This article is about the weather phenomenon. For the Irving Berlin song, see White Christmas (song). For the Bing Crosby/Danny Kaye movie, see White Christmas (film).

A white Christmas, to most people in the Northern Hemisphere, refers to snowy weather on Christmas Day, a phenomenon which is far more common in some countries than in others. For example, in many parts of the USA, snow is seldom experienced at Christmas except in the mountains; but most parts of Canada except for southern British Columbia, southern Alberta, southern Ontario and parts of the Maritimes stand an excellent chance of experiencing a white Christmas. The same goes for the countries in northern Europe, such as ones in Scandinavia, the Baltic States, northern Russia, Belarus. Due to oceanic climate and such, the further west a country is in Europe, the lower the probability that it will have a white Christmas (e.g., in southern France it is very rare, while in Bucharest, Romania, which is at a similar latitude, a white Christmas is much more likely).

Some of the least-likely white Christmases that have happened include the 2004 Christmas Eve Snowstorm, which brought the first white Christmas to New Orleans in half a century, and the first ever to Houston, Texas. Exactly 50 years before in 1954, that city had the largest-ever snowfall in its history, also on Christmas. The 2004 storm also brought the first measurable snow of any kind since 1895 to Brownsville, Texas, and its twin city of Matamoros, Mexico. Many young Laredoans also saw snow for the first time in their lives during the storm. The Florida winter storm of 1989 also occurred immediately before Christmas.

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Movies Reviews

Review for The Dark Knight: The IMAX Experience - Must Go! - Words Cannot Describe How Good This Movie Was
Wow! As my title says, words cannot describe how good this movie was, but I will try. I was just blown away by the story-as was the case with "Batman Begins," this was so much more than just a movie based on a comic book. The story was engrossing and I just loved how it ended. Heath Ledger's performance was beyond belief, and Christian Bale, Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine, and Aaron Eckhart were all excellent. Most people I know didn't care for Maggie Gyllenhaal as Rachel, but I liked her (she wasn't perfect for the role, but enjoyable nonetheless). The effects were also amazing to see-in fact, it was not easy to look at Aaron Eckhart as Two-Face! If you are one of the few people who haven't seen this yet, go as soon as humanly possible. Seeing it in IMAX is pretty cool, but I doubt it is necessary (I didn't see the regular version, so cannot say for sure). Just see it in whichever version you can see sooner. It is a must-see and should be seen in the theater,
Review for The House Bunny - So-So - The House Bunny
I took four 15 year olds with me and in a few places in the movie, there were a couple of remarks made with a sexual content ... and I didn't even get the gist of them. Some of the kids with me probably did and I worried that, if I did not get them, how crude were they for this day and age. There were also a couple references made to body parts that I was a little embarrassed about, and I felt embarrassed about having the kids subjected to that. Overall the movie was quite funny; however, as I said above, I was a bit concerned about the level of crudity even though I assumed it was to go along with overall the theme of the movie. I do not embarrass easily but again, was a bit over the top with some of crudity. The overall movie was very cute and it was as funny as we all hoped. D.J. Johnson
Review for Vicky Cristina Barcelona - Go - Different Than I Expected, But Quite Funny
This movie was NOTHING like I expected. The media had me joking that it was Woody Allen's "venture into soft core porn," but nothing could be further from the truth. There was definitely a sexual theme to the movie, as well as a few sex scenes, but nothing graphic-and no nudity of any kind. As for my opinion of the movie, I found it to be very funny. I thought it was one of Woody Allen's rare dramas, with some comedic moments sprinkled in, but it was a lot closer to a typical Woody Allen comedy than that (though not exactly the same as a typical Woody Allen comedy). Penelope Cruz was the best part of the movie as Javier Bardem's crazy and unbalanced ex-wife. People often say that Cruz is only good in Spanish-language films, and she speaks a lot of Spanish in this movie, so there might be something to that theory. Javier Bardem was very charming and witty. Scarlett Johansson and (particularly) Rebecca Hall were also very good and funny. If you like Woody Allen movies, go see this.

L.A. Times - Movie Reviews

Movie review: 'Traitor'
Wed, 27 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0700
Don Cheadle reaffirms his excellence in a good, terrorism-themed thriller that also features Guy Pearce and Jeff Daniels. "Traitor" asks a question that can be answered only by that cruel mistress, the marketplace: How much moral ambiguity and narrative intricacy will an audience handle in the realm of a terrorism-themed contemporary thriller? Enough, I hope, to respond to "Traitor." It tells a good, snakelike story, slithering in some unpredictable directions.
'The House Bunny'
Fri, 22 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0700
Also: 'Ten Nights of Dreams,' 'What We Do Is Secret,' 'America the Beautiful,' 'Cthulhu' "Being a centerfold is the highest and most prestigious honor there is," über-blond Shelley earnestly declares. "It says, 'I'm naked in the middle of a magazine. Unfold me!' "
'The Garden'
Fri, 22 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0700
Turf wars flourish in South-Central L.A. It's tempting to call "The Garden" a story of innocence and experience, of evil corrupting paradise, but that would be doing a disservice to the fascinating complexities of a classic Los Angeles conflict and an excellent documentary that does them full justice.

Movies

Under Suspicion
David Denby Mon, 25 Aug 2008 04:00:00 -0000
Jiří Menzel’s “I Served the King of England” is a Czech national epic served up with champagne and truffles. This graceful and leisurely movie, adapted from a 1974 novel by the masterly Bohumil Hrabal, covers an enormous time span, starting in the nineteen-thirties, then passing through the . . .
Trouble the Water
Richard Brody Mon, 25 Aug 2008 04:00:00 -0000
The Film File
Tropic Thunder
Anthony Lane Mon, 25 Aug 2008 04:00:00 -0000
The Film File

Rolling Stone Movie Reviews

Trouble the Water
Thu, 21 Aug 2008 12:31:14 -0700
Starring: Kendall "Wink" Rivers, Scott Roberts Review: A star is born. Her name is Kimberly Rivers Roberts. Your never heard of her. Not yet. Roberts didn't write or direct Trouble the Water, the behind-the-camera artistry in this wallop of a movie is handled by the extraordinary team of Tia Lessin and Carl Deal. Trouble the Water is a documentary, an unforgettable one. It's an account of Hurricane Katrina from the inside. Kimberly Rivers Roberts and her husband Scott Roberts were stuck in New Orleans, without the money to get out. So they stayed and helped their neighbors and shot footage of Katrina as she attacked, footage like you've never seen, jaw-dropping scenes of the city before, during and after Katrina struck. The heroism on view here is indisputable. You never see fear as Kimberly, 26, rushed to help her friends and... Rating: 3.5 Stars
Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Mon, 04 Aug 2008 11:51:48 -0700
Starring: Penelope Cruz, Javier Bardem, Scarlet Johansson Review: Woody Allen goes latin (you heard me), and the romantic, richly comic result — powered by a dream cast — is his sexiest movie ever. Shooting in Spain has loosened up the Woodman. You want plot? Two American girls, Vicky (Rebecca Hall) and Cristina (Scarlett Johansson), spend the summer at the Barcelona hideaway of Vicky's pals, Mark (Kevin Dunn) and Judy (the ever-glorious Patricia Clarkson). No sooner do the girls spot Juan Antonio (Javier Bardem), a bedroom-eyed painter, than he's hitting on both of them. So far, so predictable. What sparks the movie is Penélope Cruz as Maria Elena, the painter's ex-wife, a fireball given to strong emotions — hell, she once stabbed Juan Antonio during an argument. You haven't lived till you've heard Cruz and Bardem trading Woody Allen o... Rating: 3 Stars
Hamlet 2
Mon, 04 Aug 2008 11:46:18 -0700
Starring: Steve Coogan, Catherine Keener Review: Don't expect a night with The Bard. This cuckoo farce asks: Can an L.A. actor stuck doing ads for herpes cures find happiness by moving to Tucson and teaching drama to high schoolers? Probably not. But you'll be wearing a happy face for two hours watching the brilliant Brit comic Steve Coogan play him. Him being Dana Marschz (pronounced Mars-chhh-zzz by those who dare), a sterile recovering alcoholic who gets slagged regularly by a snotty kid critic for staging movies (Dead Poets Society, Erin Brockovich) as plays. "He fisted us," cries Dana. Pumped by the addition of Latin students to his class of whitey Christians and closeted gays, Dana rouses himself — not with his wife (the dry, dazzling Catherine Keener), who's boinking their friend (David Arquette), but by creating an original... Rating: 3 Stars

Rotten Tomatoes: Top Movies

83% Tropic Thunder
Wed, 27 Aug 2008 14:05:02 -0700
With biting satire, plenty of subversive humor, and an unforgettable turn by Robert Downey, Jr., Tropic Thunder is a triumphant late Summer comedy.
40% The House Bunny
Wed, 27 Aug 2008 14:05:02 -0700
Anna Faris is game, but she can't salvage this middling, formulaic comedy.
40% Death Race
Wed, 27 Aug 2008 14:05:02 -0700
Mindless, violent, and lightning-paced, Death Race is little more than an empty action romp.

NPR Topics: Movies

Don Cheadle's Spy Turn
Wed, 27 Aug 2008 11:15:00 -0400
In his latest movie, Traitor, Don Cheadle plays a CIA operative who goes undercover to work with a terrorist group — but then becomes a suspected terrorist himself.
Minorities Get Little Respect On The Big Screen
Wed, 27 Aug 2008 00:01:00 -0400
As the summer movie season draws to a close, Morning Edition commentator John Ridley weighs in on what he thinks has been a really bad spell for minorities at the multiplex — both for actors and moviegoers.
Andrew Fleming And Pam Brady: Making 'Hamlet 2'
Tue, 26 Aug 2008 11:07:00 -0400
The two collaborated on the new Steve Coogan comedy, about a failed actor and overzealous drama teacher who mounts a musical sequel to Shakespeare's most famous tragedy.

NYT > Red Carpet

The Lawsuit Over Producer Credit for 'Crash' Gets Personal
SHARON WAXMAN Thu, 09 Mar 2006 00:00:00 -0400
A top executive of the movie academy described one of the producing team behind the best-picture winner, "Crash," as throwing a tantrum in suing over credit for the film.
News Analysis: Los Angeles Retains Custody of Oscar
DAVID CARR Tue, 07 Mar 2006 00:00:00 -0400
Los Angeles, a place where race is discussed rarely, saw itself in "Crash," a film where encounter and understanding are just a random fender-bender away.
'Crash' Walks Away With the Top Prize at the Oscars
DAVID M. HALBFINGER and DAVID CARR Mon, 06 Mar 2006 00:00:00 -0400
In a stunning twist, the motion picture academy turned its back on "Brokeback Mountain," awarding the Oscar for best picture to "Crash."

Village Voice | Films

A Dreyer Duo—Day of Wrath at the IFC and Vampyr  on DVD
Wed, 27 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0500
Before there were Luis Buñuel, Robert Bresson, Ingmar Bergman, or Andrei Tarkovsky (not to mention Lars von Trier, Carlos Reygadas, and Guy Maddin), there was Carl Theodor Dreyer (1889–1968), the original solitary, uncompromising film artist. A product of the Danish film indu...
John Carpenter Lives in a BAM Retrospective
Wed, 27 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0500
I'm not sure if John Carpenter ever actually spoke the oft-reproduced quote: "In France, I'm an auteur; in Germany, I'm a filmmaker; in England, I'm a genre director; in the U.S., I'm a bum." But as an Old West newspaperman once advised a certain U.S. senator: "When the legend becomes fact, print...
Social Climbing Through Politically Turbulent Times in I Served the King of England
Wed, 27 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0500
Septuagenarian Czech filmmaker Jirí Menzel's sixth adaptation of work by his late pal, the novelist Bohumil Hrabal (their collaboration goes back four decades and includes 1966's Oscar-winning Closely Watched Trains), boasts the same darkly sarcastic and lyrically absurdist trademar...

Film News from Times Online

Desperados with avocados - a sort of Guy Ritchie film
Tue, 26 Aug 2008 00:01:36 -0000
Imagine a voiceover. It's me, only it's not really me, because I have a voice like Bob Hoskins. And I'm saying this: “It's 7.30 on a Sunday morning and I've just been flashed by the Old Bill. This is bad news. There's a bag of guns in the boot, a bag of cash on the back seat, and I'm late for a job.”
How do you solve a problem like Georgiana?
Sun, 24 Aug 2008 00:00:02 -0000
I did not know anything in my twenties. I don’t mean I was stupid or ignorant. I simply knew nothing of the world. My contemporaries were climbing the job ladder and buying houses. I, on the other hand, was reading about a tiny little area, within a small field, of a narrow aspect of 18th-century British history.
Somers Town
Thu, 21 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0000


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