical, the results are transformative, wildly watchable, and laugh-out-loud funny. Until he turns the screws and makes us furious again. What a picture!
22. Wonder Woman 1984 (2020)
With clean, crisp action, a giant sense of heart and hope, and some of the best contemporary villain arcs in superhero cinema,Wonder Woman 1984is a crowd-pleaser and then some, a family-friendly piece of popcorn filmmaking that deserves to be seen on a giant screen with a giant group of people.Patty JenkinsandMatthew Jensenhave so muchfunwith their action set pieces; it’s particularly joyful to watchGal Gadotswing that purposefully cartoonish-looking golden lasso around like a beefed-up Indiana Jones, and we see every move with striking clarity. Plus:Kristen Wiigand especiallyPedro Pascalabsolutely shine as the villains of the picture, jumping on their journeys with unexpected sympathy, charisma, and, again, out-and-out fun. There are flaws in this film, some of which are unfortunately centrally located, but for a joyous, instinctive blockbuster this Christmas, time travel yourself back to 1984. Especially forthisHoliday season with the recent sad news thatWonder Woman 3will not be happening.
21. Wolf Creek (2005)
The Texas Chainsaw Massacrelensed with grimy 2000s HD urgency. A surprising first-half emphasis on character development and even romance. A potent allegory on the unyielding strength of nature and the punishment we endure (deserve?) when we try to muck things up with our city-slickin', performative “nature enjoying” that’s really couched in irony and disrespect. A uniquely Australian product that helped bash the door open for future grim pieces of cinema from down under, not to mention an entire sub-genre of extreme horror. Merry Christmas, I got youWolf Creek! Good luck!
20. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)
Holy cannoli, have some tissues handy before you watchThe Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Playing a little like the union ofForrest GumpwithBig Fish, and rendered withDavid Fincher’s typically impeccable sense of craft and precision,Benjamin Buttonis an atypically intimate epic, wide in scope and emotion, but arriving at such conclusions by zeroing in on the moment-by-moment intricacies of the human experience.Brad Pittand some astonishing-to-this-day visual effects inhabit Benjamin Button in all his curious glory, allowing us to feel every moment of his backward-aging life. He’s surrounded by a litany of incredible, life-enriching women, including first loveTilda Swinton, last love Cate Blanchett, and especially his adopted motherTaraji P. Henson, all of whom deliver potent, heart-rattling performances. And its final moments, delivered as bluntly as any of Fincher’s more typically dark films, will linger in your soul for some time to come. Ya gotta love a movie that so explicitly wants you to be a better person, ya know?
19. Django Unchained (2012)
Its third act gets a touch wonky, especially with Quentin Tarantino’s embarrassing, Australian accent-yielding cameo and it gets itself knotted into a conversation about who has the right to yield, weaponize, and depict such horrific Black traumas for the sake of cinema. ButDjango Unchainedstill remains a unique, idiosyncratic, wildly entertaining, and fiercely cathartic piece of agitprop genre cinema. It feels really, really,reallygood to watchJamie Foxx, giving such a heartfelt, badass performance, annihilate the hell out of vile slave-owners. And to his credit, Tarantino complicates this potentially overly simplistic throughline with upsetting, provocative, and nerve-shedding discursions, especially involving the duo of Leonardo DiCaprioandSamuel L. Jackson. Perhaps more than any other Tarantino piece of revisionist history,Django Unchainedmakes you earn your visceral release, and makes you fiercely uncomfortable throughout. A wild, vital watch.
18. Sherlock Holmes (2009)
Sure, sure, we all knowSherlock Holmesis a very smart detective who solves crimes with his brain or whatever. But what if he was also very strong and had the movie star charms of, say, Iron Man, and also he bare-knuckle boxed people in time-ramping slow-mo, and also it all took place in aGuy Ritchiesteampunk action fantasy? Why, then you’d have the 2009 Christmas Day take on the iconic detective. Purists may balk at the action blockbuster take on the world’s greatest detective (sorry, Batman, but to be fair, you are based on him). But for either an atypically cerebral popcorn flick, or an atypically physical detective story,Sherlock Holmesstays wholly entertaining and plays well for every member of the family in different ways.
