2. It's A Wonderful Life (1946)
A bonafide Christmas classic and one that I'll be watching when December rolls around (or late November, don't judge me) after years of avoiding it. It's a great film that extols the virtues of selflessness and altruism, as well as the notion that a famous, important life isn't nearly as important as a good one. The film itself is a warm-hearted wonder that should have you with a tear in your eye at the end - but one aspect of the film that goes unresolved is where the villain simply gets away with stealing from James Stewart. There's no redemptive arc where the villain gives it back or a moment of poetic or natural justice and it leaves a slightly bitter taste in the mouth, as it seems to suggest that bad people will get away with it, no matter what. Some might say that it would have been too saccharine, too neatly tied together to have the bad guy thwarted and the money returned, but with a film as miraculous and lovely as this, surely they could have afforded to punish the bad guy? Never mind the arguments for it being in the Christmas spirit - sometimes you need to see good beat evil, not ignore it.