Everyman Chelmsford

• 2023
• 2h 30min
• 15

• Directed by: Justine Triet
• Cast: Sandra Hüller, Swann Arlaud, Milo Machado Graner

When her husband Samuel is mysteriously found dead in the snow below their secluded chalet, Sandra becomes the main suspect when the police begin to question whether he fell or was pushed. The trial soon becomes not just an investigation, but a gripping psychological journey into the depths of Sandra and Samuel’s complicated marriage. With conflicting evidence and inconsistent testimony, words are wielded like weapons and shocking truths come to light in this thrilling Palme d’Or winner.

• 79%
• 86%

• more info

• 2011
• UK / US
• 1h 37min
• U

• Directed by: Sarah Smith
• Written by: Peter Baynham, Sarah Smith
• Cast: James McAvoy, Hugh Laurie, Bill Nighy, Jim Broadbent, Imelda Staunton, Ashley Jensen, Ramona Marquez

Arthur Christmas (McAvoy) is the overlooked star of the Santa team, but when it looks like a small girl's present may not get delivered, he enlists the help of his curmudgeonly grandfather (Nighy). With characters boringly reflecting different degrees of niceness, this contrived family feud lacks the wit that made Aardman's name.

• 71%
• 69%
• 92%

• more info & trailer

• 1988
• US
• 2h 11min
• 18

• Directed by: John McTiernan
• Cast: Bruce Willis, Alan Rickman, Bonnie Bedelia, Alexander Godunov

Willis plays a cop who attends a tower block Christmas party with his estranged spouse. The building is raided by terrorists, so it's left to Willis to bump off the baddies and save the hostages while the police and FBI languish ineptly on the sidelines. Unbearably tense actioner that gets good mileage out of yawning lift-shafts and flying bullets, while Willis is convincing as an ordinary guy trying to cope with it all. Watch out for Brit Rickman as a villain with a sense of humour.

• 82%
• 72%
• 92%

• more info

• 2003
• US
• 1h 36min
• PG

• Directed by: Jon Favreau
• Written by: David Berenbaum
• Cast: Will Ferrell, Bob Newhart, Ed Asner, James Caan, Zooey Deschanel, Mary Steenburgen

Buddy (Ferrell) is a big Elf who, though accepted in his Elvish community at the North Pole, manages to wreak havoc on a daily basis. Fed up and confused by his charge, Papa Elf (Bob Newhart) sends him to the US in search of his true identity. Hilarious and puerile Yuletide comedy.

• 71%
• 66%
• 84%

• more info

• 2023
• Japan
• 2h 5min
• 12A

• Directed by: Takashi Yamazaki
• Cast: Ryunosuke Kamiki, Minami Hamabe, Yuki Yamada, Munetaka Aoki

Returning the franchise to its roots, post-war Japan is at its lowest point when a new threat emerges in the form of a gigantic monster.

• 85%
• 79%

• more info

• 1984
• US
• 1h 46min
• 12A

• Directed by: Joe Dante
• Written by: Chris Columbus
• Cast: Zach Galligan, Phoebe Cates, Hoyt Axton, Frances Lee McCain, Corey Feldman

Cute and cuddly little mogwais become malevolent monsters if not properly cared for and wreak havoc in idealised small town America. A tongue-in-cheek Yuletide romp filled with in-jokes.

A boy inadvertently breaks three important rules concerning his new pet and unleashes a horde of malevolently mischievous monsters on a small town.

• 73%
• 70%
• 85%

• more info & trailer

• 2006
• US
• 2h 16min
• 12A

• Directed by: Nancy Meyers
• Written by: Nancy Meyers
• Cast: Cameron Diaz, Kate Winslet, Jude Law, Jack Black, Shannyn Sossamon, Eli Wallach, Edward Burns, Rufus Sewell

Two ladies with guy trouble swap homes. Amanda (Diaz) ends up with Iris' brother (Law) in the UK, and Iris (Winslet) befriends funnyman Miles (Black) Stateside. This fairly repellent life swap romantic comedy was written specifically for these actors, but you wouldn't think it.

• 69%
• 52%
• 47%

• more info

• 1990
• US
• 1h 43min
• PG

• Directed by: Chris Columbus
• Written by: John Hughes
• Cast: Macaulay Culkin, Joe Pesci, Daniel Stern, John Heard, Catherine O'Hara

An alternative Christmas treat chosen by you. When Kevin is accidently left Home Alone he is forced to protect his house from a pair of bungling burglars.

Peter and Kate McCallister (Heard and O'Hara) have an eight-year-old brat and wisely – albeit accidentally – leave him behind in Chicago when they go on holiday to Paris. Left to his own devices young Kevin (Culkin) has to deal with two bungling burglars (Pesci and Stern) who threaten to invade his peaceful haven. Jolly, if sadistic, scare-comedy antics produced by teen flick veteran John Hughes.

• 77%
• 63%
• 55%

• more info

• 2023
• US
• 2h 37min
• 12A

• Directed by: Francis Lawrence
• Cast: Tom Blyth, Rachel Zegler, Hunter Schafer, Jason Schwartzman, Peter Dinklage, Josh Andrés Rivera, Viola Davis

A prequel to the Hunger Games series.

• 72%
• 54%

• more info

• 2003
• UK / US
• 2h 15min
• 15

• Directed by: Richard Curtis
• Written by: Richard Curtis
• Cast: Hugh Grant, Liam Neeson, Colin Firth, Laura Linney, Emma Thompson, Alan Rickman, Keira Knightley, Martine McCutcheon, Bill Nighy, Rowan Atkinson

Curtis aims to prove the anodyne point that love is actually all around us with a huge cast and several different story strands. So we see Nighy, Thompson, Grant, Colin Firth, Martine McCutcheon, Liam Neeson, Alan Rickman, Keira Knightley, Andrew Lincoln and Laura Linney all pop up to play out their roles. Lightweight and over-populated romantic comedy.

• 76%
• 55%
• 63%

• more info

• 1992
• US
• 1h 25min
• U

• Directed by: Brian Henson
• Cast: Michael Caine, Steven Mackintosh, Dave Goelz, Jerry Nelson, Frank Oz, David Rudman, Steve Whitmire

It's Christmas time, and nasty old miser Scrooge (Caine) needs to be taught a lesson by three seasonal ghosts. Colourful version of Dickens' classic tale that will please the kids and keep the adults smiling with its little irreverent spices.

• 77%
• 64%
• 69%

• more info & trailer

• 2023
• UK / US
• 2h 37min
• 15

• Directed by: Ridley Scott
• Cast: Joaquin Phoenix, Vanessa Kirby, Tahar Rahim

Director Ridley Scott’s film takes a personal look at Napoleon Bonaparte's origins, and his swift, ruthless climb to emperor viewed through the prism of his addictive, and often volatile, relationship with his wife and one true love, Josephine. Starring Joaquin Phoenix as Napoleon and Vanessa Kirby as Josephine.

• 66%
• 64%

• more info

• 2014
• UK
• 2h 15min
• 15

• Directed by: Stephen Daldry
• Written by: David Hare
• Cast: Carey Mulligan, Bill Nighy

Kyra (Mulligan) receives a visit from her recently widowed former lover (Nighy) out of the blue. Stage production beamed live from London.

• 84%

• more info

• 2023
• US
• 2h 30min
• 15

• Directed by: Mark Ritchie
• Cast: Beyoncé, Blue Ivy Carter

Concert film of Beyoncé recorded on her Renaissance world tour.

• 90%
• 86%

• more info

• 2023
• UK

The Royal Ballet

The Nutcracker ​

Running time 170 minutes (including one interval)

Join Clara at a delightful Christmas Eve party that becomes a magical adventure once everyone else is tucked up in bed. Marvel at the brilliance of Tchaikovsky’s score, as Clara and her enchanted Nutcracker fight the Mouse King and visit the Sugar Plum Fairy in the glittering Kingdom of Sweets. Peter Wright’s much-loved production for The Royal Ballet, with gorgeous period designs by Julia Trevelyan Oman, keeps true to the spirit of this festive ballet classic, combining the thrill of the fairy tale with spectacular dancing.

• more info

• 2023
• UK / US
• 2h 11min
• 15

• Directed by: Emerald Fennell
• Cast: Barry Keoghan, Jacob Elordi, Rosamund Pike, Richard E. Grant, Alison Oliver, Archie Madekwe, Carey Mulligan

A university student is drawn into the world of an aristocratic classmate, who invites him to his eccentric family's estate for the summer.

• 75%
• 60%

• more info

• 2023
• US
• 1h 32min
• PG

• Directed by: Chris Buck, Fawn Veerasunthorn
• Cast: Ariana DeBose, Chris Pine, Alan Tudyk, Angelique Cabral, Victor Garber, Natasha Rothwell, Jennifer Kumiyama, Evan Peters, Harvey Guillén

Asha, a sharp-witted idealist, makes a wish so powerful that it is answered by a cosmic force—a little ball of boundless energy called Star. Together, Asha and Star confront a most formidable foe—the ruler of Rosas, King Magnifico—to save her community and prove that when the will of one courageous human connects with the magic of the stars, wondrous things can happen.

• 58%
• 47%

• more info

• 2023
• UK / US
• 1h 52min
• PG

• Directed by: Paul King
• Cast: Timothée Chalamet, Calah Lane, Keegan-Michael Key, Paterson Joseph, Matt Lucas, Mathew Baynton, Sally Hawkins, Rowan Atkinson, Jim Carter, Tom Davis, Olivia Colman, Hugh Grant

An origin story for Willy Wonka featuring an all-star cast and directed by Paddington's Paul King.

• 75%
• 68%

• more info