The Ten: Holiday Gifts for Movie Lovers (2015)

The holidays are upon us once again, and if you’re like me you were completely unprepared. Starbucks just had Pumpkin Spice Lattes, then everyone was arguing about the design of their cups, and out of nowhere Thanksgiving has passed and you’ve missed all of the good Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals. Now you have to beat the clock to get the good gifts for your friends and loved ones before someone else does. It’s cutthroat.

Sorry…holiday anxiety. What was I talking about? OH right! Gifts. People want them and you need to give them if you want to get any back really care. Don’t you worry your pretty little head. I’m here to help you find the perfect gift for all of those movie lovers in your life.


STREAMING DEVICES

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What’s this new fangled streaming nonsense? In my day, a stream was just a small creek that led to the ol’ fishin’ hole.

Well, welcome to 2015. If I had to guess, the movie fan in your life probably has a huge shelving unit full of Blu-rays and dvds. With streaming services like Netflix and Hulu they no longer need it! They can have a huge selection of movies right at their fingertips by accessing these applications on a streaming device.

The new Apple TVs are nice, but Amazon just released the Fire TV Stick, Google has a device called a Chromecast, and the Roku has also been a popular item this year.

BUY APPLE TV

BUY AMAZON FIRE STICK

BUY THE ROKU STREAMING STICK


BLU-RAY PLAYER

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That streaming nonsense is all well and good, but as you pointed out they already have a huge wall of movies. We don’t want those to go to waste.

That is true. If you want to give them a device that can play discs and access streaming apps you could always get them a wifi enabled Blu-ray player. I’ve always been a Sony fan, and the very affordable model below plays Blu-rays and dvds, has over 300 streaming apps, and PlayStation Now. With a PlayStation 3 remote they can play full games right on their Blu-ray player.

BUY SONY BLU-RAY PLAYER


POPCORN POPPER

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Now that they have the movie ready to go, they just need some popcorn. Unfortunately, microwave popcorn has the consistency of cotton and the flavor of cardboard. An air popper like this Cuisinart is a little healthier, but I prefer the stovetop method like the Wabash Valley Whirley-Pop.

BUY MOVIE STYLE POPPER

BUY STOVETOP POPPER


SOUNDTRACKS

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If you frequent your local record shop, you might have noticed the soundtrack section has exploded in size over the last year. It isn’t hard to see why. Web retailers like Waxwork (http://waxworkrecords.com/) and Mondo (http://mondotees.com/collections/music) have been putting a lot of care into re-mastering and packaging the soundtracks of your favorite movies, from Day of the Dead to Back to the Future. Some production companies have seen the results and have begun to jump on the bandwagon.

BUY THE RECORDS


BOOKS

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Books? They’re movie fans. What are they going to do with books?

Believe it or not, a lot of recent movies have been based on books. Not only that, but there are some upcoming movies that are also based on books. Get the movie lover in your life the book their favorite movie was based on or the book of an upcoming movie by one of their favorite directors or actors. For instance, I’m a big Tim Burton fan and his next movie is based on this series of young adult books.

BUY MISS PEREGRINE’S PECULIAR CHILDREN SERIES


PREPARE THEM FOR NEXT YEAR’S MOVIES

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2015 has been a great year for movies, but don’t sleep on next year’s releases. Prepare them for some of the blockbuster movies coming out next year by getting them the other movies in the series. Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice (get them Man of Steel), Captain America: Civil War (apparently you need to buy them anything with a Marvel logo on it), X-Men: Apocalypse (this will be the eighth X-Men movie), Independence Day: Resurgence (there’s a new Independence Day 20 years later), Star Trek Beyond (third of the rebooted series, thirteenth overall)…you get the idea.


SCREAM FACTORY

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If your cinephile is a horror lover, then you should definitely check out Scream Factory. Set up as a subdivision of home distribution company Shout Factory, Scream Factory focuses solely on horror films. They put the same love and detail into each release as the Waxwork and Mondo soundtracks and often have new cuts, special features, and commentaries. I particularly like their release of The Babadook, which is one of the best original horror movies in years.

BUY THE MOVIES


MOVIE BOARD GAMES

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Board games are all the rage right now. What better way to spend an evening with friends? Movie themed games like Scene-It have been out for a long time and even have specific editions for some franchises like James Bond and Harry Potter.

For a new and original take, check out Cinelinx. It’s like Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon, but a little more involved.

BUY THE GAME


DRINK RECIPIES

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Whether playing a game or watching a movie, it’s sometimes nice to have a drink. Check out this book of movie-themed cocktails. They can drink a Vesper while watching Casino Royale or a White Russian while watching The Big Lebowski.

BUY THE BOOK


GIVE THE GIFT OF MOVIES

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There are a ton of ways to give movies. Sure, you can buy them a Blu-ray copy of a new release or a re-release of a classic.

You could also buy them a ticket to a movie at a theater. I hear there’s some new space movie coming out with that old guy from Six Days, Seven Nights. Don’t skimp on the concessions. It’s Christmas. You can usually even get a gift card to most theaters if you don’t want to actually spend time with them.

If they’re more of a homebody, get them a subscription to an online streaming service to go with that Apple TV you bought them. Netflix is nice. Or Hulu.


What am I missing? It was hard to narrow it down, so let me know in the comments below!

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