Jalmari Helanders 8 Favourite Christmas Films
Rare Exports director talks Yuletide joy
Gremlins (1984)
Of course I like Gremlins . It’s quite a scary film but it’s also lots of fun. I saw it several times when I was a child. I haven’t actually seen it in a really, really long time. I just remember the gremlins, all the destruction they make. It's really fun.
Die Hard (1988)
That’s one of my most favourite movies of all time. I really like it. I don’t know whether it was the very first time in action movie history where you have a normal guy who’s not got big muscles – he’s just a normal guy with stupid problems.
You really get into the character, and of course it’s a really good script, lots of fun and really exciting. I’ve seen it like a hundred times.
Its A Wonderful Life (1946)
That’s a very nice movie, I actually haven’t it in maybe 15 years, I should watch that again!
Home Alone (1990)
This is a movie that comes on TV every Christmas. Home Alone part one is a really good Christmas movie. I have a three year old and a six weeks old daughter, they haven’t seen it yet, but my eldest will see it maybe this Christmas.
The Snowman (1982)
Another movie that comes on TV every Christmas. I watch it a lot with my daughter and I really like the song, it’s really nice.
I think it’s a good fantasy, and that could also make for a really scary movie if you wanted to look at it like that. If you had real actors who meet a live snowman, that might be quite scary!
Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
I really like the artwork in this film. That’s a big kind of musical set up, lots of characters and things that are really cool.
Elf (2003)
With Will Ferrell, yes, I saw it a couple of days ago, it came up on TV. It was quite funny. I actually didn’t see the ending of it, but it’s a weird movie of course.
I like a lot of Ferrell’s movie, Talladega Nights ... He’s a funny guy, but not as funny as Ricky Gervais! I really like Ricky Gervais.
Rare Exports (2010)
It always has been a dream of mine to make a feature film, and it’s really nice that when I finally did it, it's become as good a movie as it is now. I’m really happy to have made so much noise with my first big film. I hope people go to see it, also!
And one he doesnt like The Grinch (2000)
The movie with Jim Carrey, I’ve seen it but I didn’t like it. I hate the style of all the sets, they give me nightmares. All the candy bars and things like that, it’s terrifying to me.
What’s the new Jim Carrey Christmas movie, A Christmas Carol ? I want to see that. I watched the trailer with my daughter and she really liked it.
Josh Winning has worn a lot of hats over the years. Contributing Editor at Total Film, writer for SFX, and senior film writer at the Radio Times. Josh has also penned a novel about mysteries and monsters, is the co-host of a movie podcast, and has a library of pretty phenomenal stories from visiting some of the biggest TV and film sets in the world. He would also like you to know that he "lives for cat videos..." Don't we all, Josh. Don't we all.
Sonic 3 director explains the thinking behind picking those new post-credits arrivals: "It's always 'which character is going to give us something new?'"
The Inside Out 2 panic attack scene is one of the best depictions of anxiety ever – and something Pixar director Kelsey Mann is incredibly proud of: "I couldn't be happier"
When making Kingdom Hearts, the "one thing" RPG icon Tetsuya Nomura "wasn't willing to budge on" was a non-Disney protagonist
Sonic 3 director explains the thinking behind picking those new post-credits arrivals: "It's always 'which character is going to give us something new?'"
The Inside Out 2 panic attack scene is one of the best depictions of anxiety ever – and something Pixar director Kelsey Mann is incredibly proud of: "I couldn't be happier"
When making Kingdom Hearts, the "one thing" RPG icon Tetsuya Nomura "wasn't willing to budge on" was a non-Disney protagonist