What's your favorite Christmas song?

by Cláudio Alves

The first time I remember hearing "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" was in The Holiday. That 2006 picture has become something of a Christmas mainstay over the years and, while I'm not its biggest fan, I can't help but feel grateful for it. After all, it introduced me to my favorite Christmas song. Written by Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane in 1943, "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" has cinematic origins despite some of its best-known version having little to do with cinema. Long before Sam Smith, Florence Welch, Frank Sinatra, or Ella Fitzgerald sang the holiday classic, this was Judy Garland's song…

Just as the tune is my favorite Christmas song, the film for which it was made, Meet Me in St. Louis, is probably my favorite holiday movie too...

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Almost There: Emma Thompson in "Love Actually"

by Cláudio Alves

With the holiday season upon us, a festive Almost There entry feels appropriate. Love Actually, Richard Curtis' 2003 mosaic narrative full of Christmastime romance, is one of the few notable examples of holiday movies that vied for Oscar gold. With a cast like that, it's easy to see why. There's also the movie's commercial success and lasting popularity to consider. All that being said, it's with great sorrow that I confess myself a Grinch when it comes to this particular brand of Yuletide cheer. Between sexist tropes and tired romcom mechanisms, the movie comes off more like a lump of coal than a present.

Still, every cloud has a silver lining, and plenty of the movie's actors are up to some excellent work.  Emma Thompson, in particular, delivers one of the best performances of her career. As if acting a Bergman-esque marital drama against a backdrop of Christmas schmaltz, her supporting turn is as disarmingly funny as it is devastating…

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Link Bonanza

• The Guardian interviews Anya Taylor-Joy on her passion for acting, Emma, and The Queens Gambit
• AV Club Oscar Isaac to play Solid Snake in the film adaptation of video game Metal Gear Solid
• Atlantic a wonderful interview with David Fincher about grievances with Hollywood, the death of midbudget movies, and Mank

After the jump our streaming future, Catherine O'Hara, rising Egyptian cinema, MTV Movie Awards, new Christmas albums, and more...

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Seven Stocking Stuffers!

Our year in review continues. A new list daily.

MERRY CHRISTMAS, HAPPY HANUKKAH, HAPPY KWANZAA to our beloved readers! 

For this festive morning of gift-giving, here's a list of some treasures from this year's movies that would make some lucky recipient smile from ear to ear. Which of these 7 would you most want to kiss Santa Claus for stuffing in your stocking this morning? Do tell in the comments.

(We wanted to include JLo's Hustlers fur or Tom Mercier's mustard Synonyms coat but we've never seen a stocking big enough to include either so we decided clothing was not allowed for this particular list) 

• The 'Scholar's Rock' from Parasite. You'd have to be more careful with it than the Kims were but it did bring them sudden success as advertised. 

• A Sith wayfinder from Rise of Skywalker. They are very rare so they're valuable. Though why would you want to go to Exegol? What a (surreal) dump...  

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Christmas Movies of the Moment

by Tony Ruggio

Christmas movies, full of cheer, pretty lights, and sometimes reindeer. I grew up on ‘em, on Home Alone and Christmas Vacation. I continued loving ‘em as a big kid even, with Elf and The Santa Clause holding a special place in my cold heart. They used to be one of those seasonal things Hollywood did best, but as comedy has sunk, so have movies set during the holidays. 

They were on the fast track to extinction, in fact, until streaming came along. Sure, there were Hallmark hate-watches and other network specials gasping for attention. Hallmark still has a certain devoted fan base despite the decline of cable television, but theatrical movie-going has been devoid of the holiday spirit for some time now. Thanks to Netflix, I’ve been able to indulge and Christmas party like it’s 1999, so here are three new Christmas films you may have heard of (there are two more I won’t even mention) that you may or may not want to spend time with this season...

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