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PODCAST

Christmas Movies Actually

You don"t have to love Christmas to love this podcast. Film critic Collin Souter and renowned sheep expert Kerry Finegan delve into every type of Christmas movie they can find. Classics, non-classics, horror, Hallmark, obscurities, foreign, shorts, TV specials, unnecessary sequels and remakes. Even films that you might not think of as traditional Christmas movies. The great, the awful and the unusual, all year round.

tv & film visual arts

All Episodes

01:09:17

Episode 31: Die Hard 2

Christmas Movies Actually ·

2020/08/04

Erik Laws (frequent guest on "Movie Madness") joins Kerry and Collin for a discussion on DIE HARD 2 in honor of its 30th anniversary. How does it compare to the original? What's the best quality kill? Is it a Christmas movie? We also get into some comic book talk and Kerry talks about "The Ascent" (1977), "The Quiet Man" (1952) and "Local Hero" (1983) for the "We Just Say Book" segment.

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01:13:02

Episode 30: Beyond Tomorrow

Christmas Movies Actually ·

2020/07/20

Kerry and Collin unearth a wholesome 1940 chestnut called "Beyond Tomorrow" (a.k.a. "Beyond Christmas") and talk about its music, special effects and vague spiritualism. Other topics include the Brady Bunch Christmas album, the death of John Lewis and seeing "Vertigo" at the Music Box Theater during COVID-19.

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01:32:10

Episode 29: A Very Brady Christmas

Christmas Movies Actually ·

2020/07/01

Kerry and Collin are joined by Jim Peebles, an old friend from Collin's childhood who has a lot to say about the legendary sitcom and the (putting it politely) misguided story elements of its 1988 Christmas movie. Who has the most slappable husband? Who's paying for Bobby's college, which he's not attending? And the next time someone is trapped in a coalmine, should we try singing them out? Tune in and learn some valuable life lessons on family, marriage and architectural disasters.

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01:11:47

Episode 28: This Christmas

Christmas Movies Actually ·

2020/06/18

Delroy Lindo has been getting a lot of attention for his stunning performance in Spike Lee's "Da 5 Bloods," so Kerry and Collin decided to dive into "This Christmas," an ensemble comedy featuring Lindo, Idris Elba, Chris Brown and Loretta Devine. Can anyone out there explain where the name "Sock it to me cake" comes from? They also get into the topic of BLM protests and how to be a white ally in these troubled times.

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01:10:41

Episode 27: I'll Be Home For Christmas

Christmas Movies Actually ·

2020/05/24

Kerry and Collin are guest-less for this episode. Among the topics covered: A truly awful Jonathan Taylor Thomas movie, Shelley Long's unfortunate career path, "Ishtar" and the re-casting of "There Will Be Blood," which is one of the movies covered in the "We Just Say Book" segment ("The Baker's Wife" and "Cinema Paradiso" being the other two).

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01:11:10

Episode 26: The Holiday

Christmas Movies Actually ·

2020/04/30

In this episode, Kerry and Collin are joined by their friend Kelly Koch to talk about Nancy Myers' 2006 rom-com, "The Holiday." Without googling, can you guess the net worth of every actor in this film? Also, Kerry talks about "Chariots OF Fire" (1981), "The Graduate" (1967) and "Jaws" (1975) for the "We Just Say Book" segment.

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01:30:47

Episode 25: 1941

Christmas Movies Actually ·

2020/04/13

We are joined by Erik Childress (Movie Madness, WGN Radio) to talk about Steven Spielberg's delightfully insane WWII comedy "1941," a movie that had us arguing over its merits as a Christmas movie. We also talk about our anticipation for "West Side Story" and how moviegoing has been and will be affected by quarantine. Also, Kerry talks about "Close-Up" (1990), "Boyz n' The Hood" (1991) and "Cabin In the Woods" (2011) for the "We Just Say Book" segment.

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01:01:33

Episode 24: The Silent Partner

Christmas Movies Actually ·

2020/03/23

We are joined by film critic and host of The Director's Club and Voices & Visions, Jim Laczkowski, to talk about the 1978 bank heist thriller, "The Silent Partner." Can it really replace "Die Hard" as the go-to R-rated thriller to watch every year? We also check in with each other on how self isolation has been going and Kerry talks about "Carmen Jones" (1954), "King of New York" (1990) and "The African Queen" (1951) for the "We Just Say Book" segment. Stay a SAFE little Jesus, everyone. (PS - the

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01:01:24

Episode 23: Angela's Christmas / The Snapper

Christmas Movies Actually ·

2020/03/15

Could this be the first episode of Irish Movies Actually? For St. Patrick's Day, we tried to find an Irish Christmas movie to talk about. Best we could do was a Netflix animated short called "Angela's Christmas." And since we made the effort to watch it, we also talk about the Irish pregnancy comedy, "The Snapper" (1993), which is traditionally watched in Ireland on December 26th. We hope you're all well. Stay safe and enjoy!

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01:17:15

Episode 22: One Magic Christmas

Christmas Movies Actually ·

2020/02/13

Film critic Peter Sobczynski joins Collin and Kerry as they look at one of more curious items of the Disney canon, 1985's unflinchingly dark "One Magic Christmas," featuring Harry Dean Stanton as a Christmas angel who likes to pay visits to children in the middle of the night. The "We Just Say Book" discussion gets especially spirited as they talk about "The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover" (1990), "The Paleface" (1948) and "The Biter Tea of General Yen" (1932).

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58:41

Episode 21: Klaus

Christmas Movies Actually ·

2020/01/26

Kerry and Collin test their new recording equipment out on a discussion of the Oscar-nominated KLAUS, an animated treat from Netflix about the origin of Santa Claus. What elevates it from other Santa origin stories? Also, Kerry talks about "Land Without Bread" (19233), "A Tale of Winter" (1992) and "The Gleaners and I" (2000) for the "We Just Say Book" segment.

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01:06:09

Episode 20: Babes In Toyland (1960)

Christmas Movies Actually ·

2020/01/14

We're a little late in posting this episode, but we think you'll enjoy what we have to say (and what we don't have to say) about Disney's misbegotten version of "Babes In Toyland" (1960), which has very little going for it as a Christmas movie and a movie in general. We also celebrate a milestone in Kerry's quest to see all 1,001 Movies You Must See Before You Die for the "We Just Say Book" segment. Follow the journey from talking about "Babes" to talking about "Vice Squad."

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01:11:13

Episode 19: Love Actually

Christmas Movies Actually ·

2019/12/23

For the last show of 2019, Rebecca Martin joins us to talk about the film that carries this show's namesake, "Love Actually," the "Ultimate Romantic Comedy" that has become a Christmas classic, like it or not. We also take time to thank all our guests of 2019 and wish everyone here a Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year. "Stay a little Jesus," everyone and Baaaaa! Humbug!

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01:19:19

Episode 18: The March Sisters At Christmas

Christmas Movies Actually ·

2019/12/19

In honor of Greta Gerwig's upcoming version of "Little Women," we dig deep into the made-for-Hallmark miracle known as "The March Sisters At Christmas," a modernized version of Alcott's story, told exactly as she intended it... full of Twitter drama, dumb iPad apps and curiously vindictive water heaters. This movie exists. Hear us talk about it as well as some Christmas specials we enjoy, the Chicago Film Critics Association awards and, of course, "We Just Say Book."

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53:17

Episode 17: National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation

Christmas Movies Actually ·

2019/12/13

LIVE from the Elk Grove Theater! Collin Souter and Erik Childress talk about the classic "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation" following a 30th Anniversary screening. Unfortunately, Kerry couldn't make it, so no "Book" segment, but Collin and Erik talk about why this film has endured over the decades.

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55:25

Episode 16: Noelle

Christmas Movies Actually ·

2019/11/25

Kerry and Collin discuss the Disney+ film "Noelle," starring Anna Kendrick and Bill Hader. Can a by-the-numbers Christmas storyline still be fresh and entertaining? We also talk about other shows and films we watched on the new streaming service as well as odd Santa schools around the world. We may have to dive into that again pretty soon. Also, Kerry talks about "Battleship Potemkin" (1925), "Mirror" (1975) and "Wake In Fright" (1971) for the "We Just Say Book" segment.

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01:03:23

Episode 15: Last Christmas

Christmas Movies Actually ·

2019/11/08

Kerry and Collin are once again joined by film critic Steve Prokopy, this time to break down the latest Christmas release, "Last Christmas." Is this better than the Hallmark stuff or does it fit right in? They talk about that as well as the big ending, which is a separate segment. SPOILER ALERT! Also, Kerry talks about "Tokyo Olympiad" (1965), "Videodrome" (1983) and "The Hurt Locker" (2008) for the "We Just Say Book" segment.

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01:23:00

Episode 14: Black Christmas (1974)

Christmas Movies Actually ·

2019/10/28

Kerry and Collin are joined by film critic Sergio Mims to talk about Bob Clark's highly influential horror opus, "Black Christmas," released in 1974, a few years before "Halloween." Sergio provides a wealth of information on "Black Christmas" and other films of its era, because, you know, HE WAS THERE! Kerry talks about ""The Heiress" (1949), "Scream" (1996) and "Wanda" (1970) for the "We Just Say Book" segment. Also, Sergio sticks around to give us his take on the previously-discussed "The Lemon

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01:16:13

Episode 13: 3615 Code Pere Noel (aka Dial Code Santa...

Christmas Movies Actually ·

2019/10/08

"Code Pere Noel" (aka, "Dial Code Santa Claus") is the best Christmas film you've never seen or heard of. Released in France in 1989, this yuletide horror film came out a year before the similarly-themed "Home Alone," but never reached an audience in the US. We want to help change that! It's "Home Alone" meets "Rambo" meets "Silent Night, Deadly Night" meets "The Shining" meets "John Wick" with direct references from films of its era. And it's a lot of fun! Film critic Dave Canfield joins

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01:11:27

Episode 12: Santa With Muscles

Christmas Movies Actually ·

2019/09/05

Kerry and Collin dive into the immortal Hulk Hogan vehicle, "Santa With Muscles," a mid-90s, straight-to-video yuletide extravaganza, in which our hero gets amnesia, becomes Santa Claus and discovers The Dark Crystal (not the movie, the actual crystal). This episode poses the question, at what time does a T-square become a perfectly viable weapon? Also, Kerry talks about "Letter From An Unknown Woman" (1948), "The Palm Beach Story" (1942) and "Performance" (1970 for the "We Just Say Book" segment

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