Christmas Movies Actually

James Laczkowski James Laczkowski

Episode 28: This Christmas

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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James Laczkowski James Laczkowski

Episode 27: I'll Be Home For Christmas

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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James Laczkowski James Laczkowski

Episode 26: The Holiday

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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James Laczkowski James Laczkowski

Episode 25: 1941

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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James Laczkowski James Laczkowski

Episode 24: The Silent Partner

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.

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James Laczkowski James Laczkowski

Episode 23: Angela's Christmas / The Snapper

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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James Laczkowski James Laczkowski

Episode 22: One Magic Christmas

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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James Laczkowski James Laczkowski

Episode 21: Klaus

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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James Laczkowski James Laczkowski

Episode 20: Babes In Toyland (1960)

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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James Laczkowski James Laczkowski

Episode 19: Love Actually

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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