What's Up - Your guide to what's happening in Fayetteville, AR this week!
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DECEMBER 24-30, 2017 WHAT'S UP! 41 'TIS THE SEASON "A CHRISTMAS STORY" I suspect most of the titles on the "favorite holiday movie" list will be sappy, tear-jerkers like "It's a Wonderful Life" or "3 Godfathers." But my favorite is nothing like those. My top pick is "A Christmas Story," the saga of Ralphie and his quest for the perfect Christmas present (in his case, a Red Ryder BB gun with a compass and this thing that tells time in the stock). It's not that I don't like a sappy holiday movie now and then. But what I adore about "A Christmas Story" is that it's just fun. I've seen it dozens of times, but I am still amazed at its ability to capture the angst, anticipation, fear and joy of a pre-teen child on the cusp of puberty. Ralphie's got just enough adult in him to be skeptical about the world around him and diabolical in his pursuit of his own ends. But he's still a child, full of wonder and innocence during the great spectacle of the holiday season. There's no gut- wrenching tragedy (unless you count the death of that fabulous leg lamp) nor tear-inducing resolution in "A Christmas Story." It's just a fun lens through which adults can see the world as we did when we were Ralphie's age. — Rusty Turner, NWADG editor "THE SANTA CLAUSE" I, like many on this list, have had a tough time narrowing my submission down to just one favorite holiday film. So many movies, both classic and modern, have warm memories of family and time spent together attached to them that I found I have multiple favorites because of the people with whom I associate them. For that reason, I have to choose "The Santa Clause" as my favorite Christmas movie I re-watch just for me. Admittedly, Tim Allen has always reminded me of my own father — part of what I suspect endears this film to me so much. But all the characters are real and relatable — none too over the top or cheesy. And I think what I love most about it is the understatedly magical way it depicts Santa, the elves and the North Pole. There's little CGI and very few special effects. The intricate details of the workshop, the costumes, the glitter on the elves' faces — even all the fathers out to dinner at Denny's — make everything feel very real. And the children playing the elves are the perfect mix of innocent and cheeky to me. "Thanks, but I'm seeing someone in wrapping," gets me every time! — Jocelyn Murphy, Associate What's Up! editor "DIE HARD" This is not to be a contrarian or a Scrooge. I just figure some other writer has (justifiably) praised all the Bedford Falls and Daisy Red Ryders. "Die Hard" is an adrenaline rush about a man on Christmas Eve who just wants to be with his family and stop bad guys from stealing millions of dollars. In holiday spirit our hero does everything, including literally walking over broken glass, to triumph over evil. Think the Grinch wants to steal Christmas? Alan Rickman (who also kind of ruins Christmas in "Love Actually") as Hans Gruber is far Grinchier. Bruce Willis, as John McClane, gives us a pre-CGI hero to cheer for and also deposits a gleeful seven-syllable profanity (consider this your parental warning) to make sure the movie has something for those naughty and nice. — Kyle Kellams, KUAF news director File Photo Bruce Willis has been the reluctant hero clear back to the first "Die Hard" movie. Courtesy Photo Peter Billingsley is Ralphie in "A Christmas Story," released in 1983.