19 Best Non-Traditional Christmas Movies You Should Watch Right Now
Because one can only handle so much traditional holiday movie cheer (sorry, 24-hour "A Christmas Story" marathon), here are some non-traditional Christmas flicks you need to watch.
'Iron Man 3' (2013)
Writer-director Shane Black is the king of setting action movies during Christmas, and this Marvel threequel is no exception. Here, Tony Stark battles PTSD and some Extremis-powered super soldiers on his way to learning the true meaning of Christmas: Blowing sh** up.
'Kiss Kiss Bang Bang' (2005)
RDJ and Shane Black's first collaboration is arguably their best, as the once and future Iron Man goes the LA private detective route to uncover a twisted murder plot involving pulpy noir fiction, a gay Val Kilmer, and lots of snarky dialogue.
'Eyes Wide Shut' (1999)
Nothing says "Happy Holidays" like masquerade orgies! (Masquerade Orgies - new band name, called it!) Stanley Kubrick's underrated final film centers on the marriage of Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman's characters, as the former goes on a late-night journey full of lustful temptations and moral ambiguities. Fun for the whole fam!
'Better Off Dead' (1985)
"I want my two dollars." If you can't appreciate that quote from this cult-classic, then you need to carve out some time over your lazy holiday break to watch this very funny movie. There is life before, and life after, said viewing.
'Batman Returns' (1992)
..."But a kiss can be even deadlier if you mean it." Ah, love, brooding superhero style! If your Christmas list includes "wanting to watch Batman punch Catwoman off a building and the Penguin leak black ooze from his mouth," then Tim Burton's second Dark Knight adventure is all you need. It's not a perfect sequel, but it is a weirdly entertaining and darkly comic one.
'Edward Scissorhands' (1990)
Tim Burton's second not-your-typical-Christmas movie to grace our list is one of his finest, most resonate films. His first collaboration with Johnny Depp recently turned 25, and it still gives us all the feels.
'Mean Girls' (2004)
Sure, it's one scene -- but it's a good one from a great movie, so deal with it. And stop trying to make "fetch" happen.
'Just Friends' (2005)
This underrated rom-com subverts certain expectations of the "home for the holidays" genre, while featuring some of the funniest work Ryan Reynolds and Anna Faris (pictured) have ever done.
'Gremlins' (1984)
This 80's classic is filled with tons of Christmas carnage. It also features the most disturbing tale of Santa coming down a chimney ever told.
'You've Got Mail' (1998)
You had us at "Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan as two competing people in the book world, who fall in love around the holidays." Come for the Hanks, stay for the very '90s way people narrate and loud-type their AOL emails!
'Cast Away' (2000)
Gift someone a Wilson after watching this movie. Or strand them on a desert island and tell them it's a new diet plan from Beachbody.
'The Long Kiss Goodnight' (1996)
More Shane Black? This guilty pleasure made waves in the '90s, when its script was purchased for the then-biggest price ever. The underwhelming box office results didn't help soften that cost, but the movie's fans couldn't get enough of watching an amnesiac assassin-turned-housewife (Geena Davis) discover her true identity, while going all WWIII on Canada in the process.
'12 Monkeys' (1995)
Nothing says "Christmas" like a gritty time-travel thriller starring Bruce Willis and a crazy-eyed Brad Pitt. It's way better than the TV series that inspired it.
'Deadpool' (2016)
Yes, only a small portion of the blockbuster involves Christmas, but it's big enough to warrant the Merc With a Mouth a spot on this list. And who doesn't love R-rated comic book violence with their egg nog? Wrong people, that's who.
'In Bruges' (2008)
As bloody as it is hilarious, "In Bruges" is an underrated movie no matter the time of year. The story of two hitmen hiding out in Bruges following a botched job, this dark comedy-drama is set during Christmas but isn't really about the holiday -- unless you count the redemptive spirit infecting one of our hitmen.
'Hold the Dark' (2018)
Things are very snowy in "Hold the Dark," the new ultra-bleak thriller from Jeremy Sualnier ("Green Room," "Blue Ruin"), so in a weird way it makes perfect sense to watch while you're sliding from your Thanksgiving turkey hangover into your full-on Christmas blitz. (The movie also takes place in December 2004.) The movie starts with a young woman (Riley Keough) who reports that her young son was abducted by a wolf and hires an expert (Jeffrey Wright) to track down the wolf that was responsible. Of course, things get considerably weirder and more violent from there, especially when the boy's father (Alexander Skarsgard) returns from Iraq. Hang on tight.
'Rise of the Guardians' (2012)
Santa Claus as an action hero? Yes, please. If you, like many moviegoers, skipped this animated effort in theaters, fix that now. Santa must join forces with a badass Easter Bunny and emo Jack Frost to stop an evil spirit from attacking children's innocence everywhere in this fun, action-packed underrated holiday adventure.
'While You Were Sleeping' (1995)
More than two decades since its release, this classic Sandy B. joint is still as charming as ever. It's not the first movie you think of on your list of must-see Xmas fare, but it should be on that list.
'Die Hard' (1988)
You were expecting something else? "Die Hard" knows what you want for Christmas: Bruce Willis dispatching terrorists with feet smaller than his sister's. And coke-fueled Ellis? That's just the gift that keeps on givin'.
