Christmas Day movies are a tradition for many families. Whether they don't celebrate the holiday or just want to escape the house after too much togetherness, there's nothing better than a blockbuster to distract you from seasonal stress.
That is, unless the movie itself is the cause of your grief.
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Over the years, theaters have offered holiday releases completely at odds with the festive twinkle lights. These depressing Christmas Day film releases make up a different kind of holiday movie collection.
Les Miserables translated into English is "the miserable ones," which is a description that could apply to the characters or the audience.
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close is often perceived as an uplifting film about strangers helping each other, empowering families during times of grief. But at it's core, it's still about a little boy reeling from his father's death on 9/11.
This collection of incredibly talented actor and actresses will try their hardest to reduce you to a shrunken sobbing blob huddled under your Christmas tree, hoping the pretty lights will erase the last two hours of emotional torment.
Cold Mountain has a lot of story lines to keep track of. If you get distracted while unwrapping your candy cane and miss one of them, you'll be just a little less miserable by the time it's over.
Presumedly, there was some confusion on the part of whoever schedules movie releases. When they discovered this film ended with a Christmas scene, they must have decided it was a Christmas film -- and that was a terrible, terrible misunderstanding.
Any movie shown on Christmas should have a prerequisite that 100 percent of the film's children survive. Angela's Ashes does not meet that standard.
The music alone in this film has the exact opposite effect on your heart that "All I Want For Christmas" has.
The only way seeing this movie on Christmas Day could inspire less Christmas cheer is if it led someone to read the book, which is somehow even bleaker.
No one should sit through such painful expression on Christmas.
Image: Mashable composite. iStock, dejanj01, nick73