As the cold grip of final exams tries to squash any fun out of these last days before winter break, take comfort (and joy) in knowing that merriment under the mistletoe awaits on the other side.There also lots of opportunities for relief and relaxation between tests this week.
For starters, every football game in December is its own special occasion. Christmas specials dominate the TV schedule both in the form of childhood classics and intriguing upstarts. Big-ticket album and Blu-ray releases are dropping in hope of ending up inside Christmas stockings–and that includes some childhood favorites that you might have missed in theaters. So take a look at 14 frigidly cool things that are heating up this week…
Saints at Bears
(December 15)
The Saints and the Bears are almost easily matched going into this Monday Night Football showdown at Chicago’s Soldier Field. Each outfit is at .358 for the season with five wins and eight losses. The only real difference is that the Bears have blown their last two games, while the Saints are only down one. May the least mediocre team win!
Charli XCX – Sucker
(out December 16)
England’s current hottest hitmaker has been banging and shaking the world since the release of her single “Boom Clap” all the way back in June. After a robustly bodacious performance on last weekend’s SNL, Charli XCX is finally dropping her complete album, temptingly titled Sucker. Listen and drool.
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
(out December 16)
Gamers who missed the 2008 classic Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots will finally get to have their crack at it with a much-anticipated re-release on Tuesday. Originally hailed as a “masterpiece” by IGN, Guns of the Patriots is the final chapter in the Metal Gear Solid saga of relentless mercenary Solid Snake. Catch him again while you can.
The Maze Runner on Blu-ray
(out December 16)
With dystopian teenage sci-fi is being the rage that it is, The Maze Runner stands out for being the one that doesn’t require dudes to just openly accept a hot chick as society’s mightiest hero. Dylan O’Brien is the young upstart who leads other young delinquents toward escaping a giant labyrinth in which they’ve all been imprisoned. Action ensues, social commentary gets inferred, necessary asses get kicked.
Gov’t Mule – Dark Side of the Mule
(out December 16)
For their twentieth anniversary, Allman Brothers kinsmen and jam band heroes Govt Mule are releasing rare live recordings, starting with this 2008 “Mule-O-Ween” performance of Pink Floyd covers. The 24 tracks incorporate Floyd’s whole career, and the album comes with a bonus DVD. This Dark Side creates a perfect atmosphere for lighting up.
Timberwolves at Wizards
(December 16)
NBA Southeast first-place holders the Wizards host Northwest basement dwellers the Timberwolves for what may well be an entertainingly lopsided evening of basketball–unless it’s not. Anything can happen. It probably won’t. But it can.
A Charlie Brown Christmas
(December 16)
One year shy of its golden anniversary, A Charlie Brown Christmas, the holiday season’s most glittering jewel of a cartoon, airs on ABC. After barely making it to the air over network worries over the jazz score and actual children providing the voices of the Peanuts gang, the public immediately fell in love with the special. Just like every other Christmas ever since, a new generation will get its chance to do so as well.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on Blu-ray
(out December 16)
As a little kid, you loved the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles–and as an expanding older kid you lusted for Megan Fox. Director Michael Bay’s mega-budget TMNT reboot combines them all for a fun romp that hits all the right notes of “Kowabunga!”
Elf: Buddy’s Musical Christmas
(December 16)
Santa’s biggest, goofiest helper gets his own stop-motion animated NBC special with Elf: Buddy’s Musical Christmas. Voicing the character creating on the big screen by Will Ferrell is Big Bang Theory’s Jim Parsons. It’s a fun frolic that also features vocal performances by Mark Hamill, Ed Asner, Fred Armisen, Jay Leno, Gilbert Gottfried, and Rachel MacFarlane.
Senators at Devils
(Dec 17)
At 12-12, the Senators are looking a little more robust than the 11-15 Devils as they skate into New Jersey’s Prudential Center. The Devils seem to be playing under a dark cloud so far this season, so any victory could be the one that final breaks the spell, even a proper humbling of Ottawa, which does seem somewhat redundant.
The Sing-Off
(December 17)
NBC’s annual holiday season a capella singing contest showcases genuinely amazing vocalists pulling off seemingly impossible sonic feats. You’ll swear you hears drums and electric guitars when really it’s just somebody grumbling and shrieking like a musical magician. Most of the teams are college-based, so there’s a chance that some local nerd might be enjoying a huge night of looking cool on television.
Titans at Jaguars
(December 18)
With both teams battling to see who can finish at the very bottom of the AFC South, Thursday night’s Tennessee vs. Jacksonville contest does not promise to be any tournament of champions. It is, however, the sort of game where one screwy play or a single minor injury can throw fantasy rosters into a tailspin. Tune in and hope that only happens to your enemies.
The iHeart Radio Jungle Ball 2014
(December 18)
The CW airs this Yuletide pop music bacchanal, where this year’s highlights include Taylor Swift “turning 25” on stage, Charli XCX clapping her boom-booms, Ariana Grande in sexy reindeer garb, and Jessie J embodying the notion of “scary-hot.”
Party Down South: Christmas Hangover
(December 18)
CMT’s redneck revelry series Party Down South follows up last month’s Drunksgiving special with Christmas Hangover. All your liquored-up down-home favorites will be putting a holiday spin on their frantic antics, “whether it’s Lyle’s duck call caroling, Lauren’s tacky sweater party, Murray getting his annual Christmas tattoo or Mattie ringing in 2015 as “Martha.’” Sounds like a ho-ho-hoot.
