Christmas Movies Actually podcast

22/08/2025

Our latest episode is up! We take a look at two John Cusack movies. Both are celebrating their 40-year anniversary, both remain beloved by many for different reasons and both happen to be Christmas-adjacent films. We both have our preferences over which one we like more. Listen to find out who prefers what. Enjoy!

Kerry and Collin didn't plan on 2025 being a John Cusack-a-thon, but that's what ended up happening. After talking about "Serendipity" back in February and with "The Ice Harvest" coming up in December, the hosts decided to do a Cusack double-header of Christmas-adjacent films tha

04/07/2025

We're releasing it a day early, because hey, we all could use a smile right now. Hopefully, this does the trick as we're joined by Erik Childress to talk about one of the dumbest things to ever come out of Florida and Hollywood. We love Cannon Studios films and this is one of the rare Christmas movies they had to offer. Join us as we look back on one of the craziest studios to ever exist with one of their silliest offerings. Enjoy!

Kerry and Collin are joined by frequent guest, Erik Childress (host of Movie Madness) to talk about one of the dumbest films to come out of 1985, from Cannon Studios, one of the most notorious movie studios of its era.

12/06/2025

Our latest episode is up! We watched all four "Bridget Jones's Diary" movies, all of which have some element of Christmas in them, but we focused on the first one the most, thanks to an article in GQ from 2016 saying it's the best Christmas movie ever. We're not nearly there in our assessment, but BJD sure is a step waaaayyyy up from the last movie we talked about. Also, lots of blu-rays to talk about.
Next film: Terry Gilliam's 1985 masterpiece, "Brazil."
Enjoy!

Based on the encouragement of a GQ article from 2016, Kerry and Collin took a look back at “Bridget Jones’s Diary” to see if the writer of said article had been onto something. That led them to go back and rewatch all of the “Bridget Jones” movies including the latest, which just came out ...

27/05/2025

Our latest episode is up! We're talkin' DECK THE HALLS, starring Matthew Broderick and Danny DeVito, and wondering how such reliable, well-liked actors end up playing unlikable people in awful movies. It's enough to cause some viewers some form of existential dread. Good thing we're covering it in the off season. And at least Kerry has a Book segment. Enjoy!

Kerry and Collin plowed through this comedy starring Matthew Broderick and Danny DeVito as two feuding neighbors at Christmastime. The experience of watching the film caused one of them to ponder, "why are we doing this podcast?"

14/05/2025

We totally forgot to promote our latest episode. Film Festivals will do that to you. We finally finished the "Santa Clause" trilogy. Which one is the best? Not sure either of us have an answer, but it's good to wrap up another franchise. We talk about how much we both love Martin Short and we talk about Clint Eastwood and David Bowie in the Blu-ray segment. Enjoy! Our next film will be "Deck The Halls" (2006).

Kerry and Collin, while trying desperately to recall facts about part 2, finally round out the Tim Allen "Santa Clause" trilogy with should be the best of the bunch, considering the casting of Martin Short.

20/04/2025

Hey, wanna win a pair of free tickets to an upcoming movie at the Chicago Critics Film Festival? Listen to our latest episode to find out how. In our latest episode, we're joined by Nell Minow to talk about a relatively obscure film, "The Holly and the Ivy" (1952), which might be the first of the family-comes-home-for-the-holidays sub-genre of Christmas movies. It's a wonderful discovery and worth seeking out. Kerry also talks about three movies from "1,001 Movies You Must See Before You Die," including a Mike Leigh movie that kinda dovetails with our main discussion. Enjoy!

A listener requested this title quite some time ago and it finally happened! Film critic Nell Minow joins Kerry and Collin to talk about this relatively obscure, but wonderful movie that might just be the first ever in the sub-genre of holiday films where the family returns home for the holiday fest

05/04/2025

Our latest episode is up and it is epic! We have two stellar guests joining us for our discussion on the 1984 cult classic "Night of the Comet": we have the star of the film, Catherine Mary Stewart, who tells some great stories of what it was like to work on this apocalyptic fantasy. We also talk about "The Apple," "Dudes," "The Last Starfighter" and a few of the other Christmas films in which she appeared. We also have ms. marya e. gates, who is currently promoting her outstanding new book CINEMA HER WAY: VISIONARY FEMALE DIRECTORS IN THEIR OWN WORDS. The four of us get into a discussion on the industry and the women who continue to have to fight an uphill battle within it. Plus, a blu-ray segment. So yeah, it's A LOT! Enjoy!

Kerry and Collin are joined by Catherine Mary Stewart, star of the 1984 cult classic "Night of the Comet," as well as returning guest Marya E. Gates, author of the new book "Cinema Her Way: Visionary Female Directors in Their Own Words."

09/03/2025

Our latest episode is up! We're talkin' about the 2004 comedy "Surviving Christmas," starring Ben Affleck, James Gandolfini, Christina Applegate and Catherine O'Hara. We dreaded it going in. Is it really that bad? Tune in and find out. Also, because of our lag in February, we have both a Book and a Blu-ray segment. Enjoy!

Kerry and Collin look at the often maligned 2004 comedy "Surviving Christmas," starring Ben Affleck, James Gandolfini, Christina Applegate and Catherine O'Hara and find it's not quite as terrible as critics (Collin included) made it out to be twenty years ago.

03/02/2025

Hi everyone...
We wanted to let you know that our next episode will be late coming out. Due to health and computer problems, we're just not having a great month and so our February 5th episode will be a few days--maybe a week--late. We'll be talking about the 2001 movie "Serendipity," starring John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale. Don't worry, though. We're fine. All is well. Just unforeseen delays. Thank you!
--Collin & Kerry

28/01/2025

Our latest episode is up! We're joined by returning guest Morgan Gire (The Friendship Dilemma podcast) to talk about Martin McDonagh's Oscar-nominated black comedy, "In Bruges," starring Colin Farrel, Brendan Gleeson and Ralph Fiennes. Kerry also talks about a David Lynch film in the Book segment, which leads to a brief discussion on his work. Enjoy!

The co-host of Friendship Dilemma, Morgan Gire, returns to the show to talk about Martin McDonagh's great, Oscar-nominated black comedy, "In Bruges," starring Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson and Ralph Fiennes. While the film does take place during the holiday season, it's the bleak morality

17/01/2025

Have you heard our latest episode yet? We talk about "Nutcrackers," per our tradition of opening the year with a Nutcracker movie (even a Nutcracker-adjacent movie). We also talk about a very funny short film, "A Winter's Charm In Carson City," a dead-on parody of Hallmark Christmas movies. Plus, new blu-rays! A packed show. Enjoy!
Next week's film: "In Bruges," starring Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson and Ralph Fiennes.

Kerry and Collin continue the tradition of starting the new year off with a look at a Nutcracker movie. Although, this Hulu offering is not a Nutcracker-based movie, the ballet does figure into the plot eventually, as Ben Stiller has to housesit his four recently orphaned nephews, who happen to have