Big chill: 20 cold weather movies to get you through winter

Snow. Christmas. Vacation. It all adds up to a winter movie. The Holiday is a cup of hot chocolate on a winter's day, warming your spirit when your body goes numb. The story of two women swapping homes at Christmas is a gift, thanks to Nancy Meyer's direction and the endearing performances from Kate Winslet and Cameron Diaz.

John Carpenter's taut thriller is set in a very, very cold location, the likes of which send shivers down your spine. The middle of nowhere, on a frozen tundra, lies a camp where scientists are searching for answers. What they find is a shape-shifting monster that tears them to shreds. 

Penguins, they're just like us! That's the takeaway of this incredible documentary about penguins doing their best to keep their families together. Dads travel hundreds of miles through windswept tundras to bring their children food. Humans just head to the grocery store, but that doesn't mean dad doesn't deserve a pat on the back.

Freezing, atmospheric, funny, startling, quirky, terrifying, and tangibly cold, Fargo is a cold-weather movie unlike any other. The Coen Brothers comedy sees a husband hire some weirdos to kidnap his wife, only to have the whole thing fall apart like an avalanche. Jeez! He should have thought this thing over.

What would happen if you left your kid home alone for the holidays? You'd probably come back to a messy living room or a tired babysitter. But the fantastical scenario dreamt up here, in which a boy is forgotten on family vacation and has to fend off burglars, is just so much fun. Realistic? No. But entertaining? You betcha!

The Grand Budapest Hotel is not a bad place to cozy up for winter. The vivid colors, symmetrical lobbies and childlike sense of imagination bring this place to life. Along with the main characters, a bellboy and a concierge who go on the run, Wes Anderson throws all sorts of adorable quirks on screen, creating a winter fairytale that you won't forget.

The Overlook Hotel, on the other hand, is a terrible place to cozy up for winter. Just ask Jack Nicholson, who loses his mind in a frigid maze of loneliness, lunacy and supernatural hysteria. He's going to murder his family if he doesn't snap out of it or if they don't do something about it first. 

Westerns usually unfold in the desert or some other hot climate. So it's unusual to see a Western unfold in the snow. From the opening shot of our hero riding his horse through a blizzard, you can tell The Great Silence is going to be different. It's a unique addition to the genre: colder, bleaker and more mesmerizing than most.

There's an ice age and no, there's no talking animals. The Day After Tomorrow may not have the acorn-size brain of Ice Age, but it's still pretty dumb. The kind of disaster movie you throw on late at night when your brain is turned off, the film imagines what would happen if we were dealing with global cooling instead of global warming. It's stupid, but hey, it's better than most disaster movies.

This beloved comedy about an elf (Will Ferell)  venturing into the real world is a giant serving of pancakes and candy. It's sweet, syrupy, and heavy on sap. 

The movie where Leonardo DiCaprio gets mauled by a bear. The Revenant is hardly a bear hug like many of these holiday classics. It's a tale of revenge, reparation, violence and hypothermia. 

Judy Garland. Christmas. Technicolor snow. Meet Me in St. Louis is a holiday classic for a reason. There are not many musicals that boast this sort of combo. 

Jennifer Lawrence is one of the most versatile actresses out there, and her breakout film,  Winter's Bone, reminds us why she's a star. It's not because of her looks, which helps, but her incredible commitment to every role she plays. Rom-coms, comedies, dramas...it doesn't matter. She'll play the blockbuster heroine with the same commitment as the daughter searching for her missing father. In Winter's Bone, she's coldly effective. 

It's March of the Penguins with dance moves! Happy Feet follows a penguin who dances everywhere he goes but can't find a girlfriend. Not to worry, since he dances his way into our hearts.

Deck the halls with walls of bodies! Die Hard is one of the most action-packed, gruesome and entertaining Christmas movies ever made. As Bruce Willis disposes of villains who've taken his family captive, we get the gift of great action. 

There's snow, Nazis and the sound of music. While it does start with warm weather, things take a chilly turn when the Nazis invade. Not that that stops the light, bubbly and effervescent Julie Andrews from warming our spirits. No sirree.

This is the movie that makes your father cry. It's a Wonderful Life is about depression during the holidays, capitalism and the man who beats them both. If the ending doesn't make your father cry at Christmas, that just means you haven't noticed. Or that you were too busy crying yourself. 

It's the Cold War! Of course, it's going to be cold! Dad jokes aside, this is a genuinely frigid spy movie that sends shivers down your spine.

Castles, Christmas, wizards, snowfall, candlelight, monsters and storms. Harry Potter's formula casts a spell on viewers, and while there are warm weather scenes, the movie's at its best when you are cozying up to the winter atmosphere. 

The weather is cold, the skies are pale and the characters wear coats. Then how is The Red Balloon such a cozy film? Mostly because the vibe is warm, especially when a lonely boy makes friends with a magical red balloon. Together they soar lyrically through this wonderful and imaginative film.