It’s Christmaaaaaaaas! Almost. Before the man in the big red suit arrives, the Light House Cinema is giving us the chance to indulge our Naughty or Nice sides with a slew of festive favourites in the run up to Christmas through to New Year’s Eve.
Die Hard
Starting things off with a bang we have Die Hard, i.e. the perfect Christmas film. Watch Bruce Willis run around in an increasingly brown tank top as he throws spanners in the works of exceptional thief Hans Gruber (a stand-out performance by Alan Rickman).
Poor John is in the wrong place at the wrong time when he comes for his estranged wife’s office Christmas party that gets taken hostage. The Light House is throwing an office bash that would put Nakatomi towers to shame, make sure you’re there at 9pm on December the 2nd (the film starts at 10pm).
Die Hard continues to run; Dec 6th 8:30pm, Dec 10th 10:30pm, Dec 14th 8:00pm. Welcome to the party pal!
Bad Santa
Following the theme of thievery, watch Billy Bob Thornton pose as a department store Santa to pull off a robbery.
Bad Santa is showing on Dec 3rd 10:30pm, Dec 12th 7:40pm, Dec 16th 10:30pm.
Muppet’s Christmas Carol
Watch Michael Caine’s impressive performance as miserly Ebenezer Scrooge, with no one to play off except Muppets. Musicals aren’t usually our thing but the songs are infectious and even the biggest Scrooge will end up humming along. Your heart will grow three sizes by the end, guaranteed.
Muppet’s Christmas Carol is on from Dec 3rd 2:00pm, Dec 18th 3:30pm until Dec 21st 12:00pm.
Jingle All the Way
Arnold Schwarzenegger, in a comedy role, on Christmas, moving mountains to get his son the right toy for the holidays. Have we ever said laugh out loud on Film in Dublin? We’re saying it now.
Watch Arnie flail around in Jingle All the Way Dec 4th 4:00pm, Dec 18th 5:45pm, Dec 22nd 8:45pm.
Home Alone
Merry Christmas, ya filthy animals.
Macaulay Kulkin stars as Kevin, and his family are going away for the holidays, and they forget just one thing – Poor Kevin. Two burglars have been watching their house and waiting for them to leave, but much like Don’t Breathe these intruders get more than they bargained for as Kevin turns out to be a dab hand with DIY torture devices.
Watch Kevin stand his ground in Home Alone on Dec 4th 6:00pm, Dec 11th 1:00pm, Dec 17th 4:15pm, Dec 22nd 3:45pm.
Love Actually
“Whenever I get gloomy with the state of the world, I think about the arrivals gate at Heathrow Airport. General opinion’s starting to make out that we live in a world of hatred and greed, but I don’t see that. It seems to me that love is everywhere. Often, it’s not particularly dignified or newsworthy, but it’s always there – fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, husbands and wives, boyfriends, girlfriends, old friends. When the planes hit the Twin Towers, as far as I know, none of the phone calls from the people on board were messages of hate or revenge – they were all messages of love. If you look for it, I’ve got a sneaky feeling you’ll find that love actually is all around.”
Love Actually shows us 8 of these non-newsworthy love stories, proving that love can be found in the most unlikely places. It’s fluff but it’s heart warming fluff.
Fall in love with Love Actually Dec 7th 8:30pm, Dec 11th 3:15pm, Dec 20th 8:30pm and Dec 22nd 6:00pm.
It’s a Wonderful Life
It may be an oldie but there hasn’t been a film like it since. If you’ve ever found yourself wondering what life would be like if you were never born, this is for you.
Find out alongside George Bailey how you affect everyone around you and realise how much you mean to them on Dec 8th 8:30pm, Dec 11th 6:00pm, Dec 13th 8:30pm, Dec 20th 5:30pm, Dec 21st 6:30pm, Dec 23rd 3:00pm and 8:00pm.
Miracle on 34th Street
Starring Dublin’s own Maureen O’Hara and a young Natalie Wood, Miracle on 34th Street is a true Hollywood classic. Spanning the full Christmas season from Thanksgiving to Christmas Day, Miracle on 34th Street tells the story of Kris Kringle, a Santa employed by Doris Walker (O’Hara) at Macy’s Department Store. He’s great with the kids, gets the best deals for the adults (even at another store), he plays the part to perfection…because he insists that he really is Santa Claus. With Kris’s mental state in dispute, a legal battle goes before the New York Supreme Court, a trial over the status of Santa as real or not. As Oscar winning legal dramas go, it’s unconventional, but Miracle on 34th Street won three, and its charming, wry script and great performances from O’Hara as the sceptic, Wood as her innocent daughter, Edmund Gwenn as Kris Kringle and John Payne as his legal counsel make this a perrenial favourite.
Showing on Dec 8th 6:00pm, Dec 18th 1:oopm, Dec 19th 3:30pm, Dec 20th 6:00pm.
Hollywood Babylon: Batman Returns
“Honey I’m home! Oh, I forgot. I’m not married” – for those of us without that special someone this holiday season, it’s nice to know we aren’t alone even if we are identifying with a dead cat burglar.
Tim Burton’s style runs through Batman Returns, from Danny DeVito’s creepily pervy portrayal of the Penguin to Selina Kyle’s death and subsequent transformation into Cat Woman. This film is dark, as Batman films tend to be, but it has Burton’s brand of black humour.
Batman Returns will be bat-a-ranging to the big screen on Dec 9th at 10:45pm.
Elfeoke and Elf
Another one for the misfits among us. You may feel out of place and uncomfortable at your Christmas dinner with the family, fielding questions about where your life is headed but you will never stick out as much as a 6′ 3″ human in a workshop of elves or an adult in an elf suit in New York City.
We’re sure you’ve seen it but in case you haven’t; Elf is a beautiful, funny film about learning to accept people for who they are and tackles some pretty heavy themes such as adoption and dealing with your father having a new family, all with a light hand.
Elfeoke is a sing-along screening which welcomes festive fancy dress is on Dec 10th at 9:30pm.
Elf will be shown on Dec 12th 5:45pm, Dec 14th 6:00pm, Dec 17th 6:30pm, Dec 20th 1:00pm, Dec 21st 2:00pm, Dec 22nd 1:30pm, Dec 23rd 6:00pm. There’s no excuse to miss it with this many screenings!
Santa Claus: The Movie
If you’ve ever wondered about the origin story of Santa Claus, 1985’s Santa Claus: The Movie lays it all out, showing how he made his way to the North Pole, how the reindeer fly and many other troublesome questions your children may have. It also tells the story of slightly less well known character Patch the Elf, played by Dudley Moore, and his attempts to strike out on his own. Patch ends up working for the B.Z., a crooked and miserable businessman from New York (and therefore probable POTUS in the Santa Claus: The Movie Universe today), played to hammy perfection by John Lithgow. B.Z. is not on board with things being given away for free.
Showing on Dec 10th 3:00pm, Dec 21st 4:00pm.
The Polar Express
It’s 6 degrees of Tom Hanks as he plays 6 different roles in the Polar Express. Although the rotoscope may be off-putting for some people, this film will resonate with anyone who remembers the difficulty of coming to terms with the truth about Santa. It celebrates the wonder of life and the beauty of Christmas. There are some visually stunning scenes, its vibrance and energy are a rare cinematic treat.
Hop aboard the Polar Express, calling at Dec 17th 2:00pm and Dec 19th 1:00pm.
Cinema Book Club: About a Boy
Thanks to the money left to him from the royalties from his Dad’s hit Christmas song, Hugh Grant’s Will Freeman has never had to grow up. A smarmy git (aka “A Hugh Grant type”) trawls single parent meetings with stories about a fake child to pick up women. Will has his gross, sad life all figured out until he meets a boy, Marcus (Nicholas Hoult). Will becoming an big brother figure to Marcus help them both get what they need? Are any man islands or not or what’s the story there? About A Boy answers these questions and more on Dec 19th 6:30pm. See the film and chat about the Nick Hornby book it was adapted from afterwards with a well-earned Christmas drink.
NYE: The Apartment
Ending with an all-time great, we have The Apartment starring Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine and Fred MacMurray. Have you ever wanted to get leg-up in your career? Lemmon’s character figures he can by letting the executives at the insurance firm he works in use his apartment for their unfaithful trysts.
It’s all going fine until the woman he’s infatuated with starts seeing his boss.
The Apartment is showing on Dec 31st at 5pm.
Tickets are available here.