Showbits

As per our annual tradition, we here at Showbits wish you a very merry holiday season, courtesy our friends at RiffTrax:

Hat tip to Satellite News.

Paramount has officially announced Star Trek XI, scheduled for a Christmas Day 2008 release.

Though J. J. Abrams is confirmed to direct, only rumors exist as to the film's plot and cast; therefore, I posit that that it will be a cinematic adaptation of the following poem.

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Courtesy MST3KInfo.com:

Tom: It's quiet in the cold of our own little orbit, starless and bible black. And as I look down on the big blue beam we would call home I think it so near, yet… oh, I wish on that star and I hope that in a little snow-covered house with a warm hearth and a loving family, maybe some kid is looking up tonight and wishing upon us. Oh, and how I hope sweet Santa will fly by tonight, because if he does I'm gonna reach right out and hug that big guy. Oh, for the sound of hooves against the steel hull of the ship. Oh, to see the rosy face of Santa in the porthole, offering me a Coke and a smile… [gradually becoming upset] …of course, his cheeks WOULD be rosy because it's a VACUUM out there! I mean, Santa's HEART would explode! [becoming hysterical] But HE wouldn't feel it because the capillaries in his brain would pop like little firecrackers [Joel tries to calm him down] due to the blood boiling away in his face like pudding in a copper…OH THE HUMANITY!! [Now both Joel and Crow are trying to calm him down.] And his jolly old belly would start bubbling like a roasted marshmallow, eyes bulging and popping out… AND THE REINDEER–OH THE REINDEER!!!–keep bloating like holiday floats and in turn exploding in a hail of blood and entrails! Prancer–BOOM! Dancer–BOOM!…
Joel: HEY!
Crow: Tom!
Joel: Tom, take it easy! Santa's gonna be okay, buddy.
Tom: You sure?
Joel: Yeah, give him a little credit, okay?
Tom: Phew, what a relief!

I was at a Martina McBride concert last night, shortly after being in the closing performance of A Charles Dickens Christmas. Take this as you will, but my favorite part of the concert was intended only to distract us from the scene change, when they showed a video montage of my favorite holiday films: Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Frosty the Snowman, Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town, It's a Wonderful Life, and others (though not National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation). It made me realize there are several other films in the holiday genre I've not yet experienced — among them, Irving Berlin's White Christmas and Bob Newhart's Elf (which, oh yeah, I think also has Will Ferrell).

Since there's not yet snow on the ground here, I need some help getting into the holiday spirit. What are your favorite Christmastime movies, and why?