Who is Charlize Theron to know which of her movies are good or not? During a recent interview in Esquire magazine, the actress had the following to say about Reindeer Games, one of her early films: "That was a bad, bad, bad movie. But even though the movie might suck, I got to work with John Frankenheimer. I wasn't lying to myself -- that's why I did it. I mean, he directed The Manchurian Candidate, which is like the movie of all movies." Okay, let me stop you right there, Charlize. Have you actually seen The Manchurian Candidate? It's a movie where Janet Leigh plays a Chinese workman. Frankenheimer was an artist of the absurd, and sure, Reindeer Games doesn't work on traditional dramatic levels -- you don't care a lick about what happens to any of the characters -- but you can't watch that movie and not know that the director is completely, deliberately trying to screw with your head. Frankenheimer knew exactly what genre conventions he was working with in this film, and he decided to explode them.

In his negative review, Roger Ebert noted that "just a nudge and the movie would fall over into self-parody and maybe work better. But I fear it is essentially serious." Fear not, Roger. This is not a serious movie, but yes, it does require the characters to act serious, because they think they're in a Christmas-themed gangster plot -- how else should they act? For those who haven't had the pleasure, Reindeer Games opens in prison as Rudy (Ben Affleck) is about to be released from prison. His cell mate, Nick, has an ultra-hot girlfriend on the outside -- yeah, right -- and after Nick is stabbed to death, Rudy upon his release decides to tell the girl he is Nick. She won't know the difference. Turns out the girl, played by Charlize, has a crazy criminal brother played by Gary Sinise who has designs on Nick-Rudy. And that's only the beginning. The movie ultimately pulls rug after rug out from under us, becoming more ludicrous in the last thirty minutes than any serious-minded movie in crime picture history.

If you're like me and not into children's movies of any kind, then good news -- there is a whole library of R-rated Christmas classics that you can put on during the Christmas celebration this year and not have to worry about being subjected to the Dora the Explorer Christmas Special or whatnot. Most of these titles won't come as a surprise, since they are movies you know and love already, but there's nothing wrong with a handy guide, is there?

Die Hard

Die Hard contains all of life's lessons. Who amongst us hasn't been an Argyle, completely oblivious while the storm-clouds of danger were gathering over our head? Or been faced with the choice to walk or not walk across a floor of broken glass (metaphorical, in most cases) in order to meet our stated objectives? That's why it's such a perfect movie for holiday-time reflection. You can sit back with your tumbler of egg nog and your gingerbread man cookies and know that you're watching a true work of art, not just a mindless shoot-em-up. If you're feeling really charitable, you can even place a collect call to the slammer and congratulate John McTiernan on directing one of the best films of the 80s, and one of the few movies to capture the true spirit of Christmas.

Lethal Weapon

I've already had my say about Lethal Weapon, but I can always be persuaded to say more. Here's some food for thought: Is Lethal's status as a Christmas classic tarnished by Martin Rigg's unexpected outburst of homophobic hate speech during the pistol range sequence? I'm talking of course about his off the cuff assertion to Roger -- while drilling bullet holes into a paper target with a maniacal look in his eye -- that Amanda Hunsaker's purported lesbianism with hooker friend Dixie is "disgusting." That's the kind of thing -- like the casual pot smoking in Poltergeist -- that eventually finds itself quietly excised from future release editions. Also, we can assume he became a liberal in time for Lethal Weapon 2, in which he's an anti-apartheid crusader. Go spit, Riggs!

Just like any other genre, the Christmas movie relies on a laundry list of tried and true formulas to get you into the theater, and some of them are becoming a bit tiresome. If you want to avoid getting suckered into watching the same old holiday schmalz-fest this year that you've seen the last ten years prior, and you're not sure how to go about it, take this list as my gift to you.

It Tries to Make the Nativity Dramatic

Movies that try to make a compelling drama out of the birth of Jesus Christ often hit a brick wall when they realize that there's really no story there. Sure, if you're a Christian the birth itself is a compelling moment -- key word being moment -- but there's nothing before or after that lends itself to the structure of modern drama. Witness the recent live-action drama, The Nativity Story, a horrid film that resorted to making Three Stooges of the Three Wise Men and creating entire absurd subplots about astrophysics in order to get around the fact that there's about five minutes worth of compelling material here to work with. Hopefully it will be a long, long time -- never, please -- before anyone makes this mistake again.

It's Called 'Jingle all the Way'

Seriously, let's all just agree on this one. There are many things that Arnold Schwarzenegger is suited for -- or was suited for around 1987 -- but one of them is not showering an audience with holiday merriment. The other day I was at Best Buy and the guy behind the counter actually tried to convince me that Jingle all the Way was a beloved classic that belonged in my DVD library. That's when I put on my glasses and took a closer look -- turns out the guy behind the counter was Sinbad. Enough said. Let's also point out that Turbo-Man seemed like just about the lamest toy since Tom Hanks trotted out that keyboard in Big that you had to play by dancing on the keys.

The Christmas season is a time for celebration, family and, of course, watching copious amounts of Christmas movies. Like any true movie buffs would, the editors at Moviefone honored the holiday by watching Christmas movies for days and days -- everything from lumps of coal/rancid turds such as Surviving Christmas and Reindeer Games (thanks for nothing, Ben Affleck!) to glorious cinematic gifts such as It's a Wonderful Life and Elf -- to bring you the definitive list of the 25 Best Christmas Movies ever to grace the silver screen. (Sorry, Grinch and Rudolph aficionados, no TV specials or made-for-TV movies here.)

Rather than ruin the surprise and unwrap the full list right now, however, Moviefone is providing trivia clues to the identity of each film and revealing just one movie every day until we unveil No. 1 on Christmas Eve. It's kind of like an Advent calendar for cinema buffs. So place your guesses to the mystery movies here, and have a very merry Christmas.

As you may have gathered from reading this site, many of the contributors here have somewhat interesting holiday rituals and practices. When I was growing up, we didn't do things the "normal" way during the rest of the year and the holidays were no exception. Sure, we did some of the regular stuff like having a tree, lights, decorations and, of course, presents. But we also had a rather interesting ritual that I don't think most people practice -- the Christmas Eve action movie marathon.

The marathon was a fun thing to do around my house on the day before Christmas when the family was there and the kids (and a few adults) need to be entertained. Six or so of the coolest and best action movies that take place during the holidays, feature the holidays in a major way or the holidays are an important part of the plot. Since in our house we didn't open presents until Christmas morning, on Christmas Eve I was content with the gifts of car chases, explosions, firefights and the general mayhem of action-movie icons John McClane, John Rambo, Martin Riggs and Batman.

So, sit back, relax, grab a cup of nog and let's watch some great Christmas action movies.

Lethal Weapon (1987) -- This great movie started the whole "buddy-cop" trend that continues to this day. From the opening scene of the film, "Jingle Bell Rock" blaring, through Riggs's (Mel Gibson) shoot-out in the Christmas tree lot until the final confrontation on Murtaugh's (Danny Glover) front lawn, this Christmas action movie delivers the goods. It's a great ride that to this day still entertains -- and although it is starting to show its age a little bit, that just adds to the fun.

Die Hard (1988) -- New York cop John McClane (Bruce Willis) shows the true meaning of "giving" during the holidays as he gives some would-be robbers, led by Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman), a taste of their own medicine when they take hostages in an office building during a Christmas party.

Not only is Die Hard a great Christmas movie, but arguably its one of the greatest action films of all time. Other movies are still trying to copy it to this day and it also spawned a new way of describing action films. For example, the movie Speed was described as "Die Hard on a bus" or Under Siege as "Die Hard on a ship." But no matter how you describe it, Willis is great as the hero and Rickman is a treat as the bad guy. Die Hard is just great fun.

Die Hard 2 (1990) -- This time McClane must battle baddies in an airport during Christmas. This one was almost as good as the first and marked the high-point of director Renny Harlin's career. Willis is again terrific as McClane and I also love the always-good Dennis Franz as the gruff but eventually overcome with Christmas spirit airport police chief. Sure, its not Die Hard but its still fun and a great way to spend some time on Christmas Eve.

Batman Returns (1992) -- Tim Burton's sequel to Batman is almost as good as the original. A little darker, a little more evil but balanced out by the fact that it takes place during the holidays. In this one Michale Keaton's Batman battles The Penguin (Danny DeVito), the best Catwoman since Julie Newmar (played by Michele Pfeiffer) and an evil business mogul (Christopher Walken) for dominion over Gotham City. Dark, campy fun.

The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996) -- Renny Harlin's second best movie stars his then-wife Geena Davis as a housewife with amnesia and a secret she can't remember -- she's actually a trained assassin! Try to ignore some of the more glaring plot issues, suspend your disbelief and instead focus on the great action sequences, performances by Davis, my man Samuel L. Jackson and the under-rated Craig Bierko as the bad guy and decent dialog by Lethal Weapon scribe Shane Black. If you can do that, you might just enjoy yourself after all.

Reindeer Games (2000) -- I don't love Ben Affleck but in this film he's not so bad. Plus, its directed by the legendary John Frankenheimer -- who directed one of my favorite films of all time The Manchurian Candidate -- so that helps quite a bit. Even if Affleck makes fun of the movie now and almost no one watched this Christmas heist film when it was released in, of all months, February, I still like to watch it.

Sure, it has problems but its one of those movies that in many ways is so bad its good. Plus, it has the super-hot Charlize Theron in it and any movie with her can't be all-bad, right?

Turbulence (1997) -- When will the airlines ever learn? You don't transport prisoners on a plane -- at least not in the movies. After a shootout on said plane, a stewardess (Lauren Holly) must then outwit a smooth-talking serial killer (Ray Liotta) all while trying to land the plane herself after the crew dies in the shootout.

To make things worse, this all happens on Christmas Eve. Sure, this movie isn't great but watching Liotta go psycho is still great fun. Plus, Holly is pretty good in the movie and at this point in her career, pretty easy on the eyes too.

First Blood (1982) -- Like Turbulence, this is one of the more "covert" Christmas action movies we used to watch. During the film you can tell it obviously takes place during Christmas but its never explicitly mentioned during the film at all. For example, there are Christmas lights and decorations lining the streets of the town and a clearly visible Christmas Tree at the Sheriff's station.

The fact that its the holidays just adds another layer onto John Rambo's (Sylvester Stallone) problems. Not only is he a damaged man (both physically and mentally) but he's completely alone in the world. And at the worst time of the year to be alone -- Christmas.

So, those are some of my favorite Christmas action movies. What are yours?