Chip Kaufmann’s Pick:

The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)

Rather than offer up another Holiday themed movie for the December issue, I decided that it would be nice (and different) to offer up my favorite title of 2014 now that’s it available on DVD. Actually it’s been out for a little while now but it would be an ideal Christmas gift for some people and would make a suitable holiday viewing experience for others.

The movie is The Grand Budapest Hotel and if you are already familiar with the quirky movies of Wes Anderson (Moonrise Kingdom, The Darjeeling Limited, The Royal Tennenbaums – all good DVD picks by the way) then you’ll have some idea of what to expect but be prepared for a few surprises.

You should be advised right now that Grand Budapest is an old school sophisticated farce that harks back to the 1930s and the films of Ernst Lubitsch. Although it has some dramatic moments, it is not a glamorous all-star soap opera in the vein of Grand Hotel which the title led many people to believe.

Set in a grand European hotel in a fictional European country, the story concerns the adventures (and misadventures) of an eccentric hotel concierge (Ralph Fiennes) and his lobby boy-in-training (Tony Revolori in a revelatory performance) in the period between the two World Wars.

The limited space I have here cannot begin to do justice to this unique film which has an incredible blend of characters, a plot that twists and turns, and the most opulent settings & costumes for what is a low budget movie by today’s standards. The powerhouse cast (F. Murray Abraham, Tilda Swinton, Adrien Brody, Harvey Keitel, Jeff Goldblum to name a few) all worked for next to nothing to keep costs down and because they wanted to be in this film.

So check out (and into) The Grand Budapest Hotel and be whisked back to a different time not only of place but of moviemaking itself. Just don’t expect overheated drama in the style of Grand Hotel and you should have a memorable viewing experience.

Michelle Keenan’s Pick:

It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)

Being the humbug that I am right now, devoid of any holiday spirit at present and disgusted with the pre-Thanksgiving Christmas Trees and Pre-Black Friday madness and commercialization of an otherwise lovely time of year, we’re going to have to pull out the heavy artillery this year. Scrooged, How The Grinch Stole Christmas (the perennial Christmas special, not the Ron Howard film), and the biggie, the film that gets me every time I watch it, It’s a Wonderful Life.

For those that have been living in a cave for the last 68 years, It’s a Wonderful a Life is the story of George Bailey (Jimmy Stewart). George is the salt of the earth and a pillar in his community. He gives up his boyhood dreams to run the family’s Savings and Loan. He marries his childhood sweetheart Mary (Donna Reed) and they have a family. When the town villain, and George’s personal arch nemesis, Mr. Potter (Lionel Barrymore) seizes the opportunity to put the Bailey family out of business once and for all, there’s a run on the bank and George thinks everyone would be better off if he were dead. It’s at that point that he gets to see what the world would be like had he never been born thanks to Clarence (Henry Travers) a 2nd class angel.

Cliché though it may be to some, just thinking about It’s a Wonderful Life makes my heart warm and my eyes well. The movie may be almost 70 years old, but the story is timeless. While there are plenty of corny moments and quotable/spoofable lines (“Zuzu’s Petals!” is such a favorite, I even have cat named Zuzu), there is also something very universal and lovely about it. The casting is perfect. It was said to have been Jimmy Stewart’s favorite film of his career. After you revisit it, or see it for the first time, you will never hear a bell ring the same way again.