Christmas Comes Early!

It's not too often that I talk about non horror movies on here, but I am compelled - much like I was just compelled to break my little unwritten rule of spending more than $20 on a single movie. One of my favorite movies of all time has just been released on 20th Anniversary Ultimate Collector's Edition Blu-ray and though it isn't a horror movie, despite the fact that it has a hockey masked man wielding a chainsaw in it, I simply must praise its awesomeness. What am I talking about? Behold my new prized possession!



National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation is not only my favorite holiday flick of all time but as I said, it's also one of my favorite movies of all time, period. Ever since my dad introduced me to the Griswold's way back when I was a youngster, I have been in love with this movie and while most have the desire to watch A Christmas Story several times over during the month of December, Christmas Vacation has always been more my moose mug of tea. It's one of those movies that compels me to watch it whenever it's on, no matter how recently I just saw it. If i'm flipping through the channels and I see Chevy Chase dangling from the gutters, rest assured I will not only leave it on, but sit down and watch the entire movie, no matter what I was in the middle of doing. Why do I love the movie so much? Quite simply, because it reminds me of my childhood. I have many fond memories of watching it on Christmas eve, alone in my room, and counting down the hours until I could leave my room and gather round the tree with my family. Christmas Vacation brings me back to those times like nothing else can and that's the main reason I hold it so close to my heart and that's also the reason that no dollar amount is too high to recapture just a little bit of that childhood excitement. Whenever I need a little pick me up during the holidays, Clark, Cousin Eddie and the gang ALWAYS do the trick. So ya see, it is for all these reasons that I simply could not resist this Ultimate Collector's Edition, especially since I only have the old-school snap case DVD - which, for sentimental reasons, I will still be holding onto. Don't ask me to explain it, because I really can't. Sentimentality aside, at least for the moment, let's take a closer look at this beautiful set.

The tin case is adorned with Griswold family photos and even the famous image of the cat who blew all of his nine lives in one go. But the real treats lie inside, so let's crack this baby open!



First up, we've of course got the Blu-ray itself, or should I say Green-ray. Huge props to Warner Bros. for the green case. The disc art shares the image of the char broiled cat from the back of the tin. As for what's on the disc, the only special feature is the cast and crew commentary track that was included on the special edition DVD release from a few years back. Again, i've only had the snap case edition all these years, so this is new to me. I haven't watched the whole movie in high def yet (I will right after I finish this post) but I sampled a couple scenes and it looks pretty spiffy, despite the fact that it appears to have no main menu screen. But this set isn't really so much about the disc contents or even the picture quality of the flick, at least for me, it's all about the goodies inside the tin!



An official Wally World Santa hat!!



Four premium quality cork bottomed coasters featuring images and quotes from the film!



An "I survived a Griswold family Christmas" pin!



Snow powder! Just add water and you've got (weird smelling fake) snow, any time of the year! Don't believe me, see for yourself!



As if that wasn't cool enough (yes, i'm very very easily amused), you can let the water evaporate out and re-use the snow over and over again! Whoever thought to include this in the set deserves a serious raise.

And finally, best of all....



A mini replica of the moose mug!! This item is a Blu-ray exclusive and if ya ask me, despite its tiny size, this sucker is worth the $25 all its own. I got a full size replica mug for Christmas last year, but you can never have too many moose mugs!

So my point here is, this set fucking rocks and is a total must own for all super fans of Christmas Vacation. Sure there are no new special features, but so what! The special added goodies more than make up for the lack of that and besides, what Christmas Vacation fan in his right mind can turn down such kickass swag? A+, Warner Bros.

The Ultimate Collector's Edition set is available on both DVD and Blu-ray, with the only difference being the inclusion of the moose mug with the Blu-ray. Shockingly, the Blu-ray set is selling for three dollars less than the DVD set on Amazon, so you might wanna snatch it up before the price goes up. You can also pick up the Blu-ray by itself, which features the original art. You can only get the green cased version in the set.

Time to get myself in the Christmas spirit a little bit early and get my first dose of Christmas Vacation of the year! But first, one last little Christmas related note while i'm in the sentimental mood....

I may not have ever been the best at vocalizing my appreciation for things but dad/mom, if you're reading, I cannot thank you guys enough for always making every Christmas the most magical time it could be, even long after the cat was out of the bag on the whole Santa thing. Those childhood Christmases are something I will never ever forget and I cannot wait to pass your enthusiasm and genuine excitement for the season onto my own children someday. Thank you.