“Maybe Christmas, he thought, doesn’t come from a store. Maybe Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more.”

I watch the Jim Carey version of How the Grinch Stole Christmas every Christmas Eve with my family. It puts me in this holiday spirit and reminds me of the purpose of Christmas, which is to have gratitude. Christmas is about not just giving but the thought behind giving; family and the celebration of each other. 

How the Grinch Stole Christmas, produced in 2000, starring Jim Carey, is by far the best Grinch movie in my personal opinion. The movie is a great representation of how society has turned Christmas into a commercialistic event and also demonstrates the true meaning of it through the innocence of a little girl.  

In the movie, there is a community of Who’s, people but not people, and then there is the Grinch, an outcast. As a child he was continuously tormented for his differences, until finally, after one Christmas gift exchange gone wrong, he ran away. He lived in the mountains where his hatred for Christmas and the Who’s continued to grow. All the Who’s, except for Cindy Lou, torment and fear carried on and grew. One year, Cindy felt that Christmas was about inclusion and togetherness. She bravely brought the Grinch down to Whoville and changed everyone's perspective, showing them the true purpose of Christmas. The movie is comedic, Christmassy, and provides a good lesson.  

It's a Scream!

The Scream franchise that’s thrived for 27 years, consists of six movies and is expected to continue to grow. The original Scream movie, 1996, introduces the survivors and main characters that continue throughout the franchise: Sidney Prescott, Gale Weathers, Randy Meeks, and Deputy Dewey. The original Ghostface duo, Stu Macher and Billy Loomis are the fan favorite killers. Fun Fact: Courtney Cox (Gale Weathers) and David Arquette (Dewey) met at the Scream lunch before filming; they later get married.

Scream 2, 1997, kills off Randy Meeks, my personal favorite survivor. Scream 3, 2002, is my favorite of the Scream movies. Scream 4, 2011, had a different feel. The beginning of the replacement of Sydney as main character. Scream 4 is my least favorite of the movies.

Scream, 2022, brings in a new generation, brings the setting back to the first, and kills off fan-favorite, original survivor, Dewey. It’s the fifth but is titled like the original to be a reboot. Scream 6, 2023, is the first movie to not include Sydney Prescott. She refused to participate in this production due to her poor pay. If they agree to pay her rightfully, then she will be apart of the coming-up seventh film.

Personally, these movies are my favorite slashers in all the horror genre. This franchise developed my love for horror films, which I get to share with my mom and little sister. It’s the perfect marathon for Friday the 13th!