Maybe it’s the dropping temperatures, or perhaps it’s all the Christmas music on the radio, or possibly the funny, fanciful feeling of finals approaching, but there’s something in the air here at Wesleyan. In the thick of thesis season, with Thanksgiving leftover sandwiches still sitting in our bellies, we find ourselves thrust full force into the end of the semester. On one hand, it’s the unfortunate season of cold toes, all-nighters, and skeletal trees, but it’s also the joyous period of knit sweaters, spiked eggnog, and perhaps the merriest tradition of all – holiday movies.

There’s only about a four week window where it’s considered socially acceptable to watch these types of movies, and with presents to be wrapped, exams to be studied for, and snow angels to be made, there’s only so much time left for enjoying these yuletide flicks. Personally, I’m partial to the Laurel and Hardy classic Babes In Toyland (perhaps better known by it’s reissue title, March of The Wooden Soldiers), but I’m also always a sucker for festive fare like A Christmas Story, Home Alone, and It’s A Wonderful Life. Even classic anti-Holiday fare like 1988’s Scrooged and Terry Zwigoff’s Bad Santa – which happens to be on next week’s series line-up – makes my bells jingle.

Alas, as cheery as the holidays are, there also comes a point in this pre-Christmas interval at which the holiday hubbub becomes a little too much to handle. Yep, one can only tolerate so many chestnuts roasting on an open fire. But friends, the Wesleyan Film Series is the perfect place to escape your weary winter wonderland and embark on a jolly cinematic sleigh ride that will really make your season bright. So strap on your snow boots, pack a candy cane or two, and stuff your stocking with these merry movies.

500 DAYS OF SUMMER
2009. USA. Dir: Marc Webb. With Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Zooey Deschanel. 95 min.
TONIGHT, December 4th, 8PM $5
In his first ever feature, music-video director Marc Webb (Brand New, Weezer), delivers an unconventional, quirky, and amazingly entertaining pop-song of a film. Male lead Joseph Gordon Levitt (yeah, the dude that used to be that long-haired little shit on 3rd Rock From the Sun) proves to be funny, relatable, and charismatic, especially opposite the immaculate Zooey Deschanel. ZD’s doe-eyed stare and sultry singing voice also make this film entirely worthwhile for any male who is dragged into the theatre by his girlfriend. Anyway, with its creative non-linear storytelling and bottomless bag of cinematic tricks, SUMMER will make you fall in love, fall apart, and dance along to Hall and Oates all under two hours.

PICKPOCKET
1959. France. Dir: Robert Bresson. With Martin LaSalle, Marika Green. 75 min.
SATURDAY, December 5th, 8PM FREE
Just as its 75-minute running time suggests, PICKPOCKET is a lean, mean, minimalist gem. In Martin Lasalle’s career-defining performance, he plays the title role – a thief fresh out of prison and forced to return to his old lifestyle. Bresson’s formal signature underlies the narrative perfectly; as he subtly asks us to contemplate issues of social justice, morality, dignity, and redemption. Ringing with echoes of Crime and Punishment, PICKPOCKET’s world is tight, consistent, and masterfully thrilling; if you can steal away to the Goldsmith, I guarantee this motion picture will rob you blind.

THIRST
2009. South Korea. Dir: Chan-wook Park. With Kang-ho Song, Ok-vin Kim. 133 min.
WEDNESDAY, December 9th, 8PM $5
If, like me, you drooled over OLDBOY (that 2-minute single-tracking shot fight still makes me blush) just wait until you see this film, Chan-wook Park’s latest. This story about a priest-turned vampire (don’t worry folks, this is far from New Moon) caught in a love triangle is at once chilling and heart-wrenching: a proven Park formula. A visionary tale of the intertwining anxieties of faith, lust, and murderous impulse, THIRST is indubitably the cream of the foreign film crop this year. Personally, I can’t think of a better film to top off our Wednesday nights with. So before you swill cocktails all evening at the semesters last bar night, come to the Film Series beforehand, and let this flick help quench your THIRST.

SOLARIS
1972. USSR. Dir: Andrei Tarkovsky. With Donates Banionis. 165 min.
THURSDAY, December 10th, 8PM FREE
After a semester of Kazan classics monopolizing our Thursday night film slot, we finally mix things up – and what better way to do it but with a heady, haunting sci-fi drama! Tarkovsky creates a slow, creeping, surreal world that’s intensely psychological and even hallucination-inducing. Although classically contrasted to Kubrick’s 2001: A SPACE ODDYSSEY, SOLARIS is in many ways more introspective, and arguably even trippier. If finals have got you down, there’s no doubt that SOLARIS will transport you to a far away place – one you may never want to leave.