Judy Garland stars in “Meet Me in St. Louis,” one of seven holiday selections at Point and Eastgate. Marcus Theatres invites you to have yourself a merry little Christmas all month long.
Over at the Madison Movie blog, Rob Thomas previewed Sundance Cinemas Madison’s Holiday Classics series, a rotating schedule of Christmas titles playing every Wednesday at Madison’s premiere venue. Beginning next week, Marcus Theatres is rolling out its own docket of Christmas flicks to play Monday through Thursday in December.
Holiday Inn and Love Actually (Monday 12/2 –Thursday 12/5)
Save your mistletoe jokes because this holiday pairing has love to spare. Mark Sandrich’s Holiday Inn — the story of two entertainers (Bing Crosby, Fred Astaire) who team with a sister act to save a struggling inn — features love, laughs and lots of music, including Irving Berlin’s timeless “White Christmas.” Richard Curtis’ Love Actually offers even more oodles of romance as it flits between lovers (and a loaded cast) in the weeks leading up to Christmas.
Rifftrax Live: Santa Claus Conquers the Martians (Thursday 12/5)
If the thought of aliens kidnapping Santa Claus and forcing him to make toys for Martian children sounds ludicrous to you, fear not; you’re not alone. Nicholas Webster’s 1964 holiday sci-fi flop Santa Claus Conquers the Martians occupies the upper echelon of bad movies, and like Manos: The Hands of Fate and Plan 9 from Outer Space, it’s now getting its own Rifftrax commentary. For one night only, you can hear Mystery Science Theater 3000‘s Michael J. Nelson, Kevin Murphy and Bill Corbett skewer the heck out of this cult classic.
Meet Me in St. Louis and National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (Monday 12/9 — Thursday 12/12)
Before fathering a daughter with Judy Garland, Vincente Minnelli directed the actress in Meet Me in St. Louis, a musical centered on one family’s move to New York in the winter of 1904. The film also stars Margaret O’Brien and Mary Astor and among its musical selections, features Garland’s rendition of “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.” Also playing is the Chevy Chase comedy classic Christmas Vacation, because no Christmas is the same without some quality time with the Griswold family.
Mariinsky Ballet: Nutcracker 2D and Bad Santa (Monday 12/16 — Thursday 12/19)
It’s difficult to imagine a more “high and low” holiday pairing than this one. Mikhail Shemiakin returns Tchaikovsky’s timeless Christmas suite to St. Petersburg’s Mariinsky Theatre, the home of its debut over 120 years ago. For a chain like Marcus, whose “Entertainment Network” highlights theatrical productions, it’s not a surprising selection, but it’s downright auspicious when juxtaposed with Terry Zwigoff’s darkly comic Bad Santa. The film stars Billy Bob Thornton as a depressed alcoholic who moonlights as a mall Santa while ripping off department stores during the holidays. Foul-mouthed and cynical, Bad Santa finds a weird, beer-soaked sentimentality even among all the bleakness and hilarious vulgarity.
- All selections play at Point and Eastgate starting this Monday, December 2nd. For showtimes, see complete listings.