The best cozy holiday films for a lazy day

1. National Treasure, 2004

⭐️Rate: 8/10

🎬Review: Jon Turtletaub's best film must endure the critics propensity to penalize highly popular commercially successful family-friendly Disney films... "What does the common folk know about filmmaking?" It's much better than most of those reviews indicate.

Yes, this film works hard to be likable and appealing to a mass audience - perhaps it's just too preposterous a story, and has too much witty repertoire to be taken seriously by some critics.

Witty repertoire CAN wear thin and become precocious in movies, but in 'National Treasure', it's the film's most endearing and appealing factor, carried off successfully by some of the most experienced actors in the business - They keep the film fun and pull off their quips with deft skill - Bravo!

A well casted, directed and edited film that doesn't pretend to be more than it is, and delivers what audiences came to see.

Enjoy this snappy-paced treasure hunt Disney ride without guilt - it's OK to have escapism fun watching movies, and this one does it as well as any, so grab a bowl of popcorn and indulge yourself.

2. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, 2003

⭐️Rate: 9/10

🎬Review: You will always remember this as the movie that made Johnny Depp a superstar and almost got him an Oscar. The fact that he didn't win isn't a problem,since thanks to him this is the best pirate film ever made.

The opening concept is a cliche:a beautiful woman(Keira Knightley)is kidnapped by a bunch of filthy pirates(led by Geoffrey Rush's Barbossa)and the man(Orlando Bloom) who's desperately in love with her decides to track them down.From now on,things get unexpected,as he asks another pirate for help.And it's no ordinary pirate:it's Captain Jack Sparrow(Johnny Depp), a lying,cheating,but charismatic scumbag,the hardest man on Earth to predict,not to mention quite unlucky and clumsy("You are,with no doubt,the worst pirate I've ever heard of" "But you HAVE heard of me!").

It's got all the elements of a classic pirate movie,elements that would give this flick a 9/10.

So, why am I giving it a 10/10? The answer is simple:Captain Jack. From the moment he makes his entrance,justly included in the Empire Top 10 Entrances of all time,we know he's the reason people will keep watching the movie.He's Depp's best non-Tim Burton-character ever,and I can't wait til he returns.

See you next summer, Captain!

3. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, 2013

⭐️Rate: 8/10

🎬Review: Ben Stiller is Walter Mitty, a man who looks as if he does nothing, is nothing and is perceived as nothing. Except for during his little fantasies in which he is a hero, but during these weirds moments in which he dozes off, others write him off.

Until he finds a goal in life, which puts in him adventurous situations by accident, which transform him in the man he always was. A unique individual, an adventurer, a dreamer who fulfills his dreams and finds the appreciation he needs and deserves. But the appreciation doesn't come from other, but from himself.

What the movie does brilliantly, is make the watcher feel connected to Walter Mitty and feels with him. You'll find him goofy, but likable. Your respect for him will grow with every minute, and at the end of the movie, you'll love him. Maybe you even recognize your own milestone moments, mountains you have climbed, seas you have sailed, so we all are bigger than we are perceived, as long as you have that respect and confidence from within.

Props to Ben Stiller. Jim Carrey had his Truman Show, Will Ferrel had his Stranger Than Fiction.

Ben Stiller's Walter Mitty should be in that group.

Looking for a movies for holiday season? Try to watch this and let me know your thoughts! :)

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