Adding a Little Aggression to Christmas

Sooo... I have the hardest time during the Christmas season. I am not a big fun of the holiday to start with (for reasons I don't feel like talking about a lot), but you know, this obligatory 'we have to be so cheerful and happy for a whole month no matter what' is really, really getting on my nerves to say the least. Added to this, I live with a man (whom I love BTW), who is a huge fan of Christmas. I mean, HUGE. We had to implement a family rule that there is absolutely no Christmassy stuff until after Thanksgiving. Even so, I catch him secretly blaring Christmas music, watching Christmas movies, listening to old Christmas radio shows from the moment you stop calling the season Summer (i.e. from September on). With my biggest and hardest effort I can bear this holidaze for about 3 weeks, almost (but not quite :D) until Christmas Day. But towards the end I regularly need to run into the bathroom to either hysterically cry or scream when I hear the "I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas" for the umpteenth time. It is not an exaggeration, honestly. This time is extremely challenging for me psychologically.

Because of all this, I am constantly looking for ways to ease these trying weeks for me, and the other day I have come across another possible help that I am sharing here, in case you feel the downpouring Holiday Cheer is starting to become a bit too much for your taste.

There is a whole sub-genre of Christmas (!!!) movies that are mainly noir-flavored stories of seasonal suspense. Yes, there is the wretched Christmas theme in them, but practically they are mysteries/thrillers that I love. First of course the big shots everyone knows about so no further details are needed:

On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969)
Three Days of the Condor (1975)
Lethal Weapon (1987)
Die Hard (1988)
L.A. Confidential (1997)
In Bruges (2008 - the only one that you might not know about but you definitely should, and it definitely belongs to this group)

However, here is a list of those hidden and sometimes unhidden gems in the genre in release order (up until the 1990's), in case you can get hold of them:

The Unholy Three (1925 - a silent heist film in which a ventriloquist con artist plans to steal a ruby necklace on Christmas Eve)
Larceny Inc (1942 - an Edward G. Robinson gangster movie that features a heist climax set on Christmas Eve)
Lady on the Train (1942 - the movie which has been ripped off by The Girl on the Train)
I Wouldn't Be in Your Shoes (1942 - a Christmas whodunit)
Cover up (1942 - a Christmas mystery in a small midwestern town)
I, the Jury (1953 - a Christmas B film noir set in in New York)
Blast of Silence (1961 - a b&w crime film set in NYC during the Christmas season about a hitman on a job during the holidays)
Cash on Demand (1961 - kind of a noir Christmas Carol rip off)
Seeds (1968 - a Christmas-set crime melodrama)
Whoever Slew Auntie Roo? (1972 - a wild riff of Hansel and Gretel, filled with carols, decorations, and lots of snow)
The Odessa File (1974 - Christmas and Nazi-filled spy movie)
Mitchell (1975 - a definite MST3K candidate in which a renegade cop chases criminals at Christmastime)
The Silent Partner (1978 - Christopher Plummer as a psychotic mall Santa destroying Elliot Gould's life and severing heads with broken glass; c'mon, need I say more?)
The First Deadly Sin (1980 - a gruff NYPD detective - Frank Sinatra, no less! - tries to solve a series of murders by ice hammer)
City on Fire (1987 - a Reservoir Dogs inspired movie with an undercover cop during a Christmas-Eve heist gone wrong, featuring Chow Yun-Fat!)
Dead Bang (1989 - Don Johnson takes on skinheads during the holiday season)
Deadly Illusion (1987 - a private eye story during Christmas)
The Package (1989 - a holiday espionage film)