"Ghostbusters II" (1989): Talk about getting into the spirit. What better way to spend Christmas Eve than with Peter Venkman and the gang as they hijack the Statue of Liberty to save New York City from Vigo the Carpathian, a 17th-century scrooge who is allergic to good cheer? -- GREG GILMAN
"The Thin Man"(1934): This film should be on any list if for no other reason than it features the classic line from Myrna Loy: "The next person that says 'Merry Christmas' to me, I'll kill 'em." In it, Nick (William Powell) and Loy's Myrna -- along with their dog Asta -- try to solve a murder while hosting a Christmas party at their hotel. -- TODD CUNNINGHAM
"Black Christmas" (1974): Not to be confused with the silly 2006 remake, this was arguably the very first slasher movie -- and at Christmas-time, yet. After terrorizing a sorority house during the holiday break with a series of scary phone calls (sound familiar, "Scream"?), someone kills off the "sisters" -- and the housemother -- one by one. And it's still a nail-biter four decades later. -- LEW HARRIS
"Elvis" (1968): "Elvis" started its life as a Christmas TV special consisting of nothing but holiday songs. That was before director Steve Binder persuaded the King to ditch the carols and rock, which he did with a fervor he'd lost during a decade of bad movies. The only remnant of the original concept comes on a mean version of "Blue Christmas," but it'll nonethless put you in a jolly mood. -- STEVE POND
"Santa Claus" (1959): Leave it Rene Cardona to give us a kiddie movie where Santa Claus teams up with Merlin the Magician to battle Satan. Throw in crazy dream sequences about life-size dancing dolls, hallucinogenic cocktails, child toy-making slaves and the creepiest wind-up reindeer ever imagined, and the result is a crackpot Christmas classic sure to psychically scar children and adults alike. -- ALONSO DURALDE
"Santa Claus Conquers the Martians"(1964): Antennaed, blaster-wielding Martians were upset that their children, obsessed with Earth television, had no Santa Claus to deliver presents. So they kidnapped St. Nick, along with two human children. In this B-movie -- wonderfully satirized on "Mystery Science Theater 3000" -- the Earthlings must work to bring Christmas joy to the red planet. -- ALEXANDER C. KAUFMAN
"Gremlins"(1984): Hilarious, horrifying and heartfelt. Not only do Joe Dante's titular creatures crash the town of Kingston Falls' Christmas festivities, but Gizmo -- the adorable Mogwai that multiplies when wet -- proves pets should only become gifts when the recipient can handle the many responsibilities that accompany them. -- GREG GILMAN
"Bad Santa" (2003): This black-comedy masterpiece is an “It’s a Wonderful Life” for people who hate the holidays and love four-letter words. Billy Bob Thornton nurses a raging hangover while wearing a vomit-specked Santa beard. Enough said? -- BRENT LANG
“The Apartment” (1960): Trust Billy Wilder to approach Christmas with an equal mix of cynicism and sentiment. In this Academy Award-winner, the master director has his hero (Jack Lemon), an insurance company clerk, spend the holiday playing nurse to a co-worker (Shirley MacLaine) after her failed suicide attempt, which follows the collapse of her affair with a married man. -- LEAH ROZEN
"Jingle All the Way" (1996): Arnold Schwarzenegger has played a prehistoric barbarian, an artificially intelligent assassin and Danny Devito's twin brother, but no role was stranger than a workaholic father doggedly pursuing a Turbo Man action figure to please his son. Mix in a little anti-consumerism and a lot of Sinbad on top of laughs that may not all be intentional, and we have three words: You're welcome, America. -- LUCAS SHAW
"Christmas on Mars" (2008): More holiday Martians. The years-in-the-making brainchild of Flaming Lips mastermind Wayne Coyne centers around an astronaut's struggle to organize a Christmas pageant on a recently colonized red planet -- which should help put the trials of your own holiday planning into perspective. -- TIM KENNEALLY
"The Bishop's Wife" (1947): A freshly minted bishop asks God for help building a new cathedral and is sent the suave Dudley (Cary Grant). Caught up with fundraising, the bishop doesn’t realize his neglected wife (Loretta Young) is having the time of her life with her heavenly new pal. Set during Christmas, it features incredible choir singing and an ice-skating scene that’s an all-timer. -- TODD CUNNINGHAM
