This post debuted last year. It opened with personal content that’s now passe, so I’ve tweaked it. I also didn’t grade the movies the first time around; this time I do.

Last Sunday, I reposted my Black & White Christmas Movies listicle. I’ve buckled down and come up with a dozen Christmas movies in color. They’re listed in chronological order.

For any newbies out there: I am not now, nor have I ever been a Christmas fan or a hater for that matter. Dr A is the holiday fan in the family, so I try not to be too Grinchy or Scrooge-like.

On with the show, this is it.

Meet Me In St. Louis is the first of the movies that could be called Christmas adjacent. The Christmas scenes are memorable because of Judy Garland and Margaret O’Brien. It’s a lovely movie that ably displays Vincente Minneli’s magic touch.

Grading Time: I give Meet Me In St. Louis 3 1/2 stars and an Adrastos grade of B+.

3 Godfathers is a John Ford Western fable about the birth of a baby in a stable. I think you can figure out who I’m talking about. It has one of John Wayne’s finest and most sensitive performances as one of the godfathers. The Catholic kind, not the wise guy kind.

Grading Time: I give 3 Godfathers 3 1/2 stars and an Adrastos grade of B+.

A Christmas Story is a movie that many of you have seen. I dig it, especially the leg lamp.

Grading Time: I give this leggy holiday movie 3 stars and an Adrastos grade of B.

Die Hard is our second Christmas adjacent movie. I don’t usually care for action flicks, but this is a good one. As to the Christmas thing, if Andy Samberg’s character on Brooklyn Nine-Nine thinks it’s a holiday movie, that’s good enough for me.

Grading Time: I give the first Die Hard movie 3 1/2 stars and an Adrastos grade of B+.

Nightmare Before Christmas is thought of as more a Halloween movie 31 years after its release but it has Christmas in the title for fuck’s sake. Tim Burton directed two other fine holiday adjacent films: Batman Returns and Edward Scissorhands; neither has Christmas in the title. That’s why this one made the list.

Grading Time: This may be lesser Tim Burton but any Tim Burton is better than no Tim Burton. I give it 3 stars and an Adrastos grade of B.

The Muppet Christmas Carol poses the eternal question: Who among us doesn’t love the Muppets? A human actor, Michael Caine, steals the show as Ebenezer Scrooge. It’s fascinating to watch a master thespian work with Gonzo and the gang. FYI, Gonzo is my favorite muppet.

Grading Time: I give it 3 stars and an Adrastos grade of B.

Elf is a slight, silly, and goofy movie. The cast is great, especially Bob Newhart, Ed Asner, and James Caan. Hipster doofus Will Ferrell was born to play Buddy the Elf. Has he ever hung out with Buddy Valastro aka the Cake Boss? Discuss amongst yourselves.

Grading Time: I give this zany comedy 3 stars and an Adrastos grade of B.

Bad Santa is nasty, lowdown, and hilarious fun. I am. however, still waiting for that sammich that Thurman Merman promised to make me. It’s my favorite movie of this dozen, hence the featured image.

Grading Time: This is my kind of holiday flick. I give it 4 stars and an Adrastos grade of A. It’s a stone cold classic.

The Ice Harvest is holiday noir with John Cusack and Billy Bob Thornton. Does this make Billy Bob the king of alt-Christmas movies?

Grading Time: I give this eggnog with a noir chaser 3 stars and an Adrastos grade of B.

Carol is a holiday adjacent film with an interesting provenance: It’s not crime fiction but it’s based on a book by Patricia Highsmith. I added it to class up the joint after the seamy delights of the previous two films.

Grading Time: What’s not to love about a movie starring Cate the great. I give it 3 1/2 stars and an Adrastos grade of B+.

The Man Who Invented Christmas tells the story of how Charles Dickens came up with A Christmas Carol. It was born out of a need for money. He should have asked Scrooge for a loan in exchange for not haunting him.

Grading Time: I won’t be Scrooge like in my grading until we serve up some lagniappe. I give it 3 stars and an Adrastos grade of B.

The Holdovers is written and directed by my countryman Alexander Payne. It has yet another brilliant performance by Paul Giamatti as a cranky teacher who will never be confused with Mr. Chips.

Grading Time: One of the best films of the decade. I give The Holdovers 4 stars and an Adrastos grade of A-.

I like to serve up some lagniappe with my dozens. These are two overstuffed movies that Dr. A digs.

Love Actually has a great cast but is too schmaltzy for my taste.

Grading Time: I give Love Actually 2 stars and an Adrastos grade of C.

I prefer The Holiday because of the Kate Winslet-Jack Black-Eli Wallach story. If they’d stuck to those three characters, it could have been a first rate movie. Cameron Diaz and Jude Law also attended.

Grading Time: I give it 2 1/2 stars and an Adrastos grade of C+.

One more thing. A movie poster collage:

That’s all folks. Happy holidays and whatnot.

The last word goes to Judy Garland: