Christmas movies are as ubiquitous as ornaments these days, with streaming services like Netflix turning them into a virtual cottage industry. However, we all have our own personal favorites that tend to be made of longer lasting stuff–the kind that are almost their own ritual we revisit every new Yuletide season. Below our staff has offered some of their own personal favorites that are perhaps largely off the more beaten track that defines the obvious classics… but each offers their own kind of Christmas magic every December....

“Make mine Marvel!” That’s been the rallying cry for generations of pop culture aficionados who have become enthralled with the Marvel Universe, first on the comic book page and then on movie screens. Eaglemoss’ Hero Collector’s division has a truly, well, marvelous assortment of collectibles based on these characters that are must-haves this holiday. See for yourself, ‘nuff said! Here’s how to make your holiday shopping Marvel-ous… Iron Man’s Arc Reactor Replica Special Edition Relive one of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s most touching moments via this 16....

Thor is low key the best Marvel comics character . Sure there are characters more essential to the narrative, like Spider-Man or Franklin Richards. And yes, there are absolutely characters with more critical seminal stories. But you are going to be hard pressed to find someone as consistently in the middle of big events with a consistently strong book backing them up as Thor. That means when a movie like Thor: Love & Thunder comes out, you get a lot of great choices to recommend to friends or buy for yourself, because while some of them might get hot from the movie, most of them will be great choices to read....

The Book of Boba Fett throws quite a few new characters into the mix in “The Streets of Mos Espa,” as the city’s new daimyo continues to deal with threats to his throne. A (final?) confrontation with Black Krrsantan and the Hutt twins ushers in a new band of angsty bikers now under Boba’s employ as well as a cameo by a rancor keeper you might recognize if you’ve followed showrunner and director Robert Rodriguez’s career....

All season long, we’ve been hearing about Herogasm, the notorious superhero orgy that would finally appear in the sixth episode of The Boys’ third season. And if episode eight follows the lead of the previous two season finales, it will be filled with shocking moments that leave us hungry for more. With that in mind, one might assume that the upcoming episode seven will be something of a breather, a bit of downtime to recover from Herogasm before going toward the final showdown....

The ever-evolving Conjuring universe has slowly grown into over a billion-dollar franchise, which is even more impressive for a series of R-rated horror films. Up until this point, The Conjuring universe has effectively been able to predict which monsters and demonic entities from its core films are deserving of spin-offs and deeper looks, but The Curse of La Llorona takes a decidedly different approach. The Curse of La Llorona’s demonic “Weeping Woman” gets her origins from Mexican folklore, rather than some pre-existing Conjuring film....

As fans know, Fox attempted a movie based around Daredevil in 2003, starring Ben Affleck as the title character, Jennifer Garner as his love interest/sometime ally Elektra and Colin Farrell as his nemesis Bullseye. That movie didn’t go so well, either with fans or critics. But some eight or nine years later, with the rights collecting dust and finally about to revert back to Marvel (with the latter now a successful comic book movie studio on its own), Fox scrambled to get a new Daredevil movie off the ground before losing its grip on the character completely....

The Expanse Season 5 Episode 5 There’s a sense in The Expanse season 5 that with all of the characters separated, each one is going to get their chance to shine. Naomi and Amos take center stage in “Down and Out,” but the episode also expertly foreshadows future confrontations and highlights the consequences for going after conspirators, whether with Holden’s aborted pursuit of the Zmeya or Alex’s narrow escape from the Barkeith....

Adapted from Bernard Cornwell’s novels The Pagan Lord and The Empty Throne, season four of The Last Kingdom introduced a raft of new characters. We met Uhtred’s grown-up children Young Uhtred and Stiorra – respectively a Christian cleric and a passionate Dane. There was Dane warrior Sigtryggr, the dastardly Eardwulf (now dead) and his much more sympathetic sister Eadith, who saved the life of Aethelflaed’s daughter when she caught the sickness....

While this was a shock and delight, some noted that Basco’s voice for General Iroh was nearly identical to his performance as Zuko. Over the years fans have questioned why Basco didn’t give the character a different voice. While promoting his new official Avatar rewatch podcast, Avatar: Braving the Elements, Basco recalled the process of how the voice of General Iroh was crafted. Series creators Michael DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko had wanted to bring him back for Korra because fans had loved Zuko so much in ATLA and they wanted to create an Easter egg for them....

It’s no secret that some Links and Zeldas are older than others. All one has to do is compare the Link from Wind Waker to the Link from Twilight Princess to see all Links are not meant to be the same age. However, actually determining the characters’ respective ages on a game-by-game basis is far more complicated. The Legend of Zelda games rarely come out and say how old its cast is supposed to be, so we’re usually left to rely on guides, interviews, and similar external resources for that information....

Morfydd Clark is Galadriel Galadriel is an Elven warrior of royal blood who is destined to become one of the mightiest Elves of Middle-earth during The Lord of the Rings. First portrayed by Cate Blanchett in Peter Jackson’s film trilogy, The Rings of Power will introduce us to a younger version of this character, as played by Morfydd Clark, who will eventually wield one of the three Elven Rings of Power....

The Magicians Season 3 Episode 8 There’s one fault The Magicians can never be accused of having, and that’s predictability. Although “Six Short Stories About Magic” didn’t totally sell its attempt at unique storytelling, the more conventional main narrative and its subplots were more than compelling enough to ignore the superfluous title cards and shifting perspectives. With the fate of several characters still hanging in the balance, the re-acquisition of the key is one of the few resolved items in this episode, but the loose ends serve only to entice rather than frustrate....

When Din Djarin first met Grogu, he probably knew less about Star Wars than anyone reading this article. The Jedi were a mystery to him, known to the Mandalorians only as ancient sorcerer enemies. But as we know — and as Din has finally learned — Grogu has deep ties to the Jedi. After Ahsoka Tano reveals Grogu’s past as a Jedi youngling who was forced to go into hiding during Order 66, she sends the duo to the planet Tython, the birthplace of the Jedi Order, so that Grogu may use the Force to reach out to another Jedi to train him....

Sirico was a real mobster before he went into acting, even did a semester in prison. He brought a street-wise authenticity into the role, which is now lodged in Sopranos fans’ consciousness like a bullet in the back of the head. Magnussen’s Paulie has an extremely memorable introduction in the film, but it’s not in the skull, and it’s messier than a .22. Let’s just say, you should wear denim coveralls when rotating tires....

The New Mutants is an odd duck. The writing was on the wall back in 2017 when 20th Century Fox first pushed the film off its original 2018 release window. Apparently the delay was the result of the studio wanting to make it more of a horror movie via reshoots… reshoots that then never happened. Even so, those horror elements are still on bonkers display in Josh Boone’s final cut of the film, now available on Blu-ray and VOD....

A deliberate echo of Redford’s early iconic work, Old Man acts as a bookend to Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, the George Roy Hill film that turned Redford into a movie star in 1969. In both pictures, Redford plays a sometimes-moustached bank robber who likes taking it easy in his life until the thrill of a gun at a teller’s window grabs him. And in both pictures, he courts self-destruction with a winning smile....

The Simpsons Season 33 Episode 10 The Simpsons are still on a roll. Season 33 episode 10 “A Made Maggie” is a Christmas football in the groin: it works on so many levels. In short, Fat Tony gets himself an invitation to be godfather to Margaret Simpson, also known as little Maggie. If that sounds like a mob moniker for a street gang, it’s mere hearsay. The Simpsons live on Evergreen Terrace....

Before we begin, let’s be clear. There are only two people who know the real truth behind the events that are depicted in The Staircase. One of them is dead. And the other is Michael Peterson. So this article is not going to be able to answer the question of whether Michael Peterson killed his wife Kathleen, and nor indeed is the series. This is not an article about the true story behind Kathleen Peterson’s murder....

The Visit follows a young brother and sister, Becca (Olivia DeJonge) and Tyler (Ed Oxenbould), who go to stay with the grandparents they’ve never met before (Deanna Dunagan and Peter McRobbie) on an extended visit while their mom (Kathryn Hahn) takes her own vacation with a new beau. As soon as they get to Nana and Pop Pop’s isolated farmhouse, however, things quickly take a turn for the strange. Told not to leave their room after 9:30 pm, the siblings do just that and witness some rather odd sights....