List Includes French Hit "A Christmas Tale," Holiday Classic "Home Alone" and Action Thriller "Die Hard"

            SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 14 - Metacritic (http://www.metacritic.com/), the Web's most robust roundup of entertainment reviews, and a property of CBS Interactive, today announced their editors' picks for the top 10 holiday films of all-time. The list includes familiar classics such as "A Christmas Story" and "Home Alone," in addition to several unusual choices such as "Die Hard" and "Bad Santa."

            Metacritic carefully screens and selects the most respected reviewers within each entertainment category and combines all of the individual critics' scores into a Metascore®, an overall grade for each release, so users can gauge the critical consensus at a glance. Movie Metascores are compiled using weighted scores from the 41 most respected movie critics and publications in the U.S.

            "A sure-fire way to get in the holiday spirit is to sit down with friends and family to watch a good holiday movie. Metacritic's holiday list is a chance for our editors to share their extensive movie knowledge and expose movie lovers to holiday movies that they may not otherwise know, as well as movies which wouldn't normally come to mind when thinking of the heartwarming holiday niche," says Marc Doyle, Editor-in-Chief, Metacritic. "‘Die Hard,' for example, is an all-time action classic, which happens to be set during the holidays. It is a nice alternative for those looking to stay in the holiday genre without overdosing on the traditional holiday fare."

Following is a list of Metacritic's editors' Top 10 Holiday Films:

•1.      "A Christmas Tale," starring Catherine Deneuve - Metascore = 84

•2.      "A Christmas Story," starring Peter Billingsley and Ian Petrella - Metascore = 77

•3.      "The Nightmare Before Christmas," written by Tim Burton  - Metascore = 77

•4.      "Merry Christmas," written and directed by Christian Carion - Metascore = 70

•5.      "Die Hard," starring Bruce Willis and Alan Rickman - Metascore = 70

•6.      "Bad Santa," starring Billy Bob Thornton and Bernie Mac - Metascore = 70

•7.      "La Buche," written and directed by Daniele Thompson - Metascore = 66

•8.      "Elf," starring Will Ferrell, James Caan and Bob Newhart - Metascore = 64

•9.      "Home Alone," starring Macaulay Culkin and Joe Pescie - Metascore = 63

•10.  "The Santa Clause," starring Tim Allen - Metascore = 57

Metascores range from 0-100, with higher scores indicating better overall reviews, and lower scores indicating less favorable reviews from critics. Various ranges of Metascore are also identified by different colors so you can tell at a glance how critics felt: generally, green scores (61-100) indicate favorable reviews, yellow scores (40 - 60) denote mixed reviews, and red scores (0-39) are used for unfavorable reviews.

The Metascore is considered a weighted average because Metacritic assigns more significance, or weight, to some critics and publications than to others based on the overall stature and quality of those critics and publications. In addition to critical reviews, entertainment enthusiasts can also voice their opinions by submitting their own ratings and reviews. By providing a weighted Metascore and an average consumer score for each release, Metacritic helps consumers make informed decisions about how to spend their entertainment dollars and time.

About Metacritic

Called "...the Web's best film review site" by Entertainment Weekly, Metacritic provides access to and summarizes the vast amount of entertainment criticism available online for film, video/DVD, music, games and television. With the belief that multiple opinions are better than one, Metacritic launched in January 2001 and has remained true to its goal to help people make an informed decision about how to spend their money on the many entertainment options available today.

Follow Metacritic on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/metacritic_com

About CBS Interactive

CBS Interactive, a division of CBS Corporation, is the best online content network for information and entertainment.  With more than 200 million people visiting its properties each month, it is the 8th largest Web property globally and the 5^th largest Web property in the U.S. in terms of unique video viewers. Its portfolio of leading brands, which include CNET, CBS.com, CBSSports.com, GameSpot, TV.com, BNET and Last.fm, span popular categories like technology, entertainment, sports, news and business.

Follow CBS Interactive on Twitter: www.twitter.com/cbsitweets

*   *   * 

Contact:           

Tamara Woods            415-344-2381                 Tamara.Woods@cbs.com