Are George and Mary Bailey perennial guests at your holiday celebration?

Or is Ralphie Parker's quest for a Red Ryder BB gun a more relevant Christmas story?

That's the question posed by Time last week. In a 2006 poll, A Christmas Story was the favorite holiday movie among ages 18–41, while the older demographic picked It's a Wonderful Life or Miracle on 34th Street. Perhaps, speculates the article, Generations X and Y find Ralphie's memories a bit closer to their own. … continue reading

Is there anyone out there who doesn’t love The Princess Bride? Inconceivable! The fanciful fairy tale had humor and heart, love and lunacy, swashbuckling and silliness. Plus it boasted some of the most hilarious, not to mention most oft-repeated, movie lines in the history of movie lines. If you don’t smile even a little when your friend busts out her best “Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father — prepare to die!” then perhaps we shouldn’t be friends. Seriously, scoot away. [Side note: If we should ever meet on the street, ask me to do my lispy priest impression. It kills: “Mawage, that bwessed awangment, that dweam wifin a dweam…”]

So when I read that this September will mark the classic’s 20th anniversary, I felt two things. 1) So very old. The fact that two of the most cherished movies from my childhood turned 20 this year is a reminder that my continually forgetting where I parked my car is not a sign that I’ve grown flaky, just senile. And 2) Happy that they never made a sequel. Wait, wait. Stop throwing Rodents of Unusual Size at me. Trust me, I would love to see the continued adventures of Buttercup, Westley, Inigo and Fezzik. But I fear that the magic and innocent abandon of the original could never be matched. … continue reading