Christmas Outdoor Cinema

Rated: G

Wrestling with burgeoning doubts on the ever-present question over Santa Claus’ existence, the sceptical youngster, Hero Boy, hears the familiar sound of a locomotive which interrupts his already troubled sleep. And then, much to his surprise, a cryptic conductor invites him to board the magnificent Polar Express on an unforgettable and magical adventure all the way up to the frozen landscapes of the vast North Pole, Santa Claus’ realm. Will he and the rest of the young non-believers aboard the train finally find the true spirit of Christmas?

Rated: G

Scott Calvin is disgusted to learn that his ex-wife, Laura, and her husband, Neil, have tried and failed to break it easy to their 6-year-old son, Charlie, that Santa Claus isn’t real. On Christmas Eve, Scott reads “The Night Before Christmas” and then receives an unexpected visitor on his roof.

Rated: G 

One Christmas Eve a long time ago, a baby crawled into Santa’s bag of toys. Raised as an elf, Buddy (Will Ferrell) grows into an adult three times larger than the biggest elf and realises that he will never truly fit in at the North Pole. This holiday season, Buddy goes looking for his true place in the world – in New York City. Buddy finds his workaholic father who’s on Santa’s “naughty” list, a new mother and a 10-year-old brother who doesn’t believe in Santa Claus or elves. Here, now, Buddy discovers his destiny – to save Christmas for New York and the world!

Rated: G

The well-off Smith family leads a comfortable, happy existence in St. Louis, a city set to welcome the 1904 World’s Fair. Seventeen-year-old Esther Smith (Judy Garland) has fallen in love with the boy who has just moved next door, though he hardly notices her at first. When Mr. Alonzo Smith announces that he has been transferred to New York for business and that his family must follow him, Esther and her siblings are distraught at the thought of leaving St. Louis, their lives and the World’s Fair behind.

Stay after the film for As Camp as Christmas.

Rated: PG

Starring Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine and directed by Billy Wilder, The Apartment is a five-time Oscar winning romantic comedy drama, regularly appearing in lists of the greatest films of all time. C.C. Baxter (Lemmon) is an office clerk who courts favour with the executives in his office by giving them the key to his small apartment for their extramarital flings. Among them is his callous boss, J.D. Sheldrake, who Baxter learns is using his place for a romantic affair with Miss Kubelik (MacLaine), the building’s elevator operator and Baxter’s love interest.

Content notes: This film engages with themes of suicide.

Rated: PG

By night Alfred (James Stewart) and Klara are pen pals who have never met but who are deeply devoted to each other. By day, Alfred and Klara are co-workers who, just as deeply, dislike each other. Their day/night hate/love relationship cannot continue, but will it be loving or loathing when Alfred and Klara discover the identity of their cherished confidant?

Rated: PG

Regularly appearing on lists of best films ever made, this 1946 classic directed by Frank Capra and starring James Stewart is loosely based on Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. Beset with personal and professional problems, George Bailey (Stewart) finds his previously happy life falling apart around him on Christmas Eve. Seeing no way out, George considers suicide from the edge of a bridge – but Clarence, his guardian angel, intervenes and shows George what his beloved hometown of Bedford Falls would be like without him.

Content notes: This film engages with themes of suicide.

To celebrate United Airlines’ direct flight from Melbourne to Los Angeles becoming a daily service starting 4 December, United Airlines in partnership with Los Angeles Tourism is offering the ultimate festive-season prize, valued at $18,500.