Merry Christmas! Happy Holidays! Feliz Navidad! Happy Hanukah! Happy Kwanzaa! Seasons Greetings! & DIE HARD!
There’s not much I can say about this movie that you don’t already know. It’s a raucous action flick with great one-liners that we love to quote. Bruce Willis is a New York City cop that finds himself in the wrong place at the wrong time after some bad guys take over the skyscraper where his estranged wife is trapped in the worst office holiday party ever. As Willis’ character John McClane plays a cat and mouse game with Alan Rickman’s Hans Gruber, McClane knocks off the terrorists (“Who said we were terrorists?”) one by one. Taunting Hans Gruber through a walkie talkie with great lines,
“Just a fly in the ointment Hans. The monkey in the wrench. The pain in the ass.”
But the best quote, is this of course, say it with me:
“Yippie-ki-yay motherfucker!”
A really fun and artistic take on Die Hard by Bec Hill and Jonnie Common is Die Hard Pop-Up Book. (Thanks to Wonker Frank for the link.)
Some people don’t have others to celebrate the holiday with and yet some might like to take a break from the ones they are with! So we come together and watch a movie. It is our own unique, smart, fun and dysfunctional family. And family, no matter what or who it is made up of can help hold us up when shit wants to pull us down.
As most know, the star of this movie, Bruce Willis was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia. And what has been the most important part of this story is how his family has surrounded him with love. His ex wife Demi Moore and their three children have pulled together with Bruce’s current wife and their two children to help a man they all clearly love on his journey with this disease.
(Willis Family Statement, The Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration)
We all have journeys we take in life and usually they’re a little easier if we aren’t walking alone. And just hanging out in Wonkette’s comments means you are not alone. It may not give you all you want but to paraphrase the Rolling Stones, sometimes you get what you need.
An update on Bruce’s health from Demi Moore in People:
“As she told Christiane Amanpour during a Dec. 5 CNN interview, Bruce is in a “very stable place at the moment.”
“And I’ve shared this before, but I really mean this so sincerely: It’s so important for anybody who’s dealing with this to really meet them where they’re at,” The Substance star continued. “And from that place, there is such loving and joy.”
Die Hard stars Bruce Willis, Bonnie Bedelia, Alan Rickman, Reginald VelJohnson, William Atherton and Alexander Godunov. Directed by John McTierman.
Available with subscription on Prime and Disney+. Free with ads on Tubi, The Roku Channel and Pluto TV. $3.99 in the usual places.
To make requests, see the movie lists and schedules go to WonkMovie.
Our animated short is a delightfully sweet tale of friendship by Kealan O’Rourke, The Lost Letter narrated by Kate Winslet.
Find me on Bluesky as ziggywiggy.
