issue 12// volume 42

Cherished Christmas
classics of the season

» Beloved films to start your holiday

Cazzy Lewchuk
Staff Writer

Te holidays are upon us! Winter
celebrations take many forms, but
the biggest mainstream Hollywood
films still emphasize the Christmasy
aspects of the season. From golden
oldies to contemporary classics, here are
some films to get you into the spirit.

   

A Christmas Story (1983)

This charming 1940s-setting tells the story
of nine-year-old Ralphie (Peter Billingsley)
and his one Christmas wish: an authentic
Red Ryder air rifle. Unfortunately, the
adults in his life all warn him, “You'll shoot
your eye out!” Ralphie must also contend
with his friend’s tongue stuck to a frozen
flagpole, his father’s (Darren McGavin)
passion for hunting dogs and leggy lamps,
and sadistic elf helpers in this zany tale.

 

Love Actually (2003)

This is one of the best ensemble and love
exploration films in recent memory. The
movie follows the connected stories of
many forms of love during the holiday
season. Featuring a cast of almost every

recognizable British actor, this film reminds
: adventure. This beloved film features Jack

: Skellington (voiced by Chris Sarandon),

: the Pumpkin King of Halloween Town,

: who accidentally stumbles upon Christmas
: Town. Fascinated by the contrast of

: the two holidays, Jack kidnaps Santa

: (voiced by Ed Ivory) and attempts to

: take over Christmas monster-style.

: The disastrous holiday merging is

: genuinely beautiful on its own terms.

us of the force that manifests among each
other: that “love, actually, is all around.”

 

The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)

Enjoyable Muppet humour and extremely
wonderful jolly songs are enough to

love this Scrooge story. But if that’s not
enough, this adaption is one of the most
faithful versions of A Christmas Carol
ever made. The majority of scenes and
dialogue are verbatim from the original
Charles Dickens, portrayed by Gonzo

: inthis film. And who could forget the
: legendary Michael Caine as Scrooge?

Christmas Vacation (1989)

: Clark Griswold (Chevy Chase) attempts

: to have a fantastic Christmas with his

: family. Of course, things don’t go exactly

: according to plan as Clark battles a rogue

: squirrel inside a fir tree, his cheap boss

: (Brian Doyle-Murray), and a lazy cousin

: (Randy Quaid) who drops by fora so-called
: visit. This remains one of the classic and

: best family-hijinks Christmas movies.

 

It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)

: This is perhaps the most famous, parodied,
: and best Christmas movie of all time.

: George Bailey (James Stewart) is fed

: up with his family and small town and

: contemplates ending it all on Christmas

: Eve, That’s when an angel (Henry Travers)

: shows him what his family’s lives would be
: like if George was never born. It remains

: a heartwarming, magnificently crafted,

: beloved classic almost 70 years later.

 

The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)

Tim Burton presents a unique Claymation

 

arts // no. 9

YouTube Music Video Classics

» Three instant hits in two weeks

Jerrison Oracion
im Senior Columnist

A lot of people are talking about three

opular music videos that were
released in a two-week timespan. The
music videos’ genres, cinematography,
and themes vary greatly, but they have
all gone viral on the Internet. Here
isa look at those music videos.

“Hello” by Adele

After a three-year break, Adele is back
with this black-and-white music video
for “Hello,” the highly-anticipated first
single from her third album 25.

Directed by the man who made the award-

winning film Mommy, Quebec's own Xavier :

Dolan, the music video shows Adele going
back to a house that she and her former
boyfriend lived in, switching between

the house’s current abandoned state and
flashbacks of them living in the house. We
also see her walking around the Quebec
countryside. Adele personally asked Dolan
to make the music video and she came

to Quebec to film it. Some viewers could
say that the music video is even sadder
than the one for “Someone Like You.”

This music video reminds me of the
ones for Justin Timberlake’s “What Goes
Around...Comes Around” and Katy
Perry’s “The One That Got Away.” It
would be nice if there was an extended
version of “Hello” that included

more of the dialogue scenes in it.

“Hotline Bling” by Drake

Toronto rapper Drake's latest music video
shows him as you never seen him before.
Directed by Director X, we see Drake

: dancing in different boxes and staircases

: while going back and forth between shots
: of female dancers. He does a variety of

: dance moves including jamming, prancing,
: and a dance move that is similar toa

: motion in Wii Sports’ tennis. The lights

: inthe music video remind me of the

: lights in a Sonos commercial. The dance

: moves in the music video were so striking
: that a lot of people made parodies of the

: music video featuring the dance moves.

: When Saturday Night Live did their parody
: of the music video, Martin Short appeared

: as his super-nerd character Ed Grimley

: and claimed that Drake stole his dance

: moves. Recently, the University of British

: Columbia did a campaign in which various

: students danced to the song as a way to

: invite Drake to perform in their year-end

: concert this year. They even recreated the

: set from his music video for their version.

“Focus” by Ariana Grande

? How could Ariana Grande top the success
: of My Everything? With the music

: video for the first single, “Focus,” from

: her next album Moonlight. Directed by

: frequent collaborator Hannah Lux Davis,
: with choreography by one of Ariana’s

: backup dancers, Brad Nicholson, we

: see her dance with a cellphone, dance

: with her back-up dancers, play the

: trumpet, and a variety of other things.

: The music video has a futuristic look

: and the second half of it reminds me of

: Beyoncé’s music video for “Single Ladies.”

: The song sounds similar to “Problem”

: structure-wise, and there are a lot of things
: in the music video that are seen in her

: earlier ones. If you are wondering if Ariana
: changed her hair colour, she didn’t—her

: white hair in the music video is a wig.