THE WAY BACK MACHINE — It’s nearly impossible to fight nostalgia during the holidays and the KSL Popcorn Report is more susceptible than most. When Christmas rolls around we think of great holiday movies, or course, but we also think about great movies we got as gifts throughout the years.

That’s what this month’s KSL Movie Club is all about: movies we received on Christmas that we’ll never forget. These movies aren’t necessarily amazing or life changing, but they all hold a special place in our hearts because of when we received them and what they meant to us.

We’ll be chatting about each pick in more detail on the podcast throughout the month of December. We'd love for you to re-watch the movies (or watch them for the first time) and give us your feedback on each movie either in the comments or by tweeting us, @KSLPopReport.

Without further ado, here are four movies that conjure strong nostalgia:

Faith: “Willow”

Here’s what Faith had to say about “Willow:”

After years of borrowing my cousin's VHS copy of "Willow," my parents finally bought it for me and my siblings for Christmas — and it was one of the greatest gifts ever. The 1988 cult classic has everything you could ever want: a cute baby, an evil sorceress, terrifying dragons, trolls and Val Kilmer in his prime.

The film was nominated for two Oscars including best sound effects editing and best visual effects. Even though the effects may look a little dated now, they have actually stood the test of time quite well and were awesome back in the day.

George Lucas wrote the storyline and it definitely has some of his unique, sci-fi flair. The film also has a lot of great one-liners and is great for older kids and parents. If you haven't picked out all your Christmas gifts yet, make sure this one is included for the favorite people on your list.

Dave: “The NeverEnding Story”

I tried not come down on Dave too hard for this one, but I promise when we are together on Christmas as a family, I will tear him apart for it.

I’m kidding, kind of. “The NeverEnding Story” is a movie that doesn’t really hold up after all these years, but if you were like Dave, and admittedly me, you were caught up in the magical adventure of Atreyu, Falkor and Bastian and will always have a soft spot in your heart for it.

If you don’t know, Dave and I are brothers and our dad is a filmmaker and movies have always been a part of the Clyde culture. With that said, we can always count on getting a movie on Christmas, and we always look forward to it. When Dave opened “The NeverEnding Story” on Christmas morning, we couldn’t wait to pop that sucker into the VCR and waste the rest of our day as we tried to hide from the Nothing and dreamed of flying around the city atop Falkor the dragon who looked like a giant dog.

John: “Home Alone”

Yes, it’s a Christmas movie, but I don’t care. Receiving this gift will forever be burned in my brain for one very specific reason. Sure, I still think this absurd film is hilarious, sure I started ordering plain-cheese pizza after seeing it and sure, I tried to sled down the stairs and bought a BB gun after watching it, but that’s not why it sticks out to me. This gift sticks out to me because of my grandmother’s reaction to it.

To this day, I think the film still stands up and I love watching it and think it’s worth sitting down with the family and giving it a watch.

With that out of the way, it’s story time. We had family in town for the holidays and we’re having a great time with cousins from Oregon, Idaho, and our grandparents from Washington. This was a real treat because I can count on one hand how many times my grandparents came to our home here in Salt Lake. We were excited to have everyone at our house, but we had to remember a few things when grandma was in town. My grandma Clyde was an amazing woman and we miss her dearly, but there were a few things that she did not stand for: wearing hats inside the house, improper grammar, and inappropriate language.

When we opened “Home Alone” all of the cousins couldn’t wait to watch it and so straight to the VCR we went. We all sat around the TV and started watching Kevin McCallister’s crazy holiday mishap. We made it about 5 minutes into the movie when my grandmother declared the film was smut and should be thrown out. We had to eject the video and wait until after the holidays when grandma and grandpa went home so we could watch our new Christmas present.

I think Grandma Clyde was a little intense about the content in “Home Alone,” but it’s best you know what’s in it before showing the little ones.

Merry Christmas, grandma.

Curt: “Three Amigos”

Here’s Curt’s take on “Three Amigos:”

When I was 12 years old, I received the movie that changed my life, “Three Amigos.” Well, maybe it didn’t change it, but I do love it.

I had seen the movie plenty of times and it was always one I fought with my family to rent at Blockbuster. Everything about the movie makes me laugh. It has an awesome plot and has some weird off-the-wall type comedy that just somehow feels so normal in the movie.

To this day, my friends and I still quote this movie and we will for years to come. Thank you, Santa, for giving me a gift of laughter that year that has lasted me a lifetime.

What are your favorite movies that you have received as Christmas gifts? Let us know in the comments.

Contributing: Faith Heaton Jolley, Dave Clyde and Curtis Linnell

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