My Top 5 Christmas Movies, Not “A Christmas Story” or “It’s a Wonderful Life” [VIDEO]

How the Grinch Stole Christmas, also known as Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas (known as The Grinch for promotional purposes), is a 2000 comedy film from Universal Pictures and Imagine Entertainment, based on the 1966 TV special which itself is based on 1957 book of the same name by Dr. Seuss. Because the film is based on a children's picture book, many additions had to be made to the storyline to bring it up to feature-length, including some information about the backstory of the title character. Most of the rhymes used in the book were used in the film, though some were slightly changed, and new rhymes were put in as well. Directed by Ron Howard, produced by Howard and Brian Grazer, and starring Jim Carrey, it is the first Dr. Seuss story made into a feature film. The film received mixed reviews from critics, but spent four weeks as the #1 film in the United States.

This Christmas is a 2007 Christmas comedy-drama film produced by Rainforest Films and distributed by Screen Gems. Written, produced and directed by Preston A. Whitmore II, it is a Christmastime story that centers around the Whitfield family, whose eldest son has come home for the first time in four years. The film is based on the 1971 Donny Hathaway song of the same name, which is covered by Chris Brown in the film.

Scrooged is a 1988 American comedy film, a modernization of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. The film was produced and directed by Richard Donner, and the cinematography was by Michael Chapman. The screenplay was written by Mitch Glazer and Michael O'Donoghue. The original music score was composed by Danny Elfman. The cast includes Bill Murray, Karen Allen, Bobcat Goldthwait, John Forsythe, Carol Kane, John Houseman, and Robert Mitchum. Murray's brothers, Brian, John, and Joel also appear in the film. The film was marketed with references to Ghostbusters which had been a great success four years earlier. In the USA, the tagline was, "Bill Murray is back among the ghosts, only this time, it's three against one."

Christmas Vacation is a 1989 Christmas comedy film directed by Jeremiah S. Chechik. It is the third installment in National Lampoon's Vacation film series, and was written by John Hughes, based on his short story in National Lampoon Magazine, Christmas ‘59. The title song was written for the movie by the husband-wife songwriting team of Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil and was performed by Mavis Staples of The Staple Singers fame. Since its release in 1989, Christmas Vacation has received critical acclaim and is often considered a modern holiday classic.

Bad Santa is a 2003 American screwball black comedy film directed and co-written by Terry Zwigoff, produced by the Coen brothers, and starring Billy Bob Thornton as the title character and Tony Cox as his partner in crime. Actors Bernie Mac and John Ritter (in his final live-action film) co-star. Lauren Graham, Lauren Tom, Ethan Phillips, Brett Kelly, and Cloris Leachman are also featured.

The unrated version of the film was released on DVD on March 5, 2004 and on high-definition Blu-ray Disc (November 20, 2007) as Bad(der) Santa. A director's cut DVD was released in November 2006. It features Zwigoff's cut of the film (including an audio commentary with him and the film's editor), but is three minutes shorter than the theatrical cut and ten minutes shorter than the unrated version. The film was screened out of competition at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival.