B次元官网网址楾is the season for spirited and winless debates about what the best movie is.

No one needs us to remind you about the obvious holiday movies playing on repeat on cable, whether itB次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 a Wonderful LifeB次元官网网址�, B次元官网网址淗ome AloneB次元官网网址� or B次元官网网址淟ove, Actually,B次元官网网址� or even those holiday adjacent classics like B次元官网网址淓yes Wide ShutB次元官网网址� and B次元官网网址淭he Godfather.B次元官网网址� But perhaps you are looking to go beyond the obvious this year (sorry, B次元官网网址淐hristmas Story,B次元官网网址� B次元官网网址淲hite ChristmasB次元官网网址� etc, etc).

Associated Press Film Writers and have you covered with the best Christmas films for every mood.

A movie that feels like a Christmas movie but isnB次元官网网址檛, really

B次元官网网址淕rand Budapest HotelB次元官网网址�: Truthfully, thereB次元官网网址檚 nothing outside of a little snow to make Wes AndersonB次元官网网址檚 2014 delight a Christmas movie. But I donB次元官网网址檛 think thereB次元官网网址檚 another movie that better resembles the experience of opening a present than B次元官网网址淕rand Budapest Hotel.B次元官网网址� Unwrap AndersonB次元官网网址檚 intricate designs and the movieB次元官网网址檚 Russian doll-like narratives, and smile. (Available for digital rental) B次元官网网址� Coyle

Best movie for feeling fancy

B次元官网网址淢etropolitanB次元官网网址� (1990): Who among us hasnB次元官网网址檛 dreamt of doing debutante season in New York? Maybe donB次元官网网址檛 answer that, but Whit StillmanB次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址淢etropolitan,B次元官网网址� about a few privileged youths on the Upper East Side, is the ideal film to turn on when youB次元官网网址檙e craving something that feels like an elegant evening on the town but doesnB次元官网网址檛 require breaking out the white tie and ball gowns. (Streaming on Criterion, MAX, Hulu and Prime B次元官网网址) B次元官网网址擝ahr

Best performance next to felt

B次元官网网址淎 Muppets Christmas CarolB次元官网网址� (1992): ItB次元官网网址檚 one thing to do Dickens with, you know, other humans. But Michael Caine gives an Oscar-worthy performance as Ebenezer Scrooge while sharing the screen with the likes of Beaker and Dr. Bunsen Honeydew. To be fair, though, Gonzo the Great and Rizzo the Rat are also really good in this. (Streaming on Disney+) B次元官网网址� Coyle

Best Christmas cry

B次元官网网址淭he Umbrellas of CherbourgB次元官网网址� (1964): Jacques DemyB次元官网网址檚 technicolor musical isnB次元官网网址檛 exclusively set at Christmas, but its final tearjerker scene at that snowy gas station is enough for me. The whole candy-colored experience, from Catherine DeneuveB次元官网网址檚 whimsical bows to Michel LegrandB次元官网网址檚 sweeping, melancholy score just feels right around the holidays. (Streaming on The Criterion Channel) B次元官网网址擝ahr

The best L.A. Christmas movie

B次元官网网址淜iss Kiss Bang BangB次元官网网址�: Yuletide traditions donB次元官网网址檛 normally include a motormouth Robert Downey Jr., but Shane BlackB次元官网网址檚 2005 neo-noir black comedy is worth revisiting perennially whether or not it technically qualifies as a Christmas movie. In B次元官网网址淜iss Kiss Bang Bang,B次元官网网址� about a thief-turned-actor in Los Angeles, Christmas is more of a decorative ornament set ironically against all the deliciously unwholesome seediness. (Available for digital rental) B次元官网网址� Coyle

Best house swapping fantasy

B次元官网网址淭he HolidayB次元官网网址� (2006): Ok, so the cozy English cottage isnB次元官网网址檛 real, but what is? The premise? The romances? Cameron DiazB次元官网网址檚 sprint through snowy fields and country roads in stilettos? Mr. Napkin Head? (Actually, maybe Mr. Napkin Head). The thing is it doesnB次元官网网址檛 really matter, does it? Nancy MeyersB次元官网网址� romantic fantasy is never trying to be anything other than a delightful movie, a little too earnest, a little too glossy and an unabashed ode to the classic movies Meyers loves right down to Eli Wallach teaching a new generation about the B次元官网网址渕eet cute.B次元官网网址� (Streaming on Hulu and Prime B次元官网网址) B次元官网网址擝ahr

A great Christmas thriller not named B次元官网网址淒ie HardB次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淭hree Days of the CondorB次元官网网址�: IB次元官网网址檒l take any excuse to rewatch Sydney PollackB次元官网网址檚 1975 spy thriller with Robert Redford and Faye Dunaway. But, like in B次元官网网址淜iss Kiss Bang Bang,B次元官网网址� the Christmas backdrop isnB次元官网网址檛 accidental. If the holidays are the ultimate time of togetherness, B次元官网网址淭hree Days of the CondorB次元官网网址� questions what that means in a post-Watergate world. (Streaming on Paramount+) B次元官网网址� Coyle

Best recent kids Christmas movie

B次元官网网址淜lausB次元官网网址�: ThereB次元官网网址檚 such a steady stream of mediocre or worse holiday movies that it can be easy to miss when a gem arrives. Sergio PablosB次元官网网址� 2019 animated Netflix film was basically an origin story for Santa Claus by way of a desperate postman stationed in a remote northern village. Further proof, along with B次元官网网址淢iracle on 34th Street,B次元官网网址� that the best Christmas movies hinge on the postal service. (Streaming on Netflix) B次元官网网址� Coyle

For the under-five set

B次元官网网址淪haun the Sheep: The Flight Before ChristmasB次元官网网址� (2021): Clocking in at only 30 minutes, this is the perfect film for the littlest ones in the house. ItB次元官网网址檚 sweet, funny and adventurous and not even a little bit scary (unless you fear flying sleighs and botched recipes). (Streaming on Netflix) B次元官网网址擝ahr

Best general holiday-period movie

B次元官网网址淣obodyB次元官网网址檚 FoolB次元官网网址�: Robert BentonB次元官网网址檚 1994 Richard Russo adaptation, with Paul Newman, spans Thanksgiving through New YearB次元官网网址檚 Eve. And while that covers Christmas, the richness of B次元官网网址淣obodyB次元官网网址檚 FoolB次元官网网址� exceeds its vaguely holiday setting. ItB次元官网网址檚 a movie more about daily smalltown struggles and long-term regrets, yet its warmth could match that any of any more traditional Christmas movie, and then some. ThatB次元官网网址檚 much owed to Newman, but there are countless great performances here, including Jessica Tandy (in her final film), a never better Bruce Willis and a young Phillip Seymour Hoffman as a sniveling police officer. It makes me happy just thinking about it. (Streaming on Kanopy, available for digital rental) B次元官网网址� Coyle

For midcentury style and heartbreak

B次元官网网址淐arolB次元官网网址� (2015): Even if Rooney Mara didnB次元官网网址檛 catch Cate BlanchettB次元官网网址檚 eye while wearing a Santa hat behind the counter of a Manhattan department store, Todd HaynesB次元官网网址� B次元官网网址淐arolB次元官网网址� would still be one of the loveliest, most achingly tender Christmas movies around. Romance, heartbreak, plaids and martinis, B次元官网网址淐arolB次元官网网址� is truly flung out of space. (Streaming on Netflix, Paramount+ and MUBI) B次元官网网址擝ahr

The ultimate TCM Christmas movie

B次元官网网址淐hristmas in ConnecticutB次元官网网址� (1945): You donB次元官网网址檛 have to watch it on TCM but itB次元官网网址檚 certainly a fitting place to catch this 1945 screwball classic, with Barbara Stanwyck. She plays a popular homemaking column writer whose false persona as a family woman with a Connecticut farm is challenged when her boss (Sydney Greenstreet) comes for Christmas dinner. As a rule, itB次元官网网址檚 good to watch everything with Greenstreet. But the central conceit of B次元官网网址淐hristmas in ConnecticutB次元官网网址� B次元官网网址� that the perfect Christmas is a lie, and isnB次元官网网址檛 that fun B次元官网网址� has proved remarkably durable. (Streaming on WatchTCM) B次元官网网址� Coyle

For 19th century New England vibes

B次元官网网址淟ittle WomenB次元官网网址� (1994 and 2019): Gillian ArmstrongB次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址淟ittle WomenB次元官网网址� just feels like Christmas. Maybe part of that is because it came out around the holidays 30 years ago or that its DVD cover leans into it. But then you remember BethB次元官网网址檚 piano, the girls stomping through the snow with their Christmas feast, the caroling, the return of their father, the fireplaces and nightcaps and it makes sense. Those wanting all of this with a side of dancing Chalamet, Greta GerwigB次元官网网址檚 version is there for the taking too. (1994 version available for digital rental; 2019 streaming on Hulu) B次元官网网址� Bahr

The very best Christmas movie

B次元官网网址淭he Shop Around the CornerB次元官网网址� (1940): You can make a strong case for that other Jimmy Stewart Christmas movie. But in the knock-down, drag-out battle for the Christmas movie title, thereB次元官网网址檚 no greater delight than Ernst LubitschB次元官网网址檚 timeless love story. One of the most charming movies ever made, partly because it doesnB次元官网网址檛 shy away from real darkness, too. It also makes for a very effective drinking game if you sip something every time someone says B次元官网网址淢r. Matuschek.B次元官网网址� (Streaming on WatchTCM and Max) B次元官网网址� Coyle

B次元官网网址淢iracle on 34th StreetB次元官网网址� (1947): ItB次元官网网址檚 not even a remotely out of the box choice, but George SeatonB次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址淢iracle on 34th StreetB次元官网网址� endures as the platonic ideal of a Christmas movie. ItB次元官网网址檚 strikingly modern for something that came out 77 years ago with Maureen OB次元官网网址橦araB次元官网网址檚 single working mom, Natalie WoodB次元官网网址檚 prematurely cynical New York kid and the litigious and capitalistic culture and yet itB次元官网网址檚 all full of hope and holiday spirit (and a healthy amount of glossy capitalism), taking us from the MacyB次元官网网址檚 Thanksgiving Parade through Christmas Day. (Streaming on Disney+, Hulu and Prime B次元官网网址) B次元官网网址� Bahr