Tuesday, December 22, 2015

Christmas Morning Video Games

My heart exploded with joy when Laura announced she would like to start a family tradition of playing video games on Christmas!  Neither of us has had much time to play video games for several years now, because kids.  I still remember Christmas morning of 198X.  Santa brought a few very special video games for our Nintendo Entertainment System:

Home Alone 2


Man this game is terrible!  The most random crap happened in video games back in the day, especially movie based games.  I certainly don't remember any killer animate vacuums in the movie. The game is also wicked hard!  I got stumped about halfway through the game, not knowing what the heck to do in the abandoned home in order to advance.  Now, thanks to the magical powers of the internet, I can see where I went wrong (13:53 in the video).  I swear I tried jumping that gap 100 times and it never worked! And What is up with that creepy Christmas tree at the end!?

Rad Racer


A yes, Rad Racer, one of the classic NES titles. This game tended to get monotonous, but I still played for hours. I never did complete the game. Also, if you have seen The Wizard, you'll remember that classic scene where that one kid plays Rad Racer with the Power Glove somehow. It's so bad!




Adventure Island 2


This game is seriously awesome!  There is nothing like riding a fire-breathing dinosaur, ya know?  i only got as far as the ice world boss.  I had the game paused and my Mom turned it off.  No saving was what made games like this a real challenge!  I can see myself playing through this Christmas day and finally beating it with the convenience of save states.

What games do you play for Christmas?  Let me know in the comments below!

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU AND YOURS! 

Monday, December 21, 2015

Mason's Christmas Watch List

So many Christmas specials, episodes, and specials and so little time!

Here's my Christmas watch list:

1.
Hooves of Fire (1999 Short Film)
  7.4/10 
Robbie, an out-of-condition reindeer, tries to earn a place on Santa's crack sleigh team. (29 mins.)
2.
Robbie the Reindeer in Legend of the Lost Tribe(2002 Short Film)
  6.6/10 
Some time has passed since the race in "Robbie The Reindeer" and the group of reindeers have set up a tourist business offering guided tours... (30 mins.)
Director: Peter Peake
3.
Robbie the Reindeer in Close Encounters of the Herd Kind (2007 Short Film)
  6.1/10 
Robbie's wedding day is interrupted by an intergalactic attack.(30 mins.)
Director: Donnie Anderson
4.
Home Alone (1990)
  7.5/10 
An 8-year old troublemaker must protect his home from a pair of burglars when he is accidentally left home alone by his family during Christmas vacation. (103 mins.)
Director: Chris Columbus
5.
Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992)
  6.6/10 
One year after Kevin was left home alone and had to defeat a pair of bumbling burglars, he accidentally finds himself in New York City, and the same criminals are not far behind. (120 mins.)
Director: Chris Columbus
6.
The Leprechauns' Christmas Gold (1981 Short Film)
  6.7/10 
(25 mins.)
7.
Pinocchio's Christmas (1980 TV Movie)
  6.8/10 
It's Pinocchio's first Christmas, and he sells the book Geppetto gives him for present money, but Cat and Fox trick him out of it... (60 mins.)
8.
Jack Frost (1979 TV Movie)
  7.3/10 
The Groundhog tells the story of how, for once, Jack Frost became human, and helped a knight win his lady love. (48 mins.)
9.
Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July (1979 TV Movie)
  6.7/10 
Long ago the Lady Borealis placed the evil Winterbolt under a magic spell, and put the last of her magic into the nose of a newborn reindeer: Rudolph... (90 mins.)
10.
Rudolph's Shiny New Year (1976 TV Movie)
  6.7/10 
Rudolph must find for Happy, the baby New Year, before midnight, New Year's Eve. (60 mins.)
11.
The Little Drummer Boy Book II (1976 Short Film)
  6.6/10 
Aaron, the drummer boy, struggles to protect a bellmaker's great silver bells from seizure by Roman soldiers. (30 mins.)
12.
The First Christmas: The Story of the First Christmas Snow (1975 Short Film)
  7.3/10 
A young shepherd, Lucas, is blinded by lightening, and some kindly nuns at a nearby abbey take him in... (22 mins.)
13.
The Year Without a Santa Claus (1974 TV Movie)
  7.9/10 
When a weary and discouraged Santa Claus considers skipping his Christmas Eve run one year, Mrs. Claus and his Elves set out to change his mind. (51 mins.)
14.
Here Comes Peter Cottontail (1971 TV Movie)
  7.6/10 
With the help of a time machine, Peter Cottontail must rescue Easter from the hands of the malicious Irontail. (60 mins.)
15.
Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town (1970 TV Movie)
  7.9/10 
A mailman reveals the origin of Santa Claus. (48 mins.)
16.
The Little Drummer Boy (1968 Short Film)
  7.1/10 
An orphan drummer boy who hated humanity finds his life changed forever when he meets three wise men on route to Bethlehem. (25 mins.)
17.
Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964 TV Movie)
  8.2/10 
A misfit reindeer and his friends look for a place that will accept them. (47 mins.)
Director: Larry Roemer
18.
Elf (2003)
  6.9/10 
After inadvertently wreaking havoc on the elf community due to his ungainly size, a man raised as an elf at the North Pole is sent to the U.S. in search of his true identity. (97 mins.)
Director: Jon Favreau
19.
How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000)
  6.0/10 
On the outskirts of Whoville, there lives a green, revenge-seeking Grinch who plans on ruining the Christmas holiday for all of the citizens of the town. (104 mins.)
Director: Ron Howard
20.
Groundhog Day (1993)
  8.1/10 
A weatherman finds himself living the same day over and over again. (101 mins.)
Director: Harold Ramis
21.
Ernest Saves Christmas (1988)
  5.5/10 
Ernest helps Santa Claus as he searches for his successor. (95 mins.)
Director: John Cherry
22.
Christmas Vacation (1989)
  7.6/10 
The Griswold family's plans for a big family Christmas predictably turn into a big disaster. (97 mins.)
Director: Jeremiah Chechik
23.
Die Hard (1988)
  8.2/10 
John McClane, officer of the NYPD, tries to save wife Holly Gennaro and several others, taken hostage by German terrorist Hans Gruber during a Christmas party at the Nakatomi Plaza in Los Angeles. (131 mins.)
Director: John McTiernan
24.
A Christmas Story (1983)
  8.1/10 
Ralphie has to convince his parents, his teacher, and Santa that a Red Ryder B.B. gun really is the perfect gift for the 1940s.(94 mins.)
Director: Bob Clark
25.
The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)
  7.7/10 
The Muppet characters tell their version of the classic tale of an old and bitter miser's redemption on Christmas Eve. (85 mins.)
Director: Brian Henson
26.
Jingle All the Way (1996)
  5.4/10 
A father vows to get his son a Turbo Man action figure for Christmas, however, every store is sold out of them, and he must travel all over town and compete with everybody else in order to find one. (89 mins.)
Director: Brian Levant
27.
Gremlins (1984)
  7.2/10 
A boy inadvertently breaks 3 important rules concerning his new pet and unleashes a horde of malevolently mischievous monsters on a small town. (106 mins.)
Director: Joe Dante
28.
Batman Returns (1992)
  7.0/10 
When a corrupt businessman and the grotesque Penguin plot to take control of Gotham City, only Batman can stop them, while the Catwoman has her own agenda. (126 mins.)
Director: Tim Burton
29.
Lethal Weapon (1987)
  7.6/10 
A veteran cop, Murtaugh, is partnered with a young suicidal cop, Riggs. Both having one thing in common; hating working in pairs. Now they must learn to work with one another to stop a gang of drug smugglers. (110 mins.)
Director: Richard Donner
30.
White Christmas (1954)
  7.6/10 
A successful song-and-dance team become romantically involved with a sister act and team up to save the failing Vermont inn of their former commanding general. (120 mins.)
Director: Michael Curtiz
31.
Mickey's Christmas Carol (1983 Short Film)
  8.0/10 
The classic Disney animated characters play the roles in this animated retelling of the Charles Dickens masterpiece. (26 mins.)
Director: Burny Mattinson
32.
Mystery Science Theater 3000 (1988 TV Series)
  8.6/10 
Joel and the Bots take on the infamous Christmas classic Santa Claus Conquers the Martians in which a group of martians...(97 mins.)
Director: Joel Hodgson
33.
Santa Claus (1959)
  2.4/10 
With the aid of Merlin, Santa Claus must defeat the evil machinations of the devil Pitch to ruin Xmas. (94 mins.)
Director: René Cardona
34.
A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965 TV Special)
  8.4/10 
Repelled by the commercialism he sees around him, Charlie Brown tries to find the true meaning of Christmas. (25 mins.)
Director: Bill Melendez
35.
Snowbeast (1977 TV Movie)
  4.6/10 
A Colorado ski resort is besieged by a sub-human beast that commits brutal murders on the slopes. (86 mins.)
Director: Herb Wallerstein
36.
Mystery Science Theater 3000 (1988 TV Series)
Episode: Santa Claus (1993)
  8.7/10 
Mike and the bots watch Santa Claus mess around with a devil while trying to deliver gifts and then sing politically correct holiday songs. (97 mins.)
Director: Joel Hodgson
37.
Saving Christmas (2014)
  1.6/10 
Kirk is enjoying the annual Christmas party extravaganza thrown by his sister until he realizes he needs to help out Christian... (80 mins.)
Director: Darren Doane
38.
The Schlocky Horror Picture Show (2007 TV Series)
Episode: SnowBeast (1977) (2011)
  -/10 
by Herb Wallerstein starring Yvette Mimieux and Sylvia Sidney. Snowbeast features the phenomenon of the seventies...
39.
A Christmas Carol (2009)
  6.8/10 
An animated retelling of Charles Dickens' classic novel about a Victorian-era miser taken on a journey of self-redemption, courtesy of several mysterious Christmas apparitions. (96 mins.)
Director: Robert Zemeckis
40.
Doctor Who (2005 TV Series)
Episode: Last Christmas (2014)
  8.4/10 
The Doctor and Clara face their Last Christmas. Trapped on an Arctic base, under attack from terrifying creatures, who are you going to call? Santa Claus! (45 mins.)
41.
Doctor Who (2005 TV Series)
Episode: The Snowmen (2012)
  8.5/10 
London, 1892. Snow is trying to evolve, feeding off of the nightmares of a little girl. But the Doctor has given up on saving the world. It is up to a young governess named Clara to convince him, with just one word, to save the day. (45 mins.)
42.
Doctor Who (2005 TV Series)
Episode: A Christmas Carol (2010)
  8.6/10 
A space liner, with a large number of passengers aboard, is in difficulties while flying through the atmosphere of an unknown planet... (45 mins.)
43.
Doctor Who (2005 TV Series)
Episode: The Christmas Invasion (2005)
  8.2/10 
It's Christmas Eve, but this is to be a far from silent night - the cruel Sycorax have come to Earth to enslave mankind and, as ever, only The Doctor can stop them. Unfortunately, he's lying in a coma in Jackie's home... (45 mins.)
44.
Scrooge (1970)
  7.5/10 
A musical retelling of Charles Dickens' classic novel about an old bitter miser taken on a journey of self-redemption, courtesy of several mysterious Christmas apparitions. (113 mins.)
Director: Ronald Neame
45.
Comedy Bang! Bang! (2012 TV Series)
  8.5/10 
It's a Christmas Miracle until Zach pisses off an elf. Scott learns the meaning of Christmas when the bonuses get lost. Plus, we meet Scott's mom. (30 mins.)
46.
The Goddess of Spring (1934 Short Film)
  7.0/10 
The lovely goddess of spring Persephone is kidnapped by Hades, thus bringing about the winter season. (10 mins.)
47.
Mr. Bean (1990 TV Series)
Episode: Merry Christmas Mr. Bean (1992)
  8.9/10 
While Christmas shopping, Mr Bean purchases a bulky string of tree lights before making a shambles of a department store toy section... (350 mins.)
48.
How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (1966 Short Film)
  8.4/10 
A grumpy hermit hatches a plan to steal Christmas from the Whos of Whoville. (26 mins.)
Director: Chuck JonesBen Washam
49.
A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift of All!(2008 TV Movie)
  7.6/10 
HARK! THE HERALD PUNDIT SINGS! Join Stephen Colbert and his friends--Toby Keith, Elvis Costello, John Legend... (60 mins.)
Director: Jim Hoskinson
50.
Christmas with the Kranks (2004)
  5.2/10 
With their daughter away, the Kranks decide to skip Christmas altogether until she decides to come home, causing an uproar when they have to celebrate the holiday at the last minute. (99 mins.)
Director: Joe Roth
51.
The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
  8.0/10 
Jack Skellington, king of Halloween Town, discovers Christmas Town, but doesn't quite understand the concept. (76 mins.)
Director: Henry Selick
52.
I'll Be Home for Christmas (1998)
  5.3/10 
A college student experiences difficulty in getting home for Christmas after being hazed by his friends... (86 mins.)
Director: Arlene Sanford
53.
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever (1983 TV Movie)
  7.3/10 
A teacher puts on a Christmas pageant and puts the worst children in school as the stars. (48 mins.)
Director: George Schaefer
54.
Mr. Krueger's Christmas (1980 Short Film)
  7.9/10 
An elderly widower relies on his daydreams and faith to get through a lonely Christmas. (26 mins.)
Director: Kieth Merrill

55.
It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
  8.6/10 
An angel helps a compassionate but despairingly frustrated businessman by showing what life would have been like if he never existed. (130 mins.)
Director: Frank Capra

56.
A Claymation Christmas Celebration (1987 TV Special)
  8.3/10 
Two hosting prehistoric dinosaurs guide you along a typical small town's Christmas choral celebration. There's just one catch, the entire town population is made out of clay! Special Guest Stars: The California Raisins! (24 mins.)
Director: Will Vinton









What's on your Christmas watch list?  I know I am probably missing some great ones, so let me know in the comments below so I can add them!