Holiday/Winter Break Movie Recommendations 2024

With exams close upon you, can winter break be far behind?  What better way to give your brain a rest then to chill out with a good movie.  Wondering what to watch?   Check out this list of faculty and staff recommendations!

• Cassie Powell, Director, Access to Justice Clinic & Assistant Professor of Law
  • Black Christmas, a very scary slasher movie by the same director as A Christmas Story
  • Planes, Trains, and Automobiles
  • The Bishop’s Wife  – A personal favorite
• Kim Edwards, Director of Technology Services
  • The VERY BEST holiday movie ever made is The Muppet Christmas Carol! It has music! It has drama! It has suspense! It has joy! It has Kermit the Frog! It has Miss Piggy!  And it has a rat help to narrate the story!  Who could ask for a better cast? ☺
  • Last year, was surprised to learn how many people have never seen A Christmas Story, which is also a favorite.
• Will Thompson, Budget & Events Specialist
  • The Muppet Christmas Carol. It’s the only holiday film I watch every December. Definitely make time for a re-watch this year!
• Janette Morgan, Acquisitions and Serials Manager
  • “It’s a Wonderful Life.”  It’s really old but the story is still relevant!
• Kristen Osenga, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Professor of Law
  • DieHard is a holiday movie. I’m willing to go to the mat for this.
• Helen Boyd, Dean’s Office, Administrative Coordinator
  • Arthur Christmas
• Corinna Lain, Professor of Law
  • The Long Kiss Goodnight (A Christmas cult classic!) Movies to watch during break, just becasue:
    • The Matrix
    • Pulp Fiction
    • A Few Good Men
    • My Cousin Vinny
    • Legally Blonde
• Sara Tandy, Assistant Dean of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging
  • Gremlins
  • Love Actually
  • The Joy Luck Club
• Andy Spaulding, Professor of Law
  • Peanut Butter Falcon (good central Virginia autumnal vibes)
• Joyce Manna Janto, Director of Public & Instructional Services
  • The Holiday
  • Anatomy of a Murder – a great trial film that actually mentions “the ALR”.  Plus, the judge in the courtroom scenes is Joseph Welch, who famously took down Joe McCarthy asking him “have you no shame?”  A quaint thought today, but in the 1950s enough to end Joe’s career.
• Carl Hamm, Multimedia Prod & Tech Spec
  • My mom and I binge-watched “A Storm For Christmas” last winter…. Pretty great series – though some parts of the plot seem a little bit contrived, it’s wholesome and heartwarming overall. “As busy travelers make their way through the holiday rush at Oslo Airport, a brewing storm lights up the flight display boards with delays.”
  • Studio Ghibli’s “Wolf Children” is a good winter-time anime, though it’s not specifically Christmas themed. Another great Christmas Anime film is “Tokyo Godfathers.”
• Maggie Graff, Digital Communications Manager
  • It’s tied between It’s a Wonderful Life and Elf for me!
• Noah Sachs, Professor of Law
  • Movies about academia
    • Publish or Perish – a dark comedy about getting tenure
    • The Footnote – Israeli drama about a father and son who are both professors
• Sylvia Yanes, Faculty Services Librarian
  • A Nightmare Before Christmas
• Leslee Stone, Administrative Assistant 
  • The Shop Around the Corner
• Roger Skalbeck, Associate Dean for Library & Information Services
  • My favorite holiday movie is Elf.  It’s a cherished family favorite, and we know we’re in the holiday spirit at home when we’ve watched Elf.  At least once.  At this point, the jokes are predictable, we know where it will end up, and we always have a good time.
• Janice Craft, Assoc Prof. of Legal Practice and Director of Professional Identity Formation
  • I recommend “A Charlie Brown Christmas.” With many thanks to the Vince Guaraldi Trio, the music alone makes it worth a watch. The heartfelt message it contains – that the holidays offer an opportunity to connect with who and what are most meaningful to you – is pretty great, too.