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5 more Christmas movies that aren't really about Christmas

Here's some more contenders for your Christmas viewing needs
Bruce Willis in 'Die Hard 2' and Johnny Depp in 'Edward Scissorhands'
Posted at 6:00 AM, Dec 25, 2022
and last updated 2022-12-25 06:00:45-05

Here are five more movies worthy of consideration for those who are looking for something a little less merry this Christmas.

"Die Hard 2 (1990)"

'Die Hard 2' movie poster

Two years after the events of the first film, John McClane (Bruce Willis) is waiting for his wife (once again played by Bonnie Bedelia) to arrive at Washington Dulles International Airport on Christmas Eve when terrorists take control of the air traffic control tower. Obviously, McClane intervenes and helps save the day.

Memorable Christmas moment: The airport's police captain (played by "NYPD Blue" tough guy Dennis Franz), who has been a thorn in McClane's side throughout the movie, rips up a parking ticket intended for the film's hero just before the credits roll, telling him, "Ah, what the hell! It's Christmas!"

"Home Alone" (1990)

'Home Alone' movie poster

Macaulay Culkin, the "it" child star of the 1990s, rose to fame in the role of Kevin McCallister, who gets into a fight with his family on the night before their Christmas vacation in Paris and gets accidentally left behind in Chicago.

Kevin enjoys his newfound freedom, eating the food that he wants and having free reign of his house. That is, until he has to fight off two bumbling crooks (Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern), setting booby traps for them in a climatic confrontation.

Memorable Christmas moment: Kevin dupes the crooks into thinking that the house is occupied, staging an elaborate phony Christmas party complete with a cardboard cutout of Chicago Bulls star Michael Jordan being carried along a toy train track, a mannequin spinning in circles on a record player, the soundtrack of Brenda Lee's "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" and lots of rope.

"The Ref" (1994)

'The Ref' movie poster

Funny man Denis Leary is a burglar who is forced to play referee for a bickering couple (Kevin Spacey, now blacklisted in Hollywood after sexual assault allegations surfaced, and Judy Davis) he holds at gunpoint inside their home on Christmas Eve. Who needs therapy when a foul-mouthed gunman can do the trick?

Memorable Christmas moment: An intoxicated, Champagne-toting neighbor dressed as Santa crashes a neighborhood family's Christmas celebration when he is taken to task by one of the children.

"Santa doesn't drink Champagne. Santa drinks milk," the boy says.

"Look, Santa can't drink anymore milk tonight," the drunken Santa replies. "Santa has a lactose intolerance. It gives him horrible gas pains. You want to see Santa farting down everyone's chimney?"

Then Santa wishes the group a merry Christmas and chugs from his Champagne glass.

RELATED: 5 Christmas movies that aren't really about Christmas

"Edward Scissorhands" (1990)

'Edward Scissorhands' movie poster

Johnny Depp stars in the title role of this Tim Burton-directed dark comedy.

Created by an old inventor (played by Vincent Price in his final film), Edward Scissorhands is aptly named since he has scissors for hands.

A door-to-door saleswoman discovers him alone in a Gothic mansion and takes him, introducing him to the colorful world of suburbia during Christmastime.

Alas, this modern-day Frankenstein story ends much the same, with Edward being run out of town and banished back to the familiar confines from which he emerged.

Memorable Christmas moment: It turns out those hands are plenty helpful on the domestic circuit, as his hosts soon learn.

Edward uses his talents to bring an ornate style to the neighborhood's yards, eating shish kabob, cutting hair and making ice sculptures. Edward's sculpture is of an angel, and the shavings create a snow effect as they fall on his inspiration and love interest, played by a blonde Winona Ryder.

She dances in the falling snow — Christmas lights glistening in the night's sky — as Edward puts the finishing touches on his creation.

"Eyes Wide Shut" (1999)

'Eyes Wide Shut' movie poster

Christmas in New York City is bleak in this Stanley Kubrick film wrought with infidelity, mistrust and even an orgy.

The colorful Christmas lights that illuminate almost every location in the movie are a stark contrast to the dark and brooding desires of the central characters, played by then-husband-and-wife team Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman.

Memorable Christmas moment: The final scene features Bill (Cruise) and Alice (Kidman) at a store Christmas shopping for their daughter. Alice advises Bill that there is something they must do as soon as possible to get past all that has come between them in the film.

"What's that?" Bill asks.

Her reply — the final spoken word before the scene cuts to black and the credits begin — is a four-word expletive that rhymes with luck.

WARNING: SCENE CONTAINS EXPLICIT LANGUAGE. PARENTAL DISCRETION ADVISED.