There are movies individuals of a certain stripe go out of their way to avoid: blockbusters like Avatar and Titanic, for instance. Then there are classics that, for one reason or another (say, a friend's fatal Christmastime car accident), a person might manage to miss, like Frank Capra's almost unavoidable It's a Wonderful Life, instead stuffing their yuletide eyeballs with the likes of Santa Claus Conquers the Martians, Santa's Slay, The Ref and Black Christmas. This writer has an extrasoft spot for Jimmy Stewart's Harvey and no love of the Christmas season, but in the spirit of staunch contrarianism, will finally see It's a Wonderful Life on the big screen at the Aero Theatre. The American Cinematheque spectacular “Holiday Spirit on the Big Screen” also plays at the Egyptian Theatre tonight, with a Die Hard/Die Hard 2 double feature (the original, you'll remember, not only marks sexy Alan Rickman's big-screen debut but is set in a Century City high-rise on Christmas Eve) for those averse to Frank Capra, classics or Christmas. Aero Theatre, 1328 Montana Ave., Santa Monica; also Egyptian Theatre, 6712 Hollywood Blvd., Hlywd.; Fri., Dec. 23, 7:30 p.m.; $11, $9 students & seniors. americancinemathequecalendar.com.

Fri., Dec. 23, 7:30 p.m., 2011

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