Film Reviews
A Christmas Story
Written by Jesse Barshop
It’s that time of year again. The weather is cold, Christmas trees line the streets, and great movies make their comeback for the season. One of my favorites is A Christmas Story, written and directed by Bob Clark. A Christmas Story is a true classic, about a boy named Ralphie Parker in the 1940s. His goal for Christmas is to get a Red Ryder BB gun. Specifically, the Red Ryder Range 200. He begs and pleads for it to almost everyone in his life. Throughout the movie, the audience gets to immerse themselves in multiple Christmas traditions, such as seeing Santa in the mall and asking for presents, sticking your tongue onto a frozen pole, snowball fights, and wacky gifts from relatives. This movie is centered around Ralphie and his dream present, but also his overall life and how he deals with it. One of the most memorable moments is when Ralphie goes to school and sees his friends, where we then see the famous scene of his friend sticking his tongue on the frozen pole and getting it stuck. After that, we see Ralphie, his friends, and Ralphie's little brother trailing behind, walking home from school. Then, they come across another boy who starts bullying them. He laughs in their faces and then yells, so they run away. We see more interactions of this bully later on, such as his fight with Ralphie.
This movie is very nostalgic for me, and I assume for many others too. It is one of my favorite movies out of all the Christmas movies I’ve ever seen. Maybe it's because it was one of the first ones I watched, or because of the 15 times I’ve watched this movie. I recommend this movie to anyone who loves the holidays and the general spirit around this time. It has a great winter and Christmas vibe, which gets you excited to see the snow fall. I feel like you can’t really hate this movie. It has a relatable theme of desiring something so badly you would do anything to get it. IMDb gives this move a 7.9/10. But, I think it deserves a 9.5/10.
Holiday Nostalgia or a Good Movie?
Written by Maddisyn Da Silva
Whether it be horror movies in October or Christmas movies in December, watching holiday movies has become a holiday essential. Many people grew up watching these kinds of movies and they have become a source of nostalgia towards their childhood. Yet, are these holiday movies even good or are people blinded by nostalgia?
“A Christmas Story,” came into the theatres in November of 1983, and has become a Christmas movie staple ever since its creation. People have watched it alongside their families, laughing, and creating family memories. If you ignore those positive memories, is “A Christmas Story,” a good movie or just used as childhood nostalgia? The short answer is no. “A Christmas Story,” follows Ralphie Parker and his family during the holiday season. The movie encapsulates the weeks upcoming to the holiday and how kids had acted during the time. The movie uses nostalgia, as the whole movie is a reflection from an older Ralphie, to get the audience to remember how they themselves felt as children during the Christmas season. The duality between witnessing child Ralphie directly experiencing the holiday and the older Ralphie’s jokes and reflections show the uniqueness and how well crafted the movie is. Other aspects in the movie still hold up today like the character interactions, comedy, and the dialogue.
In conclusion, “A Christmas Story,” still holds up as an amazing movie. The way the movie conveys what a child feels like during the Christmas season can make the audience reflect on their own experiences as children.