Holidays with a Bang

This year, my holidays can de described in one word – explosive.

It all began with my birthday, which falls exactly one week before Christmas. My friends took me out for dinner, and then headed over to my apartment to hang out. I originally planned for us to all watch Christmas movies, but since several of my friends don't celebrate the holiday, that plan was quickly modified. Instead we decided to watch one of my all-time favorite movies . . .

Set during a Christmas party and featuring both Santa Clause and Christmas carols, but with an action-centric plot revolving around a terrorist take-over and lots of explosions, it seemed the ideal choice. Plus, it's a classic.

Less than a week later I headed out to my parent's house for our Christmas Eve celebrations. With the overcrowded malls and bitter cold weather keeping us trapped indoors, we decided to start a new television series we'd been DVR-ing called Strike Back: Project Dawn. Having seen a few clips previously, I was afraid it would be much too violent for me (as great a fan of action movies as I am, I'm still a little squeamish about blood and torture). However, it turned out to be an incredible show. The plot was gripping, the sequences electrifying, and the characters hysterical – the byplay between the protagonists Scott and Stonebridge had me howling with laughter. Not to mentioned drooling . . .

It’s possibly one of the most entertaining shows I've seen in years. (For those of you who have never heard of Strike Back, it's reminiscent of MI-5, The Kingdom and 24 – I highly recommend it.)

Last but not least, our Christmas Day movie. Every year for Christmas my parents and I eat a holiday dinner with my aunt, uncle and cousin, and then we all head out to the movies (a tradition that started with Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring). This year we decided to see Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol . . . yet another action flick. Though it wasn’t, in my opinion, quite as amazing as Mission Impossible III, I loved the comical side characters (particularly the hilarious Simon Pegg and sexy Jeremy Renner), harrowing break-ins and, once again, exhilarating action sequences.

Needless to say this holiday has been full of guns, fist-fights and explosives. And It's. Been. Awesome.

There's nothing more festive than watching a couple rough-around-the-edges heroes kick a little bad guy butt. Especially when it's with your amazing family who recognize the true genius of witty repartee amidst an intense gun fight and a good car chase.  

Hope everyone's Christmas was as awesome as mine. Happy holidays!