[ad_1]
Winter came early this year and was worse than Ned Stark imagined. As raging winter storms and blizzards devour the northern United States, Christmas looms right around the corner each passing day. Many people feel isolated, waiting anxiously for help to shovel them out of their homes. Some excellent cinematic escapism should ease those winter woes as Jack Frost buries northern states in snow.
One way to pass the time is to grab some blankets and cozy up to movies echoing winter vibes, from nostalgic snowman crafting to subtle reminders of Christmas. Of course, just because it’s cold outside doesn’t mean it’s all bad.
10/10 The Thing Unleashes Humanity’s Primal Instincts
Based on John Campbell’s “Who Goes There?” novella, John Carpenter’s The Thing (1982) centered on helicopter pilot MacReady and his team excavating a mysterious alien spacecraft in Antarctica. What they find sends them into a flurry of paranoia, distrust, and a desperate struggle to survive. Carpenter excellently painted a gory portrait of how easily humanity can turn on itself like a rabid animal.
The Thing also highlights people’s worst winter fears of isolation from others – like blizzards trapping families in their homes. What seems like a winter wonderland switches to hell on Earth. MacReady’s team has no contact with the outside world or neighbors in desolate Antarctica. Their nightmare feels never-ending as none of them may live to see their homes again.
9/10 Soar Back To Fuzzy Childhood Memories With The Snowman
Based on Raymond Briggs’ picture book, Dianne Jackson’s silent tale The Snowman (1983) explored a nameless boy’s adventure with his snowman to the North Pole. Make this a double feature with its 2012 sequel – The Snowman and the Snowdog. Two openings exist with late superstar David Bowie and Briggs for the United Kingdom.
The Snowman echoed nostalgic memories of building snowmen on the lawn and backyard snowball fights. Childhood memories of snow-blanketed rooftops, snowfall, and warmly-lit homes rush back with a vengeance. The nameless boy’s snowman reflects an imaginary friend most people have as children. He finds comfort, camaraderie, and solace in his imaginary friend, as children always yearn for.
8/10 Misery Twists Colorado’s Beauty Into A Living Nightmare
Rob Reiner’s Misery (1990) adapted Stephen King’s personal story of an author saved – and tortured – by his “number-one fan” after killing off her favorite character. Misery saw the late James Caan in one of his best roles, depicting a helpless victim who must use his captor’s fanaticism against her.
Outdoorsy tourists visit Colorado to bask in Mother Nature’s breathtaking work. Tourists sleigh down snowy hills and watch scenic views from ski lifts. Misery‘s terrifying story used Colorado’s natural winter beauty as a vast barrier between possible safety and certain death. Caan’s character, Paul Sheldon, becomes trapped in an isolated cabin where help is miles away – or dead.
7/10 Celebrate Christmas Tim Burton Style With Batman Returns
Tim Burton’s controversial sequel Batman Returns (1992) continued Batman’s misadventures as The Penguin, and Catwoman plotted to ruin his name, kill a crooked businessman, and infect Gotham City with tyranny. It caught serious heat from angry parents, corporate sponsors, and Warner Bros. for being even less kid-friendly than its predecessor.
Despite its shaky reputation in Batman mythology, Batman Returns captured Burton’s signature twisted, whimsical style blended with a holiday backdrop. It came gift-wrapped in sheets of snow, a Christmas tree lighting scene, and sewer penguins. This sequel beautifully depicted Gotham City as a dangerous but wintry haven. It definitely looks and feels like Burton’s version of Christmas.
6/10 Joyeux Noël Illustrates The Ultimate Power of Christmas
War movie lovers might enjoy Christian Carion’s Joyeux Noël (2005), a fictionalization of the 1914 Christmas truce during World War I. Soldiers of French, Scottish, and German armies spent three days mingling with each other. After the truce, the men were expected to resume battling after becoming friends and exchanging life stories.
Carion’s war drama evokes Christmas during wartime. Onfantasticme scene depicts an opera tenor wielding a small tree while gracing the soldiers with “Silent Night.” Then, all the soldiers slowly sing en masse with bagpipes from Scottish troops. Joyeux Noël illustrates the true power behind Christmas, a time of goodwill and hope for humanity.
5/10 Carol Heats Up Christmas With An Icy Love Story
Sizzle winter up with Todd Haynes’ lesbian love story Carol (2015), based on Patricia Highsmith’s “The Price of Salt.” In 1950s New York, an amateur photographer entangled with an older, upper-class housewife in an affair unorthodox at the time. The story was set during the Christmas season and became a metaphor of sorts for the two women’s hot-and-cold relationship.
Haynes sprinkles a Christmastime background complete with snow, holiday shopping, and a cool color palette. He adds a classy touch with the elegance of 1950s city life. Try Carol‘s sophisticated, bittersweet tale instead of binging Hallmark’s millions of holiday romance fluff.
4/10 Time Is The Real Enemy In 1917
Sam Mendes’ Oscar-winning war epic 1917 (2019) followed two young WWI soldiers’ mission to alert 1,600 peers miles away about a German trap they were walking into. Though 1917 took place in France during April – a little after the winter months – it still painted a pale, decrepit, and near-lifeless picture of the men’s journey.
Mendes expertly created 1917 to resemble an entirely one-shot film. The purposefully slow trek unravels a bleak world desecrated by bombs, bullets, and bodies. Dreadfully cloudy skies loom over France like a blizzard’s billowy white sky. All the characters’ porcelain skin alone illustrates how cold and deathly 1917 feels.
3/10 Isolation Leads To Madness In The Lodge
Severin Fiala and Veronika Franz’s psychological horror The Lodge (2019) explored two tween children’s distaste for their father’s younger fiancée, a reformed cult member. Tensions between the three spiraled downward when they retreated to the family lodge for Christmas – a holiday getaway the children would soon regret.
Nothing about The Lodge says “Christmas” as the remote getaway causes more problems than family bonding. Fiala and Franz drench it in pale blue hues contrasted with the snowy white landscape. This lodge becomes a prison where one’s darkest past and blackest demons run wild. However, viewers be warned as The Lodge prefers a methodical, slow-burn approach against a jumpy haunted house style.
2/10 Klaus Gives New Life To The Santa Claus Mythos
Bring the kids out for Sergio Pablos and Carlos López’s Oscar-nominated Klaus (2019), a fresh spin on the Santa Claus legend. When a cocky postman named Jesper was assigned to Smeerensburg, he formed an unlikely friendship with a bearded toymaker that would help bring a warring town together.
Klaus proudly shows off some of the most imaginative animation, mixing hand-drawn and CGI artistry harmoniously. Smeerensburg screams winter looking like a dying 19th-century village. Its environment is more pleasing with snowy mountains and starry night skies. Klaus progressively looks more Christmas-themed and cozy, from citizens building giant snowmen to adorning homes with warm lanterns.
1/10 The Northman Roars With A Grisly Vengeance
Master of atmosphere Robert Eggers’ Viking epic The Northman (2022) reached Shakespearean proportions. Little Prince Amleth’s world was painted red with rage after his father’s murder by his best friend. Amleth vowed to destroy him and reclaim his kingdom – come Valhalla or high water.
Eggers adorned The Northman in snowfall and an ashen color palette. His style brings back memories from Game of Thrones‘ frigid paradise, Winterfell. Viewers will feel virtual chills down their spines – not just from leading man Alexander Skarsgård’s thrilling performance. The Northman prides itself as a wintry Viking fantasy doused in gore, psychedelic visions, and the fantastical essence of The Elder Scrolls.
[ad_2]
Source link