The Best and Worst Christmas Films | The Die Hard Debate

[@josephbrown9685]

It’s rare that I agree 100% with people who dislike the exact same popular Christmas movies as I do, but you guys nailed it. I watched Santa Clause recently for the first time in years and Tim Allen’s charisma is the only thing that makes that movie bearable at all.

[@UpLateWithGrif]

I love how you guys don’t hold back! Great episode!

[@hardcutreviews]

Holding back is no fun.

[@randomrey002]

THEY HAVE RETURNED!!

[@hardcutreviews]

We apologize for the lengthy departure, but we are back in action and have our December / January slate on the move.

[@randomrey002]

@@hardcutreviews No need to apologize; can't wait for the new reviews!

[@MrDman21]

Glad you guys are not watching Red One. I think we're all tired of The Crock and his ego.

[@hardcutreviews]

@@MrDman21 Lol, it just looked like a miserable time.

[@MrDman21]

Hard Cut are like Red Letter Media with balls 😎

[@hardcutreviews]

That’s how we should brand ourselves, lol.

[@rosaliazurita611]

I’m new to your channel, love it, would love a Christmas horror movies ranking.

[@hardcutreviews]

Glad to have you! Not a bad idea…

[@dominichowell6896]

@@rosaliazurita611 oooh. After Terrifier 3 cools off a bit. And Black Christmas '74 can pulverize the two remakes in a pillow fight! We could do a deep dive into the Silent Night Deadly Night movies like 4 and 5 that nobody has seen in forever! I'll start making cookies!

[@BabyArms]

Elf came out when I was in my early teens. I saw it in the theater with my family. Hated it. Never watched it again.

[@BATQUADTRINI]

No Gremlins? Great videos, guys!

[@ThePresidentOFhasbinz]

🎉excellent 😂 best channel on KZbin 😊

[@MrDman21]

Cool avatar 👍🏽

[@cocod7272]

Muppets Christmas Carol is the best Christmas movie!

[@tomasojones1751]

Yes. Definitley top tier.

[@Blue.1889]

older gen z grew up during the in between phase of time (before social media then very early social media) but I understand why someone might not connect with a Christmas story if they’re looking for something with a stronger plot/storyline

[@KyleCorwith]

I’m Gen Y.

[@quantumbl33p]

You’re confusing Millennials for Zoomers. I was born in 86, and using AOL instant messenger in the late 90s, myspace in the early 00’s and then Facebook in the mid 00s. I remember when only college students could have a FB account. The oldest zoomer (born in 1997) would have been 8 years old in 2005, so they wouldn’t have any real perspective on a pre-social media world.

[@byRobertEklund]

Great to see you back! I used to go for longer movies, such as The Godfather trilogy or Lord of the rings during the holidays, but last year I watched Krampus, which might be a bit more suitable for the season. We’ll see what happens this year! If you don’t make another before Christmas, then Merry Christmas to you both and your families! 🎄🎉

[@123Blahblah]

Hey u guys.. this is an interesting video.. love it ❤

[@cftncfjlphgfb]

Nice list, i also thought the santa clause is very disturbing as a concept

[@hardcutreviews]

Could make for a ridiculous body horror Christmas film.

[@RickScott-mh3ki]

The Ref! So underrated

[@hardcutreviews]

It’s a great one.

[@jaycollins2036]

I guess Christmas came early this year.

[@jgirlinluv55]

I'm glad I found you guys.

[@hardcutreviews]

We’re glad too. 😘

[@Humanity404]

Yessssss! 🎄

[@OffTheCover]

By far one of your best videos! Agree on all points (haven't seen Christmas Story or Black Christmas) Two movies you missed that are very good are The Family Man 2000 with Nic Cage and a movie my nephews got me onto that's on its way to being a classic, Rise of the Guardians 2012

[@hardcutreviews]

Damn, forgot about Family Man. That IS a good movie.

[@The_AndroidSentByCyberlife]

Personally i see all three original star wars films as christmas films. Best christmas film is definitely Its A Wonderful Life though. Great video as always!

[@hardcutreviews]

Thanks, dude! There have been lots of films that came out around the holidays so they just feel naturally connected to the holiday.

[@Whyhelloderr]

Glad yall remembered Scrooged when talking about the Christmas carol movies! Was worried for a minute there when the muppets version was claimed as the greatest, but damn look at you guys go! And of course, can’t deny Christmas vacation just being numero uno of all time. Lastly, I fking love the studio/den/living room/movie room/man cave? It’s incredible and exactly what I’d love for mine to end up looking like.

[@hardcutreviews]

Thanks, dude. Scrooged is a true classic. The man cave was a collection of our memorabilia combined with our lighting know-how to make something that wasn’t overtly dorky but still looked like a few nerds hang out there, lol. We’re very proud of it.

[@isuruchamara6699]

Thanks for reading my comment! I recently found your channel and ended up watching all your videos, they’re some of the best content I’ve come across. What I enjoy the most is how you talk about bad movies and absolutely tear into them. It’s both hilarious and refreshing to see someone who shares the same opinions. I totally agree that Red One is trash, and hearing you guys rip it apart was way more fun than the movie itself. 😅 I’d love to see more single movie reviews in the future. Keep up the great work. I really appreciate and enjoy your content! ❤

[@hardcutreviews]

Anytime, dude. Appreciate the comment! We’ll be back in action with more new reviews in the next few days.

[@s3.14dervision]

My mother (RIP) was an authoritarian and if she didn't like it, we weren't allowed to watch it. Laurel and Hardy were at the top of the shit list. I was the only kid who had to sneak and watch Monty Python. Home Alone has a special place in my heart, not just for being good, but because my mom hated it. Same thing with Christmas Story.

[@hardcutreviews]

Jesus man, what DID your mom like? Sorry for your loss though.

[@s3.14dervision]

@hardcutreviews Thank you, but don't be sorry, I'm free from her and I'm sure she's somewhere more to her liking. About the only movie she did like was this one, I can't remember the name of it, but it was kind of Santa Claus origin story with Dudley Moore and John Lithgow and a few others whose names I don't recall...I would love if you could find it and review it. I haven't seen it since I was a kid, but I believe it may qualify as "so bad it's good"?...

[@quantumbl33p]

@@s3.14dervisionSanta Claus: The Movie from 1985

[@LogicDerp]

Great job! You guys forgot Gremlins?

[@dominichowell6896]

I am a fan of a lot of the beloved classics such as Christmas Story, The Grinch (animated), Frosty, Rudolph, and all, but staples for me are; Gremlins Black Christmas Die Hard Scrooged Eyes Wide Shut The HeMan SheRa Christmas Special Silent Night, Deadly Night 2 And New Additions; Krampus Terrifier 3 Honorable Mentions: Tales From the Crypt : All Through the House It's Me Billy Chapters 1 and 2 Merry Christmas, yall

[@ThePresidentOFhasbinz]

Bad Santa is hilarious 🎊

[@slimjimpui]

Yes I have

[@mjohns908]

I'm surprised you guys didn't talk about Jingle All the Way. I figured it would have made the least favorite list. It's ironically one of my favorites. Sinbad is like a slapstick legend in that movie. 😂

[@hardcutreviews]

Haha, it just felt like punching down with Jingle All The Way. We tried to stick with films that people consider classics but you’re right, it’s a clown show. Lol.

[@sunshinestate28]

what about rudolph the red nose reindeer and those other stop-motion films? are they good or bad? (the 60s stop motion christmas collection)

[@hardcutreviews]

Those are all classics. Rudolph is definitely the best of them. We don’t go out of way to watch them that much but they are solid Christmas options.

[@Steven-A-Ze]

What no mention of Jingle All the Way? Expected that to be in your favorites. Also what about Leathal Weapon for Christmas movies? I think its like Die Hard and it is a Christmas Movie

[@josephbrown9685]

They don’t have to be among your favorites, but if you don’t like Christmas Vacation or Christmas Story, then I must question your sanity.

[@Technicaldiffikulties]

How could you forget about Jingle all the way!? Classic.

[@hardcutreviews]

Haha, we actively chose to ignore it. The ‘Not Classics’ films we chose to include are all well regarded films and we wanted to stick with what people generally like. Jingle All The Way is low hanging fruit, lol.

[@KyleCorwith]

Now, I’m not sure how old I seem but I’m an older/mid-millennial and I remember my entire childhood without cellphones or internet-I also used pay-phones to get rides back from movie theaters, got muddied up playing out at the creek, set fire to a toy car set with gasoline trying to videotape my own action sequence. So you see, A Christmas Story being a forgettable/overrated movie has little to do with my childhood experience. But we can discuss more during a future livestream perhaps. 😁 Appreciate the shout out.

[@hardcutreviews]

Was waiting for this response, haha. We will admit that the film is definitely overplayed during Christmas, but not that it is overrated. It features a plethora of memorable scenes and dialogue that is universal to kids and parents who have gone though these very same experiences. I think we both assumed you were way younger than 40, lol. You'd have to be at least that old to be considered an elder millennial. We prefer to identify with Gen X but, sadly, we are as elder millennial as it gets. Let us table this for a proper livestream debate. We would like a proper in-depth breakdown as to why you hold such hate in your heart for a beloved classic.

[@KyleCorwith]

@@hardcutreviews 🤝

[@hardcutreviews]

@@KyleCorwith Love ya, buddy.

[@TheLegendofMetroid94]

27:28 Thanks for ready my comment y’all. I do agree that Batman Returns isn’t in the best film category or best Batman film category, but I do still think that it’s a fun film regardless of its less than stellar production quality.

[@hardcutreviews]

There is no shortage of fun in that film.

[@jimd385]

Absolutely great Christmas reviews guys, nice to see you chatting about some classic films. If I may suggest a couple of honourable mentions: Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and The Long Kiss Goodnight are both Christmas movies I watch every year and on New Years I like to watch ‘Strange Days’ ….its grim and underrated but a brilliant movie. Keep up the good work, I enjoy all your content.

[@hardcutreviews]

Appreciate it! You are correct. Those are solid films that deserve a mention. We were rattling off quite a bit but had to cap the video at some point, lol.

[@sakunaruful]

The polar express is okay. I appreciate A Christmas Story but don’t get the hype. While I don’t consider Die Hard to be a Christmas movie, I respect those that do.

[@hardcutreviews]

Fair. Christmas Story definitely gets overplayed. Polar Express is a tough one. The movie added so much nonsense on top of the lifeless CGI that it’s difficult to watch. They should have just animated the book and made it 20 mins long like A Mickey Christmas Carol.

[@ivansherbinin]

happy feken Christmas!

[@realjimmyd]

Money Train is perfect too covers Christmas and new year 😎👌

[@hardcutreviews]

Snipes and Harrelson? Sign us up.

[@korykeller4611]

Four Christmases and Meet Me in St Louis are my tops

[@hardcutreviews]

Haven’t seen them. Will have to check them out.

[@kaykutcher2103]

​@@hardcutreviewsWould highly recommend The Three Godfathers, not John Ford's 3 Godfathers but a prior adaptation of the story from 1936. There are so many adaptations of It out there including believe It or not, Ice Age. It truly captures the spirit of Christmas and only that which is more than enough. It's a shockingly dark western about ruthless bank robbers lost in the desert who stumble upon a baby. Nodge nodge wink wink. I'm not even religious and it left a huge impression on me.

[@Whyhelloderr]

Ohhh guys i don’t even know if you brought this one up because im only 10 minutes in, but I grew up watching the movie “Dutch” with Ed O’Neill & Ethan Embry, and I shit you not it still holds up today as being hilarious and a great movie around, especially around Christmas time.

[@hardcutreviews]

Dutch is SOLID. I used to watch that all the time as a kid. Definitely should have made our list. John Hughes, man... He just had that touch.

[@Xeon0309]

"The Grinch" was an abomination and impossible to sit through. "8 femmes" and "Nightmare before Christmas" are my all-time christmas classics.

[@hardcutreviews]

We’re definitely in the minority on Nightmare. Wouldn’t feel right though if we kept it bottled up, lol.

[@Xeon0309]

@ Feel free. I am just wondering, why you feel that there' s a lack of story. The Kidnapping and Usurpation of Santa Clause and Christmas seemed rather eventful to me. The Kitsch- Factor of course, is undeniable. BtW: American Psycho is missing on your list. "Merry X-Mas, Patrick."

[@hardcutreviews]

@@Xeon0309 I don’t think I ever said there was a lack of story. Maybe Matt did. I just think it’s a boring film.

[@Xeon0309]

@@hardcutreviews Let's just say: Compared to other 80's or 90's Kid-Movies (Mrs. Brisby etc.) it is rather ... harmless. What about American Psychos- Christmas Theme?

[@Cmentshoes87]

Jingle all the way. Not a fan of Elf either. Favorite is Home Alone and A Christmas Story. We always try and visit the house in Cleveland, OH when we are up that way for the holidays.

[@Geronimo_Jehoshaphat]

The only movie to watch on New Year's Eve is Frank Capra's "Meet John Doe".

[@hardcutreviews]

Fair. But Hackman…

[@Geronimo_Jehoshaphat]

@hardcutreviews Speaking of Hackman, I consider The French Connection to be a Christmas movie. The other great Thanksgiving movie is "Dutch".

[@matthewsierakowski5546]

No mention of Lethal Weapon?

[@hardcutreviews]

Yeah we didn’t mention Gremlins either but you’re right. Anything Shane Black touches is Christmas themed.

[@Jay828__]

Appreciate the Nightmare Before Christmas and Batman Returns hate. Gremlins is a fun non traditional Christmas movie. Solid lists

[@hardcutreviews]

Yeah Gremlins is a great one. There was plenty we didn’t mention but there is only so much time.

[@oniiz8685]

29th Street is a wonderful film, great performances from Anthony LaPaglia & the underrated late great Danny Aiello, this was George Gallo's Directorial Debut & sadly his only good film where he had his heart in it unlike his subsequent films have been total misfires & in his latter part of his career, absolutely painful DTV dreck where he's simply in "Paycheck Autopilot" mode ;) Although I appreciated his Brian De Palma collaboration with 1986's Wise Guys, a very funny film with Danny DeVito & Joe Piscopo.

[@hardcutreviews]

Wise Guys is also solid. That’s a shame Gallo didn’t go on to do anything better as a director. 29th Street never gets old for me. Fantastic all around.

[@DrakonR]

Completely agree about Elf and The Grinch. Unfortunately both are enjoyed by my wife... So I must endure a yearly holiday torture.

[@hardcutreviews]

For every viewing of Elf, have her watch Scrooged. For every viewing of The Grinch, make her watch Die Hard twice.

[@jameswallace756]

Best analysis on why Die Hard is a Christmas film!

[@hardcutreviews]

Quick and dirty but I think we made our case, lol. Thanks for the comment.

[@StevenJShow]

I have my own reservations with "A Christmas Story." For me it's just a film i've seen too much. Way too overplayed. I think people do it a disservice by overselling it. I've seen it more times than I wanted to see it, which right away is too much. It's a great film, well written, but it's not on my go-to list for Christmas time. My list would be: 1. Merry Christmas Charlie Brown. 2. The Grinch (The animated one, not the obnoxious Jim Carrey vehicle.) 3. Die Hard. I don't think the story or the plot work if you take Christmas out of it. The movie is positively laced with Christmas references, motives, themes. The party itself doesn't occur unless it's Christmas. Many of the jokes and incidental events of the movie don't make sense outside of the Christmas context. "Now I have a machine gun - ho ho ho" complete with Santa Hat. The fact McClane uses tape from Christmas decorations to hid ehis pistol... The core emotional reason McClane there is to spend time with his family on Christmas. One of the reasons the power guys don't want to "lose the grid" is because "Jesus, it's Christmas Eve!" I actually went through the whole movie and laid out every reference or inference to Christmas, and it was a hundred points long. 4. Home Alone. 5. Lethal Weapon. 6. Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer (1964 stop motion.) 7. The Santa Claus. 8. White Christmas.

[@hardcutreviews]

You definitely did more homework than us on Die Hard. We could do a 2 hour video breaking down just how much of a Christmas movie it really is. A Christmas Story is definitely overplayed so I get the burn out. Playing it back to back for 24 hours is overkill. If you can avoid that and watch it on your own terms, it’s great to see.

[@HagFish138]

Four Rooms is THE New Year’s movie.

[@hardcutreviews]

Almost mentioned that one. Hadn’t seen it in a long time. Great flick.

[@ThePresidentOFhasbinz]

Christmas 🎄 story is a classic and I watch it every year on my dvd 📀 😂😊 And black Christmas 🎄 is one of the greatest movies ever and the ref is fuckin hilarious 🤣 🎉

[@Sketch_XR]

Hell yeah, Klaus is awesome! My Christmas list always consists of the animated TV specials: Rudolf, Frosty, Santa Claus is Comin' to Town, The Little Drummer Boy, etc. My family had a collection of all those on VHS when we were kids. Also, Harry Potter. Look, some of them have got Christmas scenes in them, and they were always playing on ABC.....

[@hardcutreviews]

The Rudolf one was always on when I was young. Great one.

[@MrDman21]

My newer Christmas faves would be Santa's Slay with Goldberg, Fatman with Mel Gibson, Violent Night, and Rise of the Guardians

[@hardcutreviews]

Really need to check out Fat Man. Been on the list for a while.

[@frostfang7670]

Im a big fan of your content but I did love Elf & Santa Clause 1 & 2 (all other sequels did suck anus). You ever mentioned the Santa Chronicles which was a charming movie in the last few years. But i get some of your points but I think it was part of his character development.

[@hardcutreviews]

Don’t take us too seriously. We know we’re in the minority on Elf. Lots of great stuff in that film. Just preference. Santa Clause… we will agree to disagree, lol. Thanks for the comment.

[@frostfang7670]

@ I appreciate your comment but I respectfully disagree but appreciate your opinion. I’m a big fan of your content regardless 👍

[@frostfang7670]

@@hardcutreviews no problem, btw i know this is a very recent film but have you guys considered Spirited on Apple Plus. Its more a movie where ferell plays the straight man though some aspects of agenda crap muddy the waters but i found it pretty good for a rake on the scrooge tale

[@hardcutreviews]

@@frostfang7670 Haven’t seen it. Will have to check it out. Thanks for the reco.

[@JarrettOBrian-x2t]

Thank you!!!!!!!!! Fuck Elf, Die Hard is a Christmas Movie and I’d like to see a Terrifier 3 review not made by fairies 🧚 , ❄️s or soon 2 B serial killers.

[@hardcutreviews]

Lol, we’ll have to review it at some point. Would definitely be a fun review.

[@4h0w1e6]

Couple more... A Christmas Story sequel is actually very good. Honors original. The Family Man thinks it is heart warming Christmas movie when it is really a psychological horror movie. Awful.

[@hardcutreviews]

A Christmas Story 2 had no business being as good as it was. Who knew?

[@4h0w1e6]

@hardcutreviews Thought the same, glad I'm not off my rocker.

[@Whyhelloderr]

Oh man I do love The family man with Nic Cage. Such a great movie, but especially around Christmas time. Couldn’t agree more, it’s very heart warming.

[@4h0w1e6]

@Whyhelloderr No, I think it is horrible. The whole movie he comes around to loving this family and then it all gets rug pulled, they never existed.

[@JoJoJoker]

Family Man is a good one.

[@dominichowell6896]

!!!!!!!!!!!!GREMLINS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@MultiJpad]

Hey almost forgot: the star wars holiday special.

[@hardcutreviews]

I shudder at the thought.

[@kaykutcher2103]

With all do respect to Black Christmas Giallos were aplenty by 1974.

[@hardcutreviews]

That’s fair to mention. I don’t know how popular they were in North America but we were relating it to American classics such as Halloween and When a Stranger Calls. Those films get a lot of credit for things they did not do first. Black Christmas is just one example of an English speaking film that predates both of them. Definitely others from around the world.

[@mishner6029]

No Trading Places? Come on

[@hardcutreviews]

I know, we definitely left some out. But not because we dislike them. They just aren’t Christmas classics for us. Still a great movie though.

[@rosaliazurita611]

Louis Santa eating that salmon out of his beard 🤣 classic

[@littlewhiterabbit202]

OK not a Christmas movie but I gotta know. Since you don't like musicals, Does that mean you also don't like Sweeney Todd??

[@hardcutreviews]

If I HAD to suffer through a musical, that would probably be the only one I'd watch. The stage show only, the Burton/Depp movie looks ghey.

[@littlewhiterabbit202]

@@hardcutreviews I like both, oddly cuz I don’t like musical ether. but thanks for answering

[@indydriver80]

You can like "bad" movies. Guilty pleasures list?

[@hardcutreviews]

100% We’ll have to put something together…

[@gft3159]

Elf is horrible

[@ThePresidentOFhasbinz]

Fax 🎉

[@StayFractalesque]

Terrifi3r, on the other hand..

[@CollaredConsulting]

I like it, but have only watched it with kids

[@MrDman21]

And extremely overrated

[@s3.14dervision]

I thought I was the only one who hated it!

[@jayb5116]

Terrifier 3 is nowhere near as good as Terrifier 2!

[@hardcutreviews]

Agree. Still liked it though.

[@katelynevans8100]

Elf is the only good Will Ferrell movie.

[@hardcutreviews]

The hottest take of them all has entered the chat.

[@katelynevans8100]

@@hardcutreviews lol 😂

[@hardcutreviews]

We know we’re in the minority on this one.

[@CollaredConsulting]

Stranger Than Fiction is good

[@rosaliazurita611]

Elf is going in Gaarbage day 🗑

[@donaldzehms1821]

Bobbie, why is jingle all the way not in this? That is the greatest Christmas movie ever made. It meets all of the AI standards. So disappointed. Get a life.

[@hardcutreviews]

Jingle All The Way is ghey.

[@gocsa]

Wtf mentioning The Ref in the classics category? Disappointed.

[@hardcutreviews]

Yes. These are our classics, not yours.

[@gocsa]

@@hardcutreviews What's next, Trapped in Paradise?? Haha.

[@hardcutreviews]

@ Careful what you wish for or you’ll get a breakdown video on why Christmas with the Kranks is the greatest holiday film of all time.

[@StayFractalesque]

Eff Miracles Bruh, on the 17th, 13th, or any other pre-teen coded street, here-to-fore-art-thou-hither-rainbow-ranked-blah-blah-home-alone-blah-blah