Home Hard - Lost in Nakitomi Plaza

years ago, called the Large Nerdron Collider Podcast. I had Ariel on not too long ago to talk about science fiction and fantasy gadgets and concepts and whether or not they were realistic in the tech world. But we thought we would bring you an episode of the Large Nerdron Collider Podcast so you could listen to it find out whether or not it's your jam, and if it is,

you should go and subscribe to it. This episode is called Homehard and for those who don't know, in the Large Nergron Collider Podcast, we cover stuff like nerd news, we talk about you know, deep dive geek topics, and we mash up different properties to create something new, in this case, die Hard and home Alone. So I hope you guys enjoy this episode of the Large Nerron Collider Podcast and I'll chat with you again after the episode plays.

Sit back, relax, Let's get nerdy. Hey, everybody, Welcome to the Large Nerdron Collider podcast, the podcast that's all about the geeky stuff happening in the world around us and how excited we are about it. I am arieokasting and with me as always is my co host, Holly Jolly Jonathan Strickland. Yep, Um, got a belly leca a bowl full of jelly. That's what That's what lockdown does to me. Hey, Harriel, I got a question for you. So here's your question.

To start off this episode. Let us say that, for some cruel twist of fate, you are limited to only being able to watch one holiday special or film each year. What would you have picked for this year? Oh golly, oh that's such a hard one, Jonathan, I know, way to go. Um. Now, keep in mind next year you would be able to choose a different one, but you can only have one this year. I'm gonna say Scrooged, Scrooged, the Bill Murray Classic. Okay, that's a that's a decent answer.

That's a decent answer. It's one that that's actually very divisive to I know people who have very strong feelings about that one because it is they feel a bit too mean spirited. But I think the anarchic nature of that plus the really weird meta fourth wall breaking ending is kind of interesting. Yeah. Yeah, I mean, just to keep it fresh. Like, that's one that I haven't watched that much recently because like you said, it's it's a little bit divisive, So I've watched a lot more, you know,

Charlie Brown Christmas and things like that. So just it's a clean change of pace for a year. Got it? What holiday movie would you watch for this year as your only holiday movie? Ariel, I'm so glad you asked me that question. I really I've been agonizing over this

since I asked you about three minutes ago. I would pick Immott Matters Jug Band Christmas, but it would absolutely have to be the version that originally aired on HBO back in the eighties that has all the stuff in it, including all the interstitial moments with Kermit the Frog, because if you've only seen em at utter post the HBO special, then you may not even know that Kermit was in it because that part of the Henson Company split off,

like the Immitt under property split away. From the Muppet part, and then you had this complicated rights issue. And unfortunately it also meant that typically the version of emmett Utter that you can find these days, whether it's on DVD or streaming or whatever, cuts out some of the jokes, and I don't understand why. Like, there's typically one song that gets cut at least, and there's one there's one joke that literally without the joke, the scene doesn't make sense.

Now I'm aware of this. I can't remember the joke, but I remember thinking that was incongruous. And then we've had this conversation before. Because I feel like you would pick emmett Utter every year for your soul holiday movie, and probably for your only movie for the entire year. I might occasionally swap it out for the Scrooge the Musical with the thank you very much, thank you very much that song. I love that song, and I love that version of Christmas Carol. There are lots of different

great versions. Yeah, that musical one is a lot of fun, I mean hot take, And people who know me know that I have this opinion. I am not a fan of the Muppet Christmas Carol, even though I love the Muppets. Me neither neither. I'm more of a traditionalist it was, and I mean I don't I don't even mind like the jokes and stuff, and I do appreciate the fact that they incorporate Charles Dickens into that version of Christmas Caroll, so you get to hear more lines that you normally

wouldn't hear because no one would. It's it's descriptions that no one would ever speak in dialogue, right. That is cool. However, I just feel like the Muppets aren't muppety enough in that, Like, like they don't go far enough in the Muppets thing for it to feel like a real Muppet movie, not like Muppet Treasure Island. I feel is way more more liberal with the Muppets. But my favorite Muppet movie is

Muppet Treasure Island. And see that's the thing the same same here, I really, I mean, my favorite is still the original Muppet movie, but Muppet Treasure Island I feel they got it right, right. I feel like they didn't go hard enough with Christmas Carroll. Also, I mean, I know people who absolutely love his performance, but Mike Cocaine was not my favorite Scrooge by a long shot. I don't like picking favorite scrooges. Um, it's like picking a

favorite child. I think there are plenty of old men who are very curmudgeed lely and play the role quite well, and a few women too. There have been a few versions of Christmas Carol with a female Scrooge and those are Yeah. And also there are plenty of mentioned lee older people who play Scrooge very well. And you've you've been in productions of Christmas Caroll, so you also have

that that perspective. Yeah, I've played uh Mrs Fezziwig, I've played Mrs Cratchett, I've played the Ghost of Christmas Future, I've played the Charwoman. Yeah, Concertina street Caroller. So you've got you've got you've got practice of of ominously pointing in the distance downpat Yeah, so I'm a little bit Well. They weren't real stilts. They were like plywood stilts that then got caught under the like the long black robe. Us.

It was a wonderful experience. I never fell over personally. Um. This is also crazy, guys, because most of you probably don't know this, but Ariel is approximately seven ft tall already, so I'm only five. Um, but so I'm a little biased, but you know, you asked what movie I'd watch a year. I feel like it's kind of an unfair question because we've gotten a whole lot of new holiday movies this year,

and not just the Hallmark Lifetime slew that we normally get. No, but the Hallmark Lifetime Slew does account for about seventy eight percent of all holiday movies every year, but that's just by volume. Yeah, but I mean sometimes if you want something uplifting, you just want some uplifting background, that's great because you're guaranteed to get that with a Hallmarker

Lifetime movie. That's true. I mean, like there might not be a whole lot of of meat on the bone there, but you can be pretty certain you know what the emotional beats of those films are gonna be. They're kind of like the holiday equivalent to romance novels, where they all follow a pretty similar pattern and you know how they're going to turn out. Now. Granted, some of the holiday movies that are also uh popular on streaming this year,

because that's that's how that's how we're all enjoying these days. Um, some of them, some of them go a little dark there are a couple that are are either emotionally really going to to tear at you or in one case, you've got a Santa Claus who's it was it was an action movie star kicking butt. So, you know, a lot of years I might go for this year, I know, I said Scrooge, I'm kind of filling uplifting. I'm willing to one of these new movies kind of take Scrooges place, yeah,

to kind of kind of sume things. I think soothing is something that we could all use. This year, it's been a it's been a I don't know if you guys out there have noticed, it's been a weird year, y'all. M h, it really has. So we are we are recording this a little bit before it airs because we want to spend time with our families for Christmas as well, you know, whatever form that takes. But um, we we

wanted to talk about some of the holiday movies coming out. UM. One of which is actually a TV special event it will have aired by the time that this episode airs, which is The Grinch Musical event with Matthew Morrison as the Grinch. They showed a commercial for it. If you watch the Macy's Day Parade this year on television, they showed a commercial for it. It got some mixed reviews, and you know, I'm I'm a little mixed on my opinion about it as well. I haven't seen it yet.

Might might have by the time you listen to this, But um, I don't know. I love The Grinch, and I think that the actions and I think that the music translates very well to stage. But any time I've seen an exception of one person who plays the Granch amazingly, which is a mutual acquaintance of Jonathan and I Judah, he plays an amazing Granch. But otherwise, anytime I see a live action version of a Grnch, it feels fake to me. Yeah, well, the person in a large, green,

fuzzy Muppet suit. Yeah, I I'm I don't have any desire to see live action versions of The Grinch. I'm fine with the original cartoon. Um, I think it's I think it's a classic. I'm not saying that no one should ever adapt it for other forms. I don't believe that. It's just I don't have any interest in it. It doesn't like when Jim Carey's films came out. I didn't really have any interest in seeing that when the musical first it stage, even with people like Patrick Page, who

is a phenomenal actor. Um, he plays Hades in Hades Town. He was the Grinch. Like I watched. Yeah, I watched a clip from the Macy's Parade from two thousand fifteen, and they did the who Celebrates Christmas or who Loves Christmas song and it's the Who's by the way in case you were wondering, um, And and at the end of it they also did a little bit of your I mean one Mr Grench and Patrick Page was playing the Grench. That version of the makeup and costume I

thought looked pretty darrible. But then again, also the video I was watching was really bad quality. It was on YouTube. It was some someone who just captured it off their TV or whatever. Um, it was not great. And uh, I was just blown away that Patrick Page had played that part, because I that somehow escaped my attention when it was happening. Um. But yeah, I mean, I have nothing against Matthew Morrison. I think he's a very good performer, and I don't have anything against um, the other folks

who were in it. I mean, I don't know if you know this areal. One of the other cast members of this production is Dennis O'Hare, who was one of two actors playing the dog and Dennis dog No. The other actor is also a human being. Uh Dennis so here for those who don't know well. First of all, he was in American Horror Story the first season as

a supporting character. But I think of him as Charles j. Geteaux from Assassin's the same production that Neil Patrick Harris was in, and he did a great job in that. I look at him and I go he would play a good Grunch for as as much as I like a stage porson the Grig. I will admit that I did not see the Macy Stay Parade version of the Grunch musical. I've only seen the granch on stage in adaptations of suskal Um. But I think it's just some uncanny Valley costume stuff for me. Maybe maybe it's just

never been the right costume design. I agree. I will probably watch it. I'm just gonna say I will probably watch it because I like encouraging them to make musicals for television. Sometimes they nearly completely hit the mark, and one day they will yeah, yeah. I like the idea of more live theater having greater exposure, especially in a world where one you can't really go see live theater

right now, not if you're being responsible and too. Even when you can, it's not the most accessible art form, especially if you're looking at stuff like Broadway. I mean, that's that's that's for profit theater, and it is very exclusive and very expensive. So having that increased accessibility I think is great. And if it if it inspires more people to get into theater, that's great. If it inspires people to support theater, I love that as well. So

I'm fully on board with supporting it. I just don't think i'll be watching it. Yeah. Yeah. So there are a lot of a lot of Christmas movies that follow into the general Christmas story genre, but I think that we should focus on a couple of ones that are much more geeky, because that's that's what we're about, right. You didn't mean to go off on a whole diet tribe about the it or, although that's certainly geeky. So let's start with the one that you alluded to early on,

the darkest one on our list, which is Fat Man. Yeah, Fat Man, No, not Batman, Fat Man starring Mel Gibson, which already at least for some people including me, starts to raise red flags. But Mel Gibson is playing the role of Santa, who is kind of down on his luck. Santa, this is set in a very cynical world. Um And the in fact that's something that that really stood out to me is as I was reading the synopsis, that just screamed cynicism to me, where Santa's disillusioned because more

kids are appearing on the Naughty List than the Nice List. Meanwhile, Santa's income is dependent upon him delivering more presents to children, like it's the number of presents he delivers relates back to how much money he gets out of a budget from the U S remant. And because there are fewer nice kids, he's supplementing his income by essentially renting out the North Pole and the elves to produce like military weapons and vehicles, and there's like you know, apparently some

action hero type stuff that happens. And it's just one of those things where I told Ariel before we started recording that you mentioned Scrooged at the beginning. It reminds me if you If you watch Scrooged, there's that segment where there's this fake action movie that they have a commercial for called The Night the Reindeer Died where Santa Claus and Um the six Million Dollar Man are are fighting off various ninja and terrorists at the North Pole.

And I'm like, oh my gosh, it sounds to me like someone saw that and thought, let's make that for real, but do it with without without humor. Yes, seriously, now I do hear you know? The reviews on this are pretty mixed. You said, not happy. Holiday movies tend to be a little bit more divisive. In The Assassin that the child who receives coal, there's a rich child who receives coal in this movie and hires a hit man on Santa And apparently there's some high jinks in there.

Um played by played by Walter Goggins, And I like Walter Goggins as an actor, but yeah, that's he's playing a hit man. Coming after sentence. He apparently has his own his own acts to grind with the jolly Man. Yeah, so, so I guess if you don't you know, I I wasn't. This one's kind of flown under the radar for me

as a movie that's even happening. So if that's your kind of jam and you just have watched so many Lifetime movies and Hallmark movies that you are two hyped up on the cotton candies substance of those movies, maybe this will bring you back down to earth. Um. I mean, and to be clear, like I like some dark holiday themed movies. There's some some Chris Smith themed horror movies that I really like, uh, you know, including things like Crampus.

We'll be talking later in this episode about movies that are not really Christmas movies, but they are set during the holiday season. But Grampus is one that really is dependent upon Christmas. It's just it's a Christmas themed horror movie that I think of kind of similar in a way to another film we'll talk about later, Gremlins. So there's you know, there are things out there that I

gravitate toward that are not your traditional holiday feel good stuff. Uh. But yeah, I I feel like you, I don't really I don't feel a strong pull to this particular one. Have you seen or did you have you? Have you watched yet? The Lego Star Wars Holiday Special. I haven't. I have watched the original Star Wars Holiday Special with um it looks like the old quiz No mascots where the novels were transposed on some poorly written uh cartoon characters,

except for in this case, it's actually just wookies. So I've seen the original Star Wars Holiday Special. I first of all, I'm sorry, so you got to see be Arthur and Harvey Corman and all those people doing weird Star Wars sketches and things. I like. I like it for certain definitions of the word like, but I have to be prepared for it, and I just haven't been prepared for that. For the lego version, well, the lego version is not it's not a recreation of the Star

Wars Holiday Special. It is a news story. It's a new story, and it it focuses on Ray, not So which which clearly it had to be a new story because Ray was not a character when the original special out two sisters, Dough and Me. She does not. And also the holiday special it does reference the original special a little bit because Chewbacca does have a family, so you get to see you know, Stinky and everybody show up, but but they don't other than that, there's no real

nod to the original holiday special. It's more of a goofy comedy time travel story uh that has a lot of funny little moments in it. So I do recommend that one. I think that one if you need your your holiday geek itch scratched. I think that one does a decent job. I will definitely check it out. Another movie I'm going to check out and it's actually I should have checked it out by now, it's already on Netflix is Jingle Jangle. I am so looking forward to

seeing this too. I haven't made the time yet, but it's on my must watch list. So I don't let myself watch Christmas movies before Thanksgiving. So that's why I haven't watched a lot of these Christmas movies at time. At the time we're recording this, but yes, I want you. Jingle Jangle is a new Christmas musical set in the Victorian era with a I'm not sure if it's all

black or predominantly black cat predominantly black. It's about a young girl named Journey who was sent to spend time with her curmudgeon le grandfather Um and they create toys and the thing I love about this movie is that the gentleman who wrote it, David Talbert, had been wanting to do it for a stage play and just couldn't quite make it work on stage and couldn't quite get

the right tone. And it took him twenty years, and he had a kid, and then all of a sudden he was able to collaborate with his child on on this story. And then he went to Netflix because he previously had done El Camino Christmas, which is not a breaking bad movie, but it is a dark, a dark Christmas comedy. Um, and uh, Netflix said, hey, don't make this movie to budget, make the movie you want, and

will fund it so to have. And he wanted to make a movie that showed there are not a lot of Christmas movies that feature black casts, and he wanted to provide that representation and so on so many multiple levels, from the the representation in the cast and in the costuming too. The fact that Netflix, who, as we've talked about before, they make stuff for a wide variety of people,

and a lot of that is not for me. Yeah they Yeah, they fund a lot of different productions, some of which seem incredible just on the face of it, some of which you're like, I did. They just have money left over in the budget that they absolutely had

to spend and that's why they funded this. But but Jingle Jangle does look like like the preview I saw was so captivating, and the costumes look so amazing, the special effects like the whole plot behind it involves a former apprentice of the grandfather who has stolen the grandfather's designs and become wealthy using those designs while the grandfather is kind of toiled in in uh In in poverty really and Keegan Michael Key plays the former apprentice, Gustufson,

and he has a costume that makes him look I don't know if they were specifically going for this, but to me, he looks like like the Wizard of ODZ, Like he looks like he could have come out of the Emerald City. And I wonder if that was a a purposeful choice, but it was just the first thing

I thought. Maybe it's just because his his jacket is like Emerald green, but yeah, it's it's all the classic setup of your your classic Christmas tale of you know, an old disillusioned person rediscovering joy through the association with youth and overcoming great odds and it's a musical and the dancing looks amazing and yeah, just it's that kind of thing that is hitting all the right switches for

me for a feel good Christmas movie. Yeah. Another another one that I think flew under the radar for me, but is hitting all the rights, which is is Dear Santa. There was a two thousand and eleven movie. Is this about Santa Claus? Who? Is this about Santa Claus? Who has antlers? And it's not it's not so it's not d e E R Santa. It's d e A R Santa. Although I would watch, I would watch d e E there might be one too many ease and there are Santa as well. Dear Santa. Um. Now this one is about.

This is a documentary about the Operation Santa program the United States Postal Service does with all of the letters they get from children who who write to Santa Claus. And it's it's a little bit more real life, uplifting and I very much look forward to watching it. Yeah, it's good to remind ourselves occasionally about the capacity we have to do nice things, because we often can forget about that with the the deluge of stressful, negative news

that surround us all the time. Well, we have a full discussion to have coming up about movies that may or may not be Christmas movies, depending upon as Obi Wan Kenoby would say, a certain point of view. But we will get to that after we take this quick break. So we didn't even really get to talk about all the movies we wanted to. But that's okay because we're going to go from the new to old. Like Jonathan said, so, um,

these movies are a few of my favorite things. No, you went right for the reference of the one that drives me nuts the most and it's not even a movie. Well, I guess the movie is also considered a Christmas movie. Yes, some people do consider us. So we're talking about the sound of music, which uh, so Ariel, when you think of that, do you think of just the music or do you think of specifically the song? Uh? My favorite things?

So uh, I think when I think of sounded music, I think of the musical and I specifically think of the movie musical. Uh And I go, well, maybe that's kind of Christmas Eve. But a few of these are a few of my favorite things. Does play at the holiday season all the time, and so to me, Yeah, it's it's about gifts. It's just a Christmas song, even though it's not that one. That one drives me nuts

that it comes on. Like when I listen to a holiday music station and that song comes on, I get irrationally angry because I think that is not a Christmas song. It mentions Christmas in passing in the song. It mentioned snow in passing in the song, but it is. There's literally singing about a few of their favorite things. It could be in the middle of July, it's still still one of your favorite things. Don't play that on my

holiday station. I feel very strongly about this. Well, I guess it's got snow flakes on nose and eyelashes, which you're not normally going to get. But they're just they're just yeah, they're just telling about a few of their favorite things, which may only happen once in your lifetime. I mean, kittens usually have what happened what in the spring and summer's well, it's not really up to us,

but typically we see that more in the spring. Okay, So there are some other movies and there I know that you feel very passionate about them that people think are Christmas movies. Um, the I think the most divisive one that I've ever talked with you about, Jonathan is die Hard. Yeah. Yeah, there's some people are like die Hard It's my favorite Christmas movie and I will die on this hill. Hard. It is not a Christmas movie. It is a movie set during Christmas. It is not

a Christmas movie. Is there a Christmas tree in it? Yes, there's a Christmas party. No, it is not. It's not a Christmas movie. It is not. Die Hard is an actor. First of all, Diehard is is the perfect action film, and that is both a positive and a negative. It's a negative because die Hard created a new paradigm for

action movies, right. Die Hard started a new trend that everyone was trying to copy, which is why for many years in the nineties and even unto the early two thousand's, people would describe action movies as it's die Hard on a something something so like Speed was die Hard on a bus and then later die Hard on a boat because they also had speed to Um yeah, yeah, so so both good and bad. But die Heart is a phenomenal film all in its own. It just isn't a

Christmas movie. It does have some Christmas music in it, but it's not Christmas movie. See, I might wager a different opinion because if if everyone had not been at the at the Nakatmy Plaza for the Christmas party, that would not have been nearly as many casualties. So Christmas in a way fuels everything that happens in that movie, but could to me, even though it doesn't focus on the Christmas spirit, it is a Christmas movie because without

the Christmas party, nobody would have been there too. It would have just been a basic corporate robbery. It could have also been a New Year's Eve party. There was no reason that had to be a Christmas party. It could literally have been a party for any reason. It could have been this is the anniversary of the founding of the company, and you would still have that same reason why people get together now. Granted, Christmas party is the kind of party where you typically have not just

the employees, but often their families there too. Thankfully, I don't think we see any kids in die Hard, which is a good thing considering one the people at the party are behaving in a way that is not appropriate for children, and too, when when when stuff goes down, you don't want kids there. But but you see, you

said it could be anytime. It wasn't the writer to make a Christmas but again, but again, if you had said that there's Christmas music, if you had said it at any other time of the year, the rest of the story would still play out as it does. It is not dependent upon Christmas, so it is not a Christmas movie. It's not dependent on Christmas. But it does take place at Christmas. So I think it's a Christmas movie. I think we might disagree with this. Maybe I'll concede

that it is a winter holiday movie. No, it's an action film, and that's it. It's an action movie. It's a great action movie. It's my favorite action movie, to the point where it actually kind of ruined action movies for me for a really long time. But it's not Let's move on to a different movie. Okay, sure, okay, So what do you think about Grimlin's Christmas movie? No, not a Christmas It's said it Christmas and technically, Gizmo the Magway is Christmas a SMAs present. But it again,

the story does not revolve. There's some cool Christmas Eve stuff in it, like there's some cool uses of Christmas in it, but unlike Crampus, for example, it is not it's not revolving around Christmas. I also argument well because because I think Gremlins and Crampus are like they're like they're like sister movies there. They both have a similar tone. They both have a kind of mean spirited edge to

the malicious nous in them. They both aren't so intense that, you know, like a younger viewer, someone who's maybe ten to twelve years old, could probably watch either of those and it would be it would be a lot, but they could probably handle it. I mean, I saw Gremlins when I was a kid, and I turned out mostly okay. But I think Crampus is around the same way. I didn't watch it until I was a little bit older. I've never watched Crampus. I think it would be too

scary for me. I think Gremlins is much more a Christmas movie than die Hard, and I love die Harden. I like saying die Hard Christmas movie, not just to annoy you, Jonathan Um, but primarily to annoy me. Yeah, but I I would say one Gremlins is a Christmas movie because if the entire story focuses around a Christmas Present. I guess. I guess I could be more convinced about

Gremlins than die Hard. Um. And the one reason why I really could go with it is one of the worst parts of the Gremlins film, but one of the best parts of Gremlins too, which is when Phoebe Kates tells the story about why she hates Christmas, which is the most over the top awful story to ever have happened to anyone ever really in a in a Christmas movie. And then in Christmas Too, she they satirize that with

her talking about uh President's Day. I think, yeah, yeah, her character have based RPG characters, Monster of the Week characters off of her. Um, okay, what about Shazam? Not a CHRISTI Christmas though, I would agree that that one. I'd agree it's not a Christmas movie to me either. Winter movie. Yes, Um, I know that the director really liked Christmas, but umve the Holidays, which is why he said it at that time. But yeah, to me, it's

not a It's not Christmas. Yeah. I saw that one pretty late, like it had already left theaters, and I caught it on I think I caught it on a plane actually, and I was. I had heard it was entertaining, but my expectations were fairly low, simply because I had been let down so frequently by d C superhero movies. Uh, they just weren't for me. I'm not saying that they were bad movies. I'm just saying they didn't appeal to me. I didn't like them, with the exception of Wonder Woman

and this one. I really liked it was I thought it was really in training. But even as I was watching it, like when you said when you put it on this list, I didn't even remember that there was anything about Christmas in that film at all. Like that, that doesn't even I don't associate the movie with Christmas because that's not what I think of when I think. No grant, I've only seen the movie one time, but it's not what I think of when I think of

the film, which again, is entertaining. I recommend it for people who haven't seen it. I did watch it for the first time last Christmas season. Um film, Ariel, Ariel, You can't. You can't count something a Christmas movie just because you happen to watch it around Christmas. Well, if that were the only reason I was counting it as a Christmas movie. I wouldn't. Okay, here's here's one that a lot of people disagree on. What do you think about Love actually, not as a movie, about whether it's

a Christmas movie? Uh, I have never seen Love Actually, I have never seen I've seen the clips, Like, is that the one that has the bit where the guy is at the door and he has the poster board cards with the words written on it, and he's essentially saying, Hey, you know, I totally dig you, but you're married, but I still dig you. So I'm gonna totally leverage this awkward moment and ignore the fact that you are actually

in a committed relationship. So you need to like totally back on me because I'm really a cool, handsome dude. I hate that, Like, I don't have any context for that scene, but it makes me so mad. It's um that movie. I enjoyed the movie. It just it's an anthology of relationships. So I like certain bits of that movie better than others. Next, Batman Returns not a Christmas movie. Said at Christmas, I love Batman Returns. I love it.

It's it's got its faults. I don't think that the version of the Penguin is one that I particularly agree with. But I think Danny DeVito was great in the movie, so I think I think he did a great job. I just didn't like that version of the penguin. Um. But penguins are all about Christmas, No, they're not. You know that. You know that when Christmas is over, penguins still exists, right they don't. They don't just puff out of existence year round. Yeah, I know. It's it's a

shock to the system. Uh. Batman Returns is not a Christmas movie. Uh. It does, however, have an amazing performance by Christopher Walking in it. I. Um, I will agree with you on that one. I love that Man Returns. Um, I just want, I just wanted. I like my penguin argument. I know it doesn't hold water much like a penguin's wings don't fly. Um. Okay. Edwards scissor Hands also so Edwards Scissor Hands I think of as more of a

fairy tale that happens to be said at Christmas. But it's it's this one's borderline for me because it has some of the magic that you associate with Christmas stories, right, Like there is a magical element to Edward scissor Hands, and it really is got that fairy tale field to it. It's one of the you know, Tim Burton stuff in general tends towards the fantastical. Um, even his more realistic films still have elements of that in it, and Edward

scissor Hands is pretty far into the fantastical. So I think of it more as a fairy tale that that is set in the winter. But I don't think of it as a Christmas movie. This one kind of ends at Christmas with the snow and it's snowing again. And to me, because it has that final note of you know, now it snows on Christmas. To me, that makes that that one note makes the entire thing a Christmas movie. I don't know A related note, then, what do you

think about The Nightmare Before Christmas? Is that a Christmas movie? I have never seen that. You've never seen The Nightmare Before Christmas? You've got to see that. I think you would really dig it. It's it's a very sweet movie. I don't think of it as a Christmas movie. Um. I think of it as a Honestly, I think of it is a Thanksgiving movie because it's because it's because

the action takes place between Halloween and Christmas. Now, granted it does end at spoiler alert, it does end at Christmas, but I don't. I think of it as sort of that bridging season between Halloween and Christmas. That's where that movie really lives. So I think the thing is that I don't like mixing my Hallywodeen with Christmas. They're two completely different, like emotional genres for me in real life, and so it's just never appealed to me to watch

it in movie form. That being said, plenty of people have told me I should watch it, including like you and my husband. Uh, just like plenty of people have told me I should watch Up Um, I just haven't. I will probably watch Nightmare before Christmas before I watch UP. Well. Up is great. The first ten minutes will destroy you. Okay, Coming to America is Coming to America Christmas story. There's a dude in a whole lot of Santa suit. It is not. It is not. Listen, the the bath scene

alone tells me it cannot be a Christmas movie. There is a line in that scene that will never belong to a Christmas movie. So no, it is not. Okay, I I don't really think that was a Christmas movie either. I want to argue you for comedy's sake, but we're already running along. So I've got one more Annie. I

don't think of any as a Christmas movie either. Like it's It's interesting because when I looked at this list, some of them I do remember being set around Christmas, and others I think, and I'm like, I don't know, I don't have any. I have no memory of that taking place around Christmas. Now. It has been a very long time since I've seen Annie, uh, And I don't associate with Christmas at all, because Annie is really getting pretty much like all the comforts that she could want

because she's been adopted by a billionaire. Um so, so so in that case, it's like Christmas almost seems like it's a overkill because she's already getting everything. But but I just don't remember it having anything to do with Christmas. In the stage musical, it's Christmas when uh, when Miss Hannighan and Ruster Lilier caught at the Warbucks mansion. So gotcha, I you know, I guess I can see what you're saying there. So really, really where it falls the line

to me is if Christmas drives the plot. Even if it's not focused on the ideals of Christmas, it can count as a Christmas movie. To Jonathan, it seems like if it doesn't uphold the ideals of Christmas is a part of the movie, then it's not a Christmas movie. Yeah. No, if it's if it just happens to be set around Christmas time, that's not enough. You gotta try harder. Uh Like, it could still be a great movie, it's just not a Christmas movie. Might be a movie that you watch

around Christmas doesn't make it a Christmas movie. Well what if we mashed up a Christmas movie with a not Christmas movie? Would that make it three quarters Christmas and enough to count for you? I guess we will find out after this short break. All right, Aeriel, tell everybody what two movies you decided to mash up together? Because you picked these? I picked these, which I dug a real hole for myself, you guys, it was. It was

a challenge, but when I gladly accepted. Originally it was going to be home alone in Annie because I liked the dichotomy of uh, someone defending their house wheresus someone who was an orphan Um. But then Jonathan actutely pointed out that we've had so many musical mashups recently, so I changed it. So I really just beg you to spare our audience from me singing again. Fair enough, So we're doing Home Alone, which I will fight tooth and nail. Is a Christmas movie. Um, and I don't think Jonathan

would disagree on this. I mean no, I guess not. I don't know. I mean it takes it takes place at Christmas. He's left at home because his family leaves for Christmas. Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yeah, I know, I know. He talks to Santa. He asked Santa for his family. It is a Christmas movie. And Die Hard, which is not a Christmas movie, as we have already established, it's very Christmas music. Uh. Do you want to go first or you want me to go first? Um? I'll

go ahead and go first. Okay, go first. I now, we have not shared these with each other, and we don't know how similar they're going to be. Probably fairly similar. But I want to hear your pitch. Okay, So this is Home Hard, Lost Knock, Tommy Plaza. Love it already because if you if you um, putting like die home, die alone alone. Yeah, there is, there was die Hard like it is, just there weren't any good combinations. So

home Hard lost Nacka Tommy Plaza. So it's Christmas Eve and Kevin mccleanister's mom because Kevin McAlister is a character and home alone. We didn't really deep dive into it. But I want to get right to the meat. So Kevin mccleanister's mom, refusing to leave him at home alone has stuck him in the worst imaginable place, the kids play area at Nakatomi Plaza, while she and her new husband Kevin stepdad Argyle attend her company Christmas party. Our gyle is the driver in Die Hard, Okay, so just

so people can realize my brilliance, okay. Staring wistfully out the will window of the kids play area, bemoaning the fact that he is a mature tine year old stuck in a room with a bunch of children, Kevin notices a suspicious yet all too too familiar van pull up to the office building. On the side of the van, it says, sticky groopers. Uh. Sticky bandits were the second iteration of the wet bandits from home alone one and two,

so they must have upp to their game. After having been foiled by a latch key kid twice already um and moved to corporate crime. Kevin also realizes that if these sticky groupers ruined his mother's Christmas party, he will be blamed for it. Uh. You know it's kid logic, go with it, So he decides to stop them. He's done it twice before, it shouldn't be any different now.

He scours the playroom looking for anything he can use to his advantage, but all he finds is a set of legos, a tarantula and a terrarium, and an empty NERF gun and a bag of marbles. I guess it's not only that's a that's a good arsenal for this kid. Uh. He just succeeds at gathering all these items up when the Sticky Groupers shoot the window and enter the building, causing enough of a distraction for Kevin to crawl into

the duck system and out of the blay room. He exits the duck system at the top of the elevator. I don't know how duck systems work, but I'm assuming this isn't so he lands like on top of the elevator and the elevator shaft. Just as the Sticky Groupers enter, He drops the tarantula through the little latch door at the top, causing them to hit half the buttons on

the elevator. But he realizes all too quickly that they're gonna get really sick of stopping on every floor, so he also jams a bunch of legos into the into the elevator, works to stop it and get it stuck. Uh. This leaves him just enough time to load load the marbles into his NERF gun, aim at the groupers through the window and take through the little door at the top of the elevator. Elevator thank you, and take him out. Just then the legos break, the elevator goes up to

the next floor, the doors open. Kevin gets thrown on top of the Sticky Groupers, who are now passed out from being shot in the head with marbles from a NERF gun and open. It is on the Christmas party when kevinemy clanister's mom sees him. Mccleanister's mom sees him, she blames him for escaping the play paid place, completely overlooking the fact that he foiled a dangerous corporate robbery, but because it's Christmas, she's so happy to see him that she doesn't ground him, and they go home and

they live happily ever after. Okay, so I can tell you kind of lost the plot halfway. I can tell you that we totally did not go the same way. So you are you ready for my attempt? That was a masterpiece? Areal? That was a masterpiece. So thank you. I am so ready. Yours are always fantastic. Here we go. N Kevin McAllister is returning home after being away all year, having recently graduated the police academy. He gets to the family home and discovers, to his shock that his family

isn't there. They've left on a Christmas trip, completely forgetting that Kevin was on his way back home to visit them. How can the same thing happen to the same guy like eight times, Kevin says. Kevin lets himself into the family home, having traveled all that way, and does his best to make merry. He watches old action movies, dances around, and generally tries to have a good time. We can see, though,

that he is not having a good time. We see this with occasional glimpses of his face, which is sad, and the fact that he's making fists with his toes on the carpet a sure sign that he's experiencing anxiety. Late in the night, a pair of apparent robbers or bandits if you prefer, break into the house just as Kevin is in the kitchen making some snacks. Kevin hears them, so he's able to be quiet and evade notice, but his service revolver is in his spare room where he

had planned to sleep. He conceals himself and listens in, and soon it becomes a parent. The bandits are more than just your average house thieves. For one thing. They are soon joined by another thief, and another and another, like twenty guys show up. They're all vaguely European except for one guy who is clearly American, and he's a

hacker because he wears glasses. These bandits have heard that Kevin's dad has a huge number of bonds hidden in a safe, which is in itself in a hidden part of the house and will require an enormous amount of time to break into. And so they get to work, and before long they're using various tools to try and break through the safe. Kevin meanwhile sneaks around the house quietly setting up various booby traps. He's without his gun after one thief while just doing a cursory search, happens

across the revolver. Using tools like gardening implements, paint cans, ball bearings, crazy glue, hungry Hungry Hippo's board game, and some steak knives. Kevin McAllister takes out the bandits one by one or sometimes one by two, because you know, he's kind of a badass. At the end of the movie, it's down to Kevin and the last two bandits, which are revealed to be his old nemeses, the Wet Bandits themselves, who are just desperately clinging to the idea of one

last big heist so they can retire. So Kevin totally shoots them a whole bunch with his revolver, which I forgot to mention he managed to retrieve I don't know, like maybe three bandits ago. At the very end of the film, the phone rings, and as Kevin stands in what is essentially a pile of corpses, he has a conversation on the phone that sounds like he's talking with his family. But then at the very end he says, Merry Christmas. Mr McClean. Boom. Kevin mccallister's teacher at the

police Academy was John McClean. But you didn't see that coming the end. Oh I love it. I love the twist. Oh my goodness, I thought you were going to swear for a second. It was a real roller custody. Yeah. No, there was no yippy kaya ying in that. I was like, please me, Mr Falcon, not not the but that was

I loved it. Yeah, yeah, see I was. I was trying to think of, like, it's cool because you actually went to the die hard setting whereas I went to the home alone setting, and as I said, like, we did not talk about this beforehand, so we had no idea what the other person was going to do before they did it. So that was kind of that was that was a fun experiment, and it was just lucky that we both went the opposite way. You know, I'm sure there are other ways to go with it too.

It's not one or the other. In fact, if if our listeners come up with ways that they would like to combine these two classics, one a Christmas classic and one totally not a Christmas classic, then they should do that and let us know about them. Yes, you can reach out to us on social media on Twitter where at l n C Underscore podcast, and we're also on the facebooks and the Instagrams. You can post a message or you can send us a d M. If we like your ideas and your mashups, will read them on

an episode. And you can also tell Jonathan that die Hard is totally a Christmas movie. Actually I will listen. He won't listen, let him have this this this holiday, but I'll listen, so you can tell me, Um whatever you think either way, Well that I think that wraps this one up. I think it's time for us to to wrap this episode up and then maybe unwrapped some presents. I agree, So until next time, I'm aerial casting and I'm jingling Strickland. Happy Holidays. That was the Large Nerdron

Collidor podcast. I hope you guys really liked it. If you did, go subscribe to the Large Nerdron Collator podcast were available pretty much everywhere you get your podcasts and listen to it. Let's know what you think. Get in touch with us, help us grow the show, help us evolve the show. We want to make a lot of different segments, for example, and if you guys have ideas for cool stuff we should do, then we would love

to hear it. And also, you know, make sure if you do like it, share it with people, leave a review, all that nice stuff, all the stuff that helps a brand new show kind of find it's it's audience. You know, we don't need to be the biggest show in the world, but we do want to make sure that the people who would really enjoy it get a chance to listen to it. And uh, you know, Ariel has put in so much work on this show and I kind of

am almost along for the ride. I know you wouldn't know that because the way I talk, but it's true anyway. For tech Stuff, if you guys have suggestions for topics that we should cover on tech Stuff, make sure as always to reach out to me. The best way to do that is on Twitter. The handle for the show is text Stuff H s W and I'll talk to you again really soon. Yeah. Text Stuff is an I

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