In schoolyards around the world, the debate continues to rage: Is Santa Claus real? Or is he just some concept concocted by parents to keep kids in line year-round? Even us adults can remember having knock-down, drag-out arguments over this. Our parents told us that if we waited up for Santa on Christmas Eve, we’d be quickly relegated to the dreaded “Naughty List,” and we’d get nothing but coal in our stockings. As a public service, this installment of the Holiday Survival Guide will help you win those arguments. Keeping up with the tradition of every child’s desire to capture jolly old St. Nicholas, here are some tricks we can dish out, courtesy of the big entertainment machine called Hollywood. Use them wisely, and be sure to only target the real Santa Claus. Failure to do so may result in injury or even death.

It’s that time of year again when we all rush around, trying to find that perfect gift for all the special people in our lives. We at FSR know how stressful this time of year can be and thought what better source to look to when trying to figure out exactly how to find that perfect present than the movies? From tracking down the hottest toy of the season or finally getting the gift you always wanted, I rounded up a few seasonal favorites to create a handy list of tips that will hopefully help when it comes to finding a gift that makes the intended gift-ee smile, laugh and/or remember what it feels like to be a kid on Christmas morning.

Joe Dante was recently at Comic-Con and as for what he was promoting, I have no idea. As far as I know, he wasn’t there to sell or pitch me anything. Both him and Roger Corman were in attendance this year, and amongst the hardcore geek community, it was a big deal. Dante is someone that’s had a hand in nearly every movie nerd’s life. I think we all remember watching Gremlins as a kid (or Innerspace, The ‘burbs, The Howling, etc.) So, when I sat down with Joe Dante, I wanted to talk about his life, the films that influenced him, and the joy of horror.

For this week’s edition of Movies We Love, it’s 1984, and we just happened to feed our new little pet some chicken after midnight. What’s the worst that could happen?

Any fan of good 80s horror is also, by the transitive property of fandom, a fan of Joe Dante’s 1984 film Gremlins. Because lets face it, Gremlins is a classic of sorts.