Movies To Watch At Christmas That Won't Raise Your Blood Sugar

It's A Wonderful Life. Miracle On 34th Street. A Christmas Story. White Christmas. Die Hard.


Exsqueeze me? Baking powder?Die Hard? Really?


Yes fellow geeks, the holidays are here! And not all of us want to watch the same old Christmas classics that are trotted out this time of year to put everyone in the holiday spirit. Please understand, I'm not trying to be The Grinch. I like (in some cases, love) every one of the acknowledged Christmas movies mentioned above, I just thought I would come up with a list of films that, while not Christmas movies in the strictest sense, still feature a Christmas setting. Here we go! Yippee ki-yay mother...


DIE HARD: One of the greatest action films ever is actually set at a Christmas party. I don't know about you but Bruce Willis' John McClane single-handedly whipping Eurotrash ass makes me feel all warm and cozy inside, just like a hot cup of coffee by the Christmas tree.
LETHAL WEAPON: Another all time great action film. Mel Gibson's Martin Riggs going apeshit (who can forget his "talk down" with the suicidal ledge jumper) is just you need to bring you out of Christmas special induced insulin shock. And it also takes place during the holiday season. The song over the opening credits is "Jingle Bell Rock!" That, of course, immediately segues to a drugged out prostitute jumping out a window and crashing stories below onto a car. Happy Holidays!!
TRADING PLACES: You say you want to laugh during this stressed out time of the year? This is one of my favorite comedies. Eddie Murphy and Dan Ackroyd are perfect in this John Landis directed take on the old "what happens when the poor guy trades places with the rich guy" scenario. Set not only at Christmas but also New Year's Eve. Merry New Year! Ah ha ha!
THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS: Some kids are naturally drawn to the cutesy and the sweet. I was not one of those kids. If this had been released when I was a young'un, I would have gone completely ga-ga over it. As it is, it was released when I was an adult and I still went ga-ga over it. This one is usually shown at Halloween, but don't let the Disney mind control police let that be the only time of year you watch it. The scenes where children over the world open Jack Skellington's Christmas presents makes me Ho-Ho-Ho every time I see it.
GREMLINS: Joe Dante's film starts out like any other awwwwwww-inducing Christmas tale and then...WHAMMO! Adorable little Gizmo is the victim of carelessness on the part of his new owner, Billy, and soon, what was cute and cuddly turns into evil little sumbitches. When this was originally in theaters, kids were running screaming up the aisles after their parents mistakenly thought this was just another harmless "kid's movie." That all changed when Mom blew a gremlin up in the microwave. Disturbing for some. Hilarious to the rest of us.
CHILD'S PLAY: What kid wouldn't want a doll that talks and is possessed by the soul of a serial killer for Christmas?
GOODFELLAS: This movie has nothing whatsoever to do with Christmas, except that a couple of scenes take place around the holidays. Who cares?! Any excuse to watch the best gangster film ever made!