My Most Terrifying Cinematic Experience? Why, The Polar Express Of Course!

Here's another exciting entry in this Holiday themed column, 25 Days Of Christmas Pop Culture! From now until Christmas Eve, I'll be tackling one piece of Christmas pop culture! It could be a book, movie, TV special, song....so long as it's festive for this time of the year, it'll be checked out in this daily column!

We all have that one movie we watched as kids that terrified the living hell out of us. When you're 6, it's terrifying, but when you're older it's not only good material for a compelling yarn but a testament to the kind of power film can have over a person. Some have The Goonies, my brother has Gremlins, but me? I've got the scariest movie of them all: The Polar Express.

Frosty The Snowman Is Simple, But Charming

Here's another exciting entry in this Holiday themed column, 25 Days Of Christmas Pop Culture! From now until Christmas Eve, I'll be tackling one piece of Christmas pop culture! It could be a book, movie, TV special, song....so long as it's festive for this time of the year, it'll be checked out in this daily column!

God that's a creepy image.

Like Rudolph, Frosty The Snowman was a song long before it was TV special, but it's this 1969 cartoon that many identify as the ultimate incarnation of the frosty fellow. The special, turning 45 this year, is a special that isn't quite perfect, but does manage to find itself some moments of quality, albeit moments have more than an ounce of cheesiness to them.

Kung Fu Panda Continues To Defy Expectations With Its Christmas Special

Here's another exciting entry in this Holiday themed column, 25 Days Of Christmas Pop Culture! From now until Christmas Eve, I'll be tackling one piece of Christmas pop culture! It could be a book, movie, TV special, song....so long as it's festive for this time of the year, it'll be checked out in this daily column!

Kung Fu Panda shouldn't work. On any level. But the entire endeavor made one crucial decision that changed everything; they got Jack Black to play the titular kung fu warrior. Black plays Po with undying eagerness that's always fun to watch, especially when his exuberance has to be used against tremendous antagonists. Even after two movies (the second of which hadn't come out when the subject of this review came out) that were excellent, a Christmas special should have simply a cash grab, not a reaffirmation of the franchises quality.

The Best Christmas Song Of All May Just Be Same Old Lang Syne

Here's another exciting entry in this Holiday themed column, 25 Days Of Christmas Pop Culture! From now until Christmas Eve, I'll be tackling one piece of Christmas pop culture! It could be a book, movie, TV special, song....so long as it's festive for this time of the year, it'll be checked out in this daily column!

I've talked about a lot of Christmas songs in this column, but here's the tune I'd consider the best of all Holiday songs without hesitation; Same Old Lang Syne. I remember hearing this bad boy, sung by Dan Fogelberg, at a young age, and it left an impression on me even way back then. It's melancholy tone stood out in a sea of chipper holiday tunes, and resonated with me since I always found Christmas to be a difficult time of the year (having Asperger's Syndrome in a time of the year thriving on social interactions is a pain in the ass).

What Exactly Is The Year Without A Santa Claus?

Here's another exciting entry in this Holiday themed column, 25 Days Of Christmas Pop Culture! From now until Christmas Eve, I'll be tackling one piece of Christmas pop culture! It could be a book, movie, TV special, song....so long as it's festive for this time of the year, it'll be checked out in this daily column!

Among the Rankin-Bass holiday specials (which included, but are not limited to, Rudolph, Frosty The Snowman, Santa Claus Is Coming To Town), a few specials remain on the obscure side. The likes of Pinocchio's Christmas and Nester, The Long Eared Donkey are lucky to have a 6 AM showing on ABC Family while their kin flourish in primetime on one of the four major networks.

Which Grinch Is Best? (The Answer Is Obvious)

Here's another exciting entry in this Holiday themed column, 25 Days Of Christmas Pop Culture! From now until Christmas Eve, I'll be tackling one piece of Christmas pop culture! It could be a book, movie, TV special, song....so long as it's festive for this time of the year, it'll be checked out in this daily column!

I've gotten really addicted to Patton Oswalts standup this week, the dudes just hilarious in his comedy. One great bit is where he talks about how a primary flaw with the Star Wars prequels is that they feel compelled to talk about the origins of beloved characters like Boba Fett and Darth Vader, which Oswalt likens to someone give you the starting ingredients for Ice Cream and saying it's just delicious as that confection.

Spongebobs Optimistic Absurdity Matches Beautifully With Christmas

Here's another exciting entry in this Holiday themed column, 25 Days Of Christmas Pop Culture! From now until Christmas Eve, I'll be tackling one piece of Christmas pop culture! It could be a book, movie, TV special, song....so long as it's festive for this time of the year, it'll be checked out in this daily column!

Here's a shocking secret; Spongebob is a perky person. The absorbent fella is rarely without a smile on his face and something upbeat to say. In the first three seasons of his show, Spongebob Squarepants, Spongebob was an irresistible lead that was always fun to watch and enjoy. In the second season episode, Christmas Who?, what really made SpongeBob such a captivating program is on full display.

Snoopy's Christmas Reiterates How Well Peanuts And Christmas Work Together

Here's another exciting entry in this Holiday themed column, 25 Days Of Christmas Pop Culture! From now until Christmas Eve, I'll be tackling one piece of Christmas pop culture! It could be a book, movie, TV special, song....so long as it's festive for this time of the year, it'll be checked out in this daily column!

Don't worry folks, I'll be getting to A Charlie Brown Christmas towards the end of this series, but there's another piece of pop culture that proves how much high quality emerges when Charles M. Schulz creations collide with Christmas. This time, it's a song, Snoopy's Christmas, instead of a television special, with this one focusing on Snoopy's World War I flying ace persona as he takes on The Red Baron on Christmas Eve.

Michael Bubles Take On Santa Baby Is Nothing Short Of Brilliant

Here's another exciting entry in this Holiday themed column, 25 Days Of Christmas Pop Culture! From now until Christmas Eve, I'll be tackling one piece of Christmas pop culture! It could be a book, movie, TV special, song....so long as it's festive for this time of the year, it'll be checked out in this daily column!

When I was talking about Last Christmas yesterday, I mentioned the insane amount of covers the tune has produced. Why that number baffles me (aside from the dubious quality of the song itself) is that none of the covers that I've heard brought anything new or interesting to the table. They were just singing a song for the hell of it. Santa Baby is another Christmas song that;s been endlessly covered, but Michael Buble brings something absolutely amazing to the table when putting his spin on it.

The Best Christmas Carol Adaptation Involves None Other Than Mickey Mouse

Here's another exciting entry in this Holiday themed column, 25 Days Of Christmas Pop Culture! From now until Christmas Eve, I'll be tackling one piece of Christmas pop culture! It could be a book, movie, TV special, song....so long as it's festive for this time of the year, it'll be checked out in this daily column!

Is there any other story more utilized in media than A Christmas Carol? Being in the public domain means the Charles Dickens book can be used with ease, and it's characters have such broad personalities its easy to fit any given cast of any show and fit them into the roles of the spirits or Bob Cratchit. My first exposure to the practice of well known characters reenacting this beloved tale is perhaps the best retelling of the story; Mickeys Christmas Carol.

The Epic Saga Of Last Christmas

Here's another exciting entry in this Holiday themed column, 25 Days Of Christmas Pop Culture! From now until Christmas Eve, I'll be tackling one piece of Christmas pop culture! It could be a book, movie, TV special, song....so long as it's festive for this time of the year, it'll be checked out in this daily column!

I have many traditions during the holiday season, but perhaps my favorite is one between me and my Mother. We always like to count how many times we hear one particular Christmas song on the radio. Now, it's common, even expected, for Christmas tunes to be repeated on the radio, at truth be told, that's mostly fine. The exception to that rule is Last Christmas, a song played so many times over the course of Christmas time that me and my Mother conjured up the tradition of counting how many times we hear it each year in order to avoid insanity.

Weird Al's The Night Santa Went Crazy Merges Bloodshed And Yuletide Festivities

Here's another exciting entry in this Holiday themed column, 25 Days Of Christmas Pop Culture! From now until Christmas Eve, I'll be tackling one piece of Christmas pop culture! It could be a book, movie, TV special, song....so long as it's festive for this time of the year, it'll be checked out in this daily column!

Part of the joy of enjoying a specific musicians work is seeing what happens when that singer tries out new genres or tones for their music. That's partly why Weird Al is so much fun as a singer; many of his songs are parodies of popular tunes. and that gives him the chance to explore many different musical genres by lampooning the songs of Coolio, Michael Jackson and Iggy Azalea. It was only a matter of time before he tackled Christmas, and in The Night Santa Went Crazy (an original tune, not a parody song), Al puts his own talent to great use in this holiday creation.

Rudolph's Quality Endures To This Day

Welcome to 25 Days Of Christmas Pop Culture! From now until Christmas Eve, I'll be tackling one piece of Christmas pop culture! It could be a book, movie, TV special, song....so long as it's festive for this time of the year, it'll be checked out in this daily column!

Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer had existed since 1939 as a book, and then became a Christmas Carol in 1949, but it wasn't until 1964 arrived that this holiday critter achieved true fame. Ya see, that was the year the Rankin-Bass Christmas special Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer arrived. The special started a tradition of massively successful specials for Rankin-Bass, as well as cementing a monumental part of any holiday season.

Text Me Christmas Embraces Modern Technology In A Timeless Manner

Welcome to 25 Days Of Christmas Pop Culture! From now until Christmas Eve, I'll be tackling one piece of Christmas pop culture! It could be a book, movie, TV special, song....so long as it's festive for this time of the year, it'll be checked out in this daily column!

There's a recurring tendency to put seeming hip above quality in any form of media that deals with modern technology. The title alone of Text Me Christmas should make one wretch, longing for the days when Bing Crosby crooned Yuletide tunes. However, this song manages to subvert one's expectations of a song that leans so heavily on 2014 technology to create a surprisingly sweet song.

The Toy Story Gangs First Christmas Special Has Its Problem, But Remains Entertaining

Welcome to 25 Days Of Christmas Pop Culture! From now until Christmas Eve, I'll be tackling one piece of Christmas pop culture! It could be a book, movie, TV special, song....so long as it's festive for this time of the year, it'll be checked out in this daily column!

With Toy Story 4 on the inevitable horizon, PIXAR has utilized the form of the holiday special to guarantee the world of Woody and Buzz remains an active one storytelling wise. The first, Toy Story Of Terror!, was a surprisingly enjoyable effort, and though Toy Story That Time Forgot doesn't quite match that ones quality, it still remains an entertaining enough half hour of television.

Home Alone Is Mildly Inconsistent, But Surprisingly Effective Yuletide Cinema

Welcome to 25 Days Of Christmas Pop Culture! From now until Christmas Eve, I'll be tackling one piece of Christmas pop culture! It could be a book, movie, TV special, song....so long as it's festive for this time of the year, it'll be checked out in this daily column!

I see a lot of people talking about how movies were better "back in the day", which always makes my eyes roll. People have always wanted good storytelling when they go to the cinema, that's never changed. Frankly, I'd actually say the years top movies are indeed better than they used to be. The past few years top features have included The Avengers, Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part 2, The Dark Knight and Toy Story 3, all excellent films. Bizarrely, the biggest movie of 1990 was not Goodfellas or Awakenings, but rather Home Alone.

Fred Claus Is A Mean-Spirited Misfire Of Gigantic Proportions

Welcome to 25 Days Of Christmas Pop Culture! From now until Christmas Eve, I'll be tackling one piece of Christmas pop culture! It could be a book, movie, TV special, song....so long as it's festive for this time of the year, it'll be checked out in this daily column!

The success of Tangled begat Frozen. The success of Shrek begat Puss In Boots. When a movie studio finds financial favor in a certain property, original properties taking cues from that successful feature are just as common as sequels. So it's not hard to imagine Warner Bros. taking one look at all the money fellow Time Warner owned movie studio New Line Cinema made with Elf and wanting their own family Christmas movie with a big comedian. They decided to also take a cue from 2005 smash hit Wedding Crashers by reuniting Vince Vaughn with that movies director, David Dobkin.

Elf Finds The Joy In Both Christmas And Humanity

Welcome to 25 Days Of Christmas Pop Culture! From now until Christmas Eve, I'll be tackling one piece of Christmas pop culture! It could be a book, movie, TV special, song....so long as it's festive for this time of the year, it'll be checked out in this daily column!

Elf is a prime example of a movie that shouldn't, under any circumstances, work. A comedian mugging it in a family movie? That always works out well. A sequence where the main character spies on a woman in the ladies locker room? Creep central. A lead character so optimistic and spunky should be aggravating. Instead, it's a treat of film, one of the very best features centered around the holiday of Christmas.