Christmas Greetings and Movies

Merry Christmas to everyone!  Last night we sat, after returning home from the Christmas Eve service at our church, and watched one of Melissa's favorite Christmas movies, the funny and sweet Elf. As for my own favorite Christmas movie, it's The Polar Express and although there have been a few showings already on TV, I've only managed to get in a few glimpses so far this season.  But they usually keep showing it from time to time in the days following Christmas, so I'm sure that I'll get to watch it again all the way through at some time.  And of course, there is A Christmas Story, being shown repeatedly on two stations this year: TNT and TBS.  As well as gazillions of other Christmas movies on many channels...

There are the movies about Christmas, and there are the movies that are released on Christmas, not necessarily with any other connection to the holiday season.  This year I see two standouts: The Imitation Game and Unbroken.  The Imitation Game concerns the breaking of the German Enigma code during World War II with the crucial help of mathematician AlanTuring, played by Benedict Cumberbatch. Unbroken is a biographical account of American athlete and war hero Louis Zamperini, who after appearing in the Olympics endured brutal treatment as a prisoner of war under the Japanese following an ordeal of several weeks floating adrift in the Pacific after his plane was shot down, again during World War II.  I'd like to see both of these, especially The Imitation Game...