Merry Christmas, folks. This is BSO Entertainment writer Kane Webb coming to you with, what I hope, will be a yearly thing I do here at BSO in recommending some Christmas movies for you to check out while you’re relaxing and enjoying the holidays with your family. I’ve watched all of these movies and I will give you a short overview along with why I loved the movie. Hopefully, you’ll be able to watch one or two of these and they bring you as much joy as they did to me and my family.
2023 Christmas Movies
Ex-Mas — This is a free movie you can watch through Amazon. It’s a comedy with Green Arrow’s brother (Robby Amell) and Leighton Meester as a previously broken-up couple who end up in a holiday bet to get rid of each other for good after his family invites them both to the same Christmas. This movie is really charming and has some pretty hilarious moments. My personal favorite is his mom, who consistently misuses younger generation phrases because she thinks they mean something they absolutely do not, like when she thought “I’d hit that” meant that you really like something. Good date movie.
Candy Cane Lane — Amazon got a wonderful exclusive on this one, partnering up with the legendary Eddie Murphy to make this truly wonderful holiday film. The film stars Eddie Murphy, David Allen Grier and Tracee Ellis Ross and is about a family competing a “final” Christmas decorating contest before the kids go off to college. This film is a truly original story about the real meaning of Christmas and manages to have some of the funniest moments I’ve seen in an Eddie Murphy movie in years, and there are a lot of good Eddie Murphy movies. This is definitely a gather the kids together type of film.
Violent Night — Are you the kind of person who thinks Die Hard is a Christmas movie? Then Violent Night is definitely for you. Starring David Harbour as Santa, John Leguizamo as Mr. Scrooge, and Beverly D’Angelo as the greatest grandmother the world has ever known, this film is filled with so much blood and violence, you might actually replace Die Hard on the list with this bad boy. I know I did. I have no idea how they managed to make a sentimental movie that has more death than a Thanos snap, but Violent Night is somehow both effin’ awesome and very cute at the same time. I found this one through Amazon.
Dashing Through The Soon — Starring Ludacris, Lil Rel Howry, and Teyonah Parris, I saved this one for last because it legitimately made me cry. Disney did it again and made a wonderful family story that even adults can enjoy. Ludacris plays a social worker for the Atlanta Police Department, who specializes in talking people out of hurting themselves. After coming upon a man who claims to be Santa, he must figure out his own misgivings with Christmas while seemingly protecting a very mysterious stranger from even more mysterious people trying to kidnap him. Gather the family up on Christmas, grab a box of tissues, and prepare to let the tears of joy flow in this film for the ages. It’s going to be one I watch many times in the future and I think you’ll enjoy it as much as I did.