There has been much debate over what actually qualifies a movie as a true blue “Christmas Movie”. The more strict of Christmas nerds insist that a film that takes place during this beloved time of the year is not enough to classify it as such. That it needs to be “about” the holiday. But I think the idea of Christmas is just abstract enough to applied to any manner of story. DIE HARD is a famously ambiguous holiday pick. An office Christmas party is interrupted by terrorists trying to steal money, but it’s really about an estranged couple looking deep into how they really feel for each other, and reuniting because of Christmas. Christmas is a crucial part of the story. GREMLINS is another one. A kid gets a weird muppet as a Christmas gift and soon enough, he has to deal with a bunch of mischievous frogs who start wrecking the town. It all starts as a Christmas gift gone wrong. And his would be girlfriend has to deal with her dark Christmas past (which mirrors the tone of the film) in order to help him fight off these frogs who make pop culture references despite being only a few hours old. Even Christmas horror films count, because as some of us know, sometimes tragedy doesn’t wait until January to happen. I’m sure we’ve all had to deal with awful things on holidays. Maybe not as bad as an axe wielding maniac, sure. But recently. we watched A CHRISTMAS STORY in a theater, and after a few years of being cool little Fonzies about how loose we were about Christmas movie interpretation, it was an intense experience to get back to the core values of the Christmas season. Being a kid. Wanting that one dream present. Navigating the folly of youth. So we understand wanting to keep it pure as well. But we can literally have it all. That’s the point of Christmas. It doesn’t discriminate. It doesn’t judge. And it’s just a little bit better than you’d expect.

The life of a geek has many opportunities to make strange and elaborate costumes based off of our favorite characters, properties or even some sort of imaginative mash up of multiple things. Or maybe even an original idea entirely. We have so many cons now that happen all year long and so many midnight screenings giving us a chance to dress to the nines with our custom duds. But Halloween is the Super Bowl of cosplay. Chances are, you’ll be in a room in October with either a bunch of family, friends, co-workers or even complete strangers and they will all have some sort of disguise on in varying degrees of quality. You COULD be the person who just slaps together a towel cape or jumps in a garbage bag and declares themselves a California Raisin. But really this is a chance to show off the skills you’ve been honing all year long. This is the time to get a little fancy with yourselves. Try things you’ve never tried before. Maybe get a little professional help in on the deal. Never tried make up before? Time to get Rick Baker with it. Never made your own props? Time to get some how to youtube videos up and make a special trip to the Home Depot for raw supplies. Of course if you’re already a cosplayer extraordinaire then this is a chance to assert your own dominance and crush all opposition. Of course, there is (fake) blood in the water on All Hallow’s Eve and there WILL be people gunning for your crown. So let’s do our best out there because competition breeds the best in us and will be fun for everyone.

Nostalgia has reached a fever pitch in our current geek climate. Fans often have to raise an eyebrow in suspicion at the latest attempt the entertainment industry makes at making us feel 12 again. A lot of the time, even the masters of yesteryear have a hard time reclaiming the glory and the magic they once instilled in our hearts. Then along came the Duffer Brothers and Netflix and their new show STRANGER THINGS and all the cynicism fades away. For it feels genuine and sincere. The show takes place in 1983, and is basically what if The Goonies found ET in the John Hughes town of Shermer, Illinois that has the sheriff from Jaws. So many wonderful things are thrown in here like a expertly cultivated mixtape. Cast so wonderfully and written so precisely that it doesn’t feel like a TV show built in a writer’s room, it feels like an eight hour long film. I think any fan of the greatest entertainment decade of all time, the 1980’s would fall in love with the show and it seems to be reaching a mainstream appeal already. Like previously stated, many stabs at the nostalgic look on Spielberg or Carpenter have been made to varying degrees of quality but STRANGER THINGS ranks amongst the very best so far.

If you haven’t seen Captain America 3: Civil War yet, cancel your dinner plans.

When the Russo brothers took up the reins for the latest Marvel masterpiece, they had some big shoes to fill. Age of Ultron was the Avengers 2 we got, but Civil War was the Avengers 2 we deserved. The ensemble cast eclipsed the good Captain and really showed off how a superhero movie can be more than the sum of its parts.

Black Panther was woven seamlessly into the movie’s subplots; the new Peter Parker was practically perfect; Ant Man’s cameo was larger than life.  There’s something for everyone to be excited about.  (And it’s not all doom and gloom and emotional scarring!  It’s got comedy!  Just ask Spidey.)

One cannot be objective about this movie.  It’s amazing.  Go see it.  See it a second time.  Come back.  Discuss it with us.  Please.  We can’t keep our excitement in any longer.