The 90s were a golden era for Christmas movies. Some of the biggestincludeHome Alone,The Santa Clause,The Nightmare Before Christmas, and so many others. Most of those were released before Christmas though which was a good marketing idea.
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Releasing a movie in November around Thanksgiving will give a film plenty of time to gestate while people are in the holiday spirit. What about movies that release on Christmas Day? Surprisingly, since the 90s, there has always been something released on this day but they rarely have anything to do with Christmas. Of the dozens that were released between 1990 and 1999, what movies still hold up?
6Batman: Mask Of The Phantasm
Batman: Mask of the Phantasmis like a longer episode of the90s animated cartoon. Did it need to be theatrically released, or could it have done better as a TV movie? The box office numbers will show it didn’t do well which could be blamed for many reasons, but Christmas probably wasn’t one of them.
The film is great with a genuine mystery at hand as a new villain appears who starts offing other villains across Gotham. The animation is great, but the best thing about it is Kevin Conroy’s performance as Bruce Wayne/Batman who almost hangs in the cape. With his untimely passing, now is as good a time as any to check this movie out.
5Galaxy Quest
Galaxy Questwasahead of its time as a parody movie of sorts. It takes place in a world where Star Trek didn’t exist and the hot sci-fi show of that era was calledGalaxy Quest. The actors are aged out of their roles but still go to conventions to meet the fans. Tim Allen is the Bill Shatner of the film who is just as up his butt with his Kirk-like role.
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True-to-life aliens see the show, thinking it is a documentary and they kidnap Allen hoping he will save them from an invading alien threat. Naturally, his old crew comes with and comedy ensues. All these years later, it’s still funny with the standout character/actor being Alan Rickman who also passed away in an untimely fashion in 2016. By Grabthar’s Hammer, watch this comedy movie.
4Jackie Brown
Jackie Brownis one of Quentin Tarantino’smore forgotten filmsabout the titular character, a flight attendant, trying to screw over her criminal boss who sells weapons. She has access to many trade routes as a flight attendant so she smuggles money for a small cut. She’s had enough one night and decides to rob him and take off.
Given this is a Tarantino movie, one can expect a lot of conversations about nothing which is part of the director’s charm. Not much happens but Pam Grier, as Jackie Brown, and Samuel L. Jackson, as her crime boss, do well to keep viewers entertained even if it is a lower-tier Tarantino movie.
3The Faculty
It’s always odd to see ahorror or thrillermovie come out on Christmas. If there is a Christmas theme, like Krampus from a few years ago, then it makes sense.The Facultyhas nothing to do with the holiday though and is instead about an unsettling community.
Teens are experiencing odd phenomena at their school with the literal faculty seemingly behind it all. What’s going on? Who’s evil? Who’s going to get turned next and the questions continue? It’s a stacked cast of teen stars from the 90s including Elijah Wood before he became Frodo fromThe Lord of the Rings. Get ready to be on the edge of your seat next to the Christmas tree.
2Tombstone
Tombstoneisa great Westerneven though it’s an example of a story that has been done to death. A bunch of old cowboys wander into a town, hoping to strike it rich and settle down. The only problem is a local gang trying to take over and so these old souls have to band together to help defend the town when the law is failing them.
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The cast is great with Kurt Russell’s mustache being a standout reason to see this film. That may seem like a joke but the mustache is a ten out of ten. The film has heart and action, and it will even make you cry by the end credits.
1The Godfather Part 3
The Godfather Part 3is often thought of as the weakest film in the trilogy. The sentiment grew so strong that the director, Francis Ford Coppola, released a new cut of the movie in 2020, thirty years after the original release which was calledThe Godfather Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone. It’s technically a better movie as it tries to clear up some of the confusing plot points.
However, it’s kind of a case of too little too late. Even though the original cut of this film is thought of as a flip, it is still wildly entertaining. It is leagues above so many other mob-focused pictures thanks to some brilliant performanceslike Al Pacino. He is on the mind of a lot of people right now thanks to The Game Awards, so now is a good time to not only watch this movie but the entire trilogy.
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