Cinema & Cinema Highlights: December 18, 2020

Some of the latest series and movies available to rent or stream! Check your streaming service for availability.

It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)
As George Bailey is about to jump from a bridge, he ends up rescuing his guardian angel, Clarence — who then shows George what his town would have looked like if it hadn’t been for all his good deeds over the years.
Cast: James Stewart, Donna Reed
Director: Frank Capra
Genre: Movie – Drama, Family, Fantasy

 

Miracle on 34th Street (1947)
Kris Kringle fills in for an intoxicated Santa in Macy’s annual Thanksgiving Day parade. Kringle proves to be such a hit that he is soon appearing regularly at the chain’s main store in midtown Manhattan.
Cast: Edmund Gwenn, Maureen O’Hara
Director: George Seaton
Genre: Movie – Comedy, Drama, Family

 

The Lemon Drop Kid (1951)
Lively Bob Hope caper based on a Damon Runyon story. Hope plays the titular con artist whose betting mistake leaves gangster Moose Moran $10,000 out of pocket. Given until Christmas to come up with the cash, he goes into scamming overdrive.
Cast: Bob Hope, Marilyn Maxwell
Director: Sidney Lanfield
Genre: Movie – Comedy, Crime, Music

 

National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989)
Clark Griswold is really into Christmas and promises to make it a good one until he turns everything completely around, causing a domino effect of disasters.
Cast: Chevy Chase, Beverly D’Angelo, Juliette Lewis
Director: Jeremiah Chechik
Genre: Movie – Comedy

 

Scrooged (1988)
A cynically selfish TV executive is haunted by three spirits bearing lessons on Christmas Eve. With the help of the ghosts of the past, present and future, he realizes that he must reform himself.
Cast: Bill Murray, Karen Allen, John Forsythe
Director: Richard Donner
Genre: Movie – Comedy, Drama, Fantasy

 

Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey (2020)
Decades after his apprentice betrays him, a once joyful toymaker finds new hope when his bright young granddaughter appears on his doorstep.
Cast: Forest Whitaker, Keegan-Michael Key, Hugh Bonneville
Director: David E. Talbert
Genre: Movie – Family, Fantasy, Musical

 

 

The Christmas Chronicles (2018)
Kate and Teddy Pierce hatch a scheme to capture Santa Claus. When the plan goes awry, the kids join forces with a somewhat jolly Saint Nick and his loyal elves to save the holiday before it’s too late.
Cast: Kurt Russell, Darby Camp
Director: Clay Kaytis
Genre: Movie – Adventure, Comedy, Family

 

Holidate (2020)
Fed up with being single on holidays, Sloane and Jackson, a young Australian golfer, agree to be each other’s platonic plus-ones all year long, only to catch real feelings along the way.
Cast: Emma Roberts, Luke Bracey, Kristin Chenoweth
Director: John Whitesell
Genre: Movie – Comedy, Romance

 

A Very Murray Christmas (2015)
A massive snowstorm has caused most of the guests to cancel Murray’s live Christmas special. As time runs out, his producers coerce him into going on with the show, as he is financially on the hook if he cancels.
Cast: Bill Murray, Michael Cera
Director: Sofia Coppola
Genre: Movie – Comedy, Music, Musical

 

Operation Christmas Drop (2020)
Congressional aide Erica Miller lands at a beachside Air Force base, where she clashes with Capt. Andrew Jantz over his pet project — Operation: Christmas Drop.
Cast: Kat Graham, Alexander Ludwig, Trezzo Mahoro
Director: Martin Wood
Genre: Movie – Comedy, Family, Romance