Perhaps the greatest Christmas-Sports movie of all-time (it is probably the only movie that falls into both categories, even though it barely does). After Ivan Drago kills his friend Apollo Creed in the ring, Rocky challenges the Russian champ to a fight. Drago accepts, but on his terms, which means in Russia . . . on Christmas Day. As we all know, Rocky wins, and in doing so, effectively ends the Cold War (not really, of course, but kind of). The movie ends with Rocky giving a speech about caring, sharing, and loving your neighbors, and finally, with the victor wishing his son Merry Christmas and the Russian-dominated crowd cheers him. Oh yeah, and if I recall correctly, there is also a robot dressed as Santa Claus (in case you forgot it was an 8-0s film)
16. Edward Scissorhands (1990)
Like Shane Black, director Tim Burton also has a sweet spot for Christmastime. Though the story of Edward Scissorhands starts in the hot summer days of green grass lawn sculptures, the last third of the movie culminates in the ice sculptures and tacky decorations of late December. The mainly sun drenched, bright-colored film is bookended by visions of snow, with an aged Winona Ryder explaining to her granddaughter why it always snows at Christmas. And ultimately, we witness a heartbreaking scene in which Edwards creator presents him with regular hands for Christmas, but dies before he can attach them.
Chris lives in New Orleans. He writes for several local publications and national websites - mostly about film, television, books, music, food, special events, and pop culture. Since writing unfortunately never pays much, he pays the bills with his day job in marketing.
