Tag / Die Hard

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Tired Discourse – Is Die Hard A Christmas Movie

In January of 2025, the good folks at Defector.com published a list of 35 topics that have been discussed to within an inch of their life here on the internet.  Lucky for me, I haven’t publicly commented on most, if not all, of these topics, so I figured why not dip my toes into the fray on occasion.  We will start today with the first question on their list:

Is Die Hard a Christmas Movie?

Die Hard, the now-classic action movie released in July of 1988, stars Bruce Willis as a New York city police officer who travels to Los Angeles to see his estranged wife and kids and ends up interrupting a terrorist attack, saving his wife and (most of) her co-workers from a certain death.  At first glance, nothing about this screams Christmas movie.  But, the movie’s setup only works because the action takes place on Christmas Eve.

Why is Willis’s Det. John McClane in Los Angeles?  To see his family for Christmas.  Why is he meeting his wife at her office?  It’s their Christmas party.  Why are the terrorists attacking now?  It is Christmas Eve and, aside from the people at the party, who are needed to give the terrorists the access they need, the building is deserted.

Now, detractors will say that you can strip out the Christmas trappings and have basically the same movie.  Which, for the most part, is probably true.  That said, those trappings are not stripped out and very much exist in the film, tying it directly to the holiday season.

So, bottom line, is Die Hard a Christmas movie?  Of course it is.  Is it a traditional Christmas movie.  No, I will concede that point.  But Christmas drives the plot, in the movie as it actually exists versus some make-believe alternate version.  And what embodies the spirit of Christmas more than overcoming obstacles of circumstance to reunite with your loved ones for the holiday?

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You Ought To Be In (36) Pictures

Many years ago, using the weekly TV guide that came with the Sunday Chicago Tribune, I started keeping track of all of the movies I had seen over the course of my lifetime.  The guide would list the two main stars for each movie, and that is a tradition that I’ve carried on in my database ever since.  Given those guidelines, it is time once again to look at the now 107 actors that have starred in at least 10 films that I have seen, as of July 1.

We wrap up our series today with the lone actor that has starred in exactly 36 movies that I have seen, a new high from three years ago.

Bruce Willis

The actor that I have seen in the most films is Bruce Willis, who maintains a five-picture lead over his closest competitor.  I first saw him in 1985’s Moonlighting, the pilot to the television show that introduced him to America.  His first big screen work that I saw was 1988’s Die Hard.  His longest streak was four years, from 1995 through 1998.  I’ve seen him in multiple films in nine different years, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2014, 2019, and 2020.  The last time I saw him in a film was 2020, when he checked in with three different performances: 2017’s Once Upon a Time in Venice and, both from 2020, Hard Kill and Survive the Night.  Unfortunately, Willis’s family announced last year that he was retiring after being diagnosed with aphasia, a disorder impacting his language expression and comprehension.

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You Ought To Be In (34) Pictures

Movie_Reel_22

Many years ago, using the weekly TV guide that came with the Sunday Chicago Tribune, I started keeping track of all of the movies I had seen over the course of my lifetime.  The guide would list the two main stars for each movie, and that is a tradition that I’ve carried on in my database ever since.  So, given those guidelines, and thanks to a corona virus inspired uptick to my movie watching this year, it is time to look at the 100 actors that have starred in at least 10 films that I have seen, as of July 1.

Today, we conclude with the actor that has starred in 34 movies that I have seen.

Bruce Willis

The actor that I have seen in the most films is Bruce Willis, who maintains a four picture lead over his closest competitor.  I first saw him in 1985’s Moonlighting, the pilot to the television show that introduced him to America.  His first big screen work that I saw was 1988’s Die Hard.  His greatest streak was 4 years from 1995 through 1998.  He is only up three films over the last 3 years, adding Glass and Death Wish in 2019, making that the 8th year that I’ve seen multiple films starring Willis, and Once Upon A Time In Venice earlier this year.

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You Ought To Be In (31) Pictures

Movie_Reel_22

Many years ago, using the weekly TV guide that came with the Sunday Chicago Tribune, I started keeping track of all of the movies I had seen over the course of my lifetime.  The guide would list the two main stars for each movie, and that is a tradition that I’ve carried on in my database ever since.  So, given those guidelines, it is time to look at all of the actors that have starred in at least 10 films that I have seen, as of July 1st.

Today, we finish things off with the actor that has starred in the most movies, 31, that I have seen.

Bruce Willis

The actor that I have seen in the most films is Bruce Willis, who has a four picture lead over his closest competitors.  I first saw him in 1985’s Moonlighting, the pilot to the television show that introduced him to America.  His first screen work that I saw was 1988’s Die Hard.  His greatest streak was 4 years from 1995 through 1998.  He is only up one over the last 3 years, adding Red 2 later in 2014, making that the 7th year that I’ve seen multiple films starring Willis.

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You Ought To Be In (30) Pictures

Movie_Reel_22

Many years ago, using the weekly TV guide that came with the Sunday Chicago Tribune, I started keeping track of all of the movies I had seen over the course of my lifetime.  The guide would list the two main stars for each movie, and that is a tradition that I’ve carried on in my database ever since.  So, given those guidelines, it is time to look at all of the actors that have starred in at least 10 films that I have seen, as of May 30th.

Today, we finish things off with the actor that has starred in the most movies, 30, that I have seen.

Bruce Willis

The actor that I have seen in the most films is Bruce Willis, who has a four picture lead over his closest competitors.  I first saw him in 1985’s Moonlighting, the pilot to the television show that introduced him to America.  His first screen work that I saw was 1988’s Die Hard.  The 5 Die Hard entries make up 1/6 of his overall total, including the most recent one, A Good Day To Die Hard, from earlier this year.  His greatest streak was 4 years from 1995 through 1998.  I saw 3 of his films in the same year 3 different times, in 2000, 2007, and 2008.

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30 Day Movie Challenge Day 22 – Favorite Action Movie

80s action films had followed a pretty standard routine, with either a stone-faced Arnold Schwarzenegger or Sylvester Stallone fighting off some foreign threat.  That all changed with 1988’s Die Hard, which introduced both Bruce Willis and a sense of humor to the action genre, changing the formula for the 90s and beyond.  This also could double as my favorite Christmas movie.  Ho.  Ho.  Ho.