Every year, there seem to be more and more Christmas films released. There have not been any major ones in the cinema this year but so many can be found on streaming services and on TV. Here is part 1 of my round up.
These can be rented on the usual services:
There’s Something in the Barn
An American family fulfils their dream of moving back after inheriting a remote cabin in the mountains of Norway. But they are not prepared for the evil elf living in their barn. This is a thoroughly enjoyable horror with more than a dash of comedy. The characters are recognisable, and the set pieces as hoards of elves attack the hapless family, are very well staged.
Also showing in some cinemas.
Rating: 7.5 out of 10
It’s a Wonderful Knife
After saving her town from a psychotic killer, Winnie Carruthers’ life is less than wonderful. When she wishes she’d never been born, she finds herself in a nightmare parallel universe where without her, things could be much, much worse. It is directed by Tyler MacIntyre and written by Michael Kennedy and they fully embrace the similarities to the James Stewart classic. The slasher scenes work, as does the relationship between Winne (Jane Widdop) and misfit Bernie (Jess Mcleod) and Justin Long makes for a creepy villain. However, the plot ties itself up in knots at times leaving a nagging feeling that the film could have been even better.
Rating: 7 out of 10
On the BBC IPlayer:
The Christmas Break
A married couple travel from Chicago to spend Christmas with the wife’s family in a small town in Ireland. There is nothing original in this story and the Irish cliches keep popping up but it is kept afloat by Justin Long and India Mullen in the lead roles.
Rating: 5 out of 10
On Amazon Prime and Free-vee:
Ex-mas
Graham surprises his family at Christmas only to discover his ex-fiancee is already celebrating the holiday with his family when he arrives. Pretty standard stuff though with a couple of decent jokes and a good performance from Leighton Meester.
Rating: 5 out of 10
Candy Cane Lane
A local neighbourhood hosts an annual contest over who has the best decorated home for Christmas. Desperate to win, Chris Carver (Eddie Murphy) makes a deal with a charismatic stranger, Pepper, for the use of magic to make his home the most festive. Pretty desperate stuff that is a long way from Murphy’s heyday. he looks as bored as the audience.
Rating: 3 out of 10
Netflix is again dipping its toe in the festive movie market:
Best. Christmas. Ever!
Old friends Charlotte Sanders (Heather Graham) and Jackie Jennings (Brandy) re-unite over Christmas. But Jackie appears to be a big success whilst Charlotte defines herself as a failure. This starts brightly enough but runs out of steam early, which is not great in an 82 minute film!
Rating: 4.5 out of 10
Family Switch
The old body swap plot is rolled out once again as parents Ed Helms and Jennifer Garner, who is no stranger to this sub genre of comedies, change places with their kids played by Brady Noon and the excellent Emma Myers. Thus is more of a film set in the Christmas period rather than a Christmas film, despite the shoe horning in of festive songs. But, despite the lack of originality, it does have a few genuine laughs.
Rating: 4.5 out of 10
Christmas as Usual
To celebrate their engagement, Thea takes Jashan home — but his Indian roots and her family’s Norwegian traditions clash. Plenty of potential for culture clash comedy then but there are very few laughs because all the characters are quite hateful and bigoted.
Rating: 2.5 out of 10
Holiday in the Vineyards
A playboy from the big city goes to buy a vineyard but falls in love with the widow that runs it. Starts brightly but soon lapses into cliché.
Rating: 4 out of 10
All of the following can be seen on the Channel 5 catch up service My5 and/or are doing the rounds on the Movies24 Channel.
Where Are You Christmas?
Addy wishes for a year without Christmas and she wakes up in a world of black and white. She must work together with the town mechanic to restore Christmas. This is very much in the spirit of It’s a Wonderful Life and whilst the first half works pretty well, it descends into way too much schmaltz towards the end.
Rating: 5 out of 10
Christmas by Candlelight
To earn a promotion, Juliet pitches the idea of unique Christmas candles to her boss, and ends up falling for the candlemaker. Juliet – a wellness expert, ugh! – is very annoying in this totally by the numbers romance.
Rating: 3 out of 10
Unforgettable Christmas
Princess Colette wishes she was a fashion designer rather than heir to her country’s throne, and when she gets to work as a designer she finds both her calling and love. This is as ridiculous as it sounds and has a dismal lead performance by Celeste Dejardins.
Rating: 2 out of 10
A Perfect Christmas Carol
A pastry chef meets a handsome handyman, but when she visits his family for Christmas, she finds out he is a complete Mummy’s boy. The odd scenario is the only new thing about this tired romcom.
Rating: 3.5 out of 10
The Christmas Bow
When an accident puts her music dreams on hold, a gifted violinist reconnects with an old family friend who helps her heal and find love during the holidays. This earns points for originality when it comes to Hallmark Christmas movies and is pretty well played.
Rating: 5 out of 10
Sincerely, Truly Christmas
A magical Christmas wish gives an event planner the ability to hear what everyone wants for the holidays. Thus soon becomes irritating and repetitive.
Rating: 2.5 out of 10
12 Dares of Christmas
A school teacher’s quiet holiday season gets a jolt when she accepts a 12 Dares of Christmas challenge from her sister while getting scrambling to ready her town for a Christmas exchange programme. It felt more like 120 dares and this boring film dragged on and on.
Rating: 1.5 out of 10
A Christmas… Present
Maggie Larson takes her family to spend Christmas with her brother and his daughter, who have different expectations for their holidays. This is pretty horrible. Maggie is a selfish control freak, and, as she is played by Candace Cameron Bure, religious scriptures are shoe horned uncomfortably into the script.
Rating: 1.5 out of 10
How to Fall in Love By Christmas
Nora Winters, a writer and CEO of her own lifestyle brand, Prism, must secure a partnership to save her company, but the only way to achieve that is to write a column on falling in love by Christmas with the help of the charming and handsome photographer who has been assigned to the piece. Neither the set up or the performance of Teri Hatcher as Nora convinces, though it is always good to see the talented Jordyn Negri in a small role.
Rating: 3.5 out of 10
Christmas at the Chalet
Teri Hatcher is in another Christmas film this year. This time as an ex-TV host, Lex, who finds herself spending Christmas in a chalet with her son, ex-husband, and his new girlfriend. This is much better. Hatcher is more relaxed in the role, and, though formulaic, this is pretty entertaining.
Rating: 6 out of 10
Christmas in Scotland
On a trip to Scotland, an installation designer finds herself helping a small community create a festive light display, despite the interventions of a wealthy laird. It is a little insulting to the Scottish as the villagers are all incapable of showing how much they enjoy Christmas until the sophisticated New Yorker turns up. But it is really fairly amiable stuff.
Rating: 5.5 out of 10
Checkin’ it Twice
A journeyman hockey player falls for a real estate agent in a career crisis when he’s traded to her hometown and moves into the cottage in her hockey loving family’s backyard. Not a promising scenario but this is elevated by both the writing, that unusually portrays both the leads as fully functioning humans making logical decisions and the acting. Kim Matula is particularly good.
Rating: 7 out of 10
Mystic Christmas
An animal expert answers a call for help from an old friend and that puts her in the path of an ex at Christmas. This was a very pleasant surprise. Both leads, Jessy Schram and Chandler Schram are good and are helped by a sometimes witty script by Nicole Drespel, Christy O’Connor and Andrew Gernhard that depicts them as recognisable human beings. Admittedly there is a sickly subplot involving a child’s Christmas poem but that is what the fast forward button is for!
Rating: 6.5 out of 10
Joyeux Noel
When a romantic painting of a Christmas market captures the imagination of copy editor Lea (Jaicy Elliot), she is sent to France with pragmatic reporter Mark (Brant Daugherty) to uncover the mystery behind the artist. This is one of the better Hallmark festive romances thanks to genuine chemistry between the leads and a good performance by Elliot. There are some cringeworthy moments though.
Rating: 6 out of 10
Christmas on the Alpaca Farm
Jess quits her job at a fashion label in New York intent on winning a competition with her own line of sustainable luxury knits. She teams up with Andrew, a single dad and alpaca farmer. The alpacas are cute and Andrew deserves an award, not for his jumpers, but for putting up with Jess and his daughter!
Rating: 4 out of 10
Never Been Chris’d
Best friends, Naomi and Liz, return home for the holidays and simultaneously enter a love triangle when they both reconnect with their high school crush, Chris Silver. This is really bland and none of the characters are at all interesting.
Rating: 3 out of 10
A Christmas Intern
Cecilia is not enjoying retirement so she grabs an opportunity to become an intern at her daughter’s online gift giving business, to enable the two of them to spend more time together. A cheap looking and badly acted film populated by characters who are meant to be smart but act stupidly.
Rating: 1.5 out of 10
Christmas in the Cotswolds
Amy has set her wedding date on Christmas eve. Dylan, Amy’s co-Christmas market owner, teams up with Emma, Amy’s sister, to bring order to the whirlwind wedding. A variation of this plot has been done many times before. I thought setting it in England may bring something new, but it did not feel like it was set here.
Rating: 3.5 out of 10
The Search for Secret Santa
Reporter Sofia thinks she’s found a Christmas story that will save her career when she discovers a long-lost, undelivered Secret Santa gift. A curious mix of soapy festive drama and mystery that sort of works!
Rating: 5 out of 10
A Royal Christmas Holiday
An ambitious reporter looking for her big break and an impetuous prince sent to New York on assignment meet and fall in love. I don’t think any of these ‘royal’ movies work and this one is very unbelievable and embarrassing.
Rating: 2 out of 10
The Christmas Parade
A young boy persuades his Mum to reignite a town’s neglected Christmas tradition. Aside from some impressive steam trains, this does not have that much to offer.
Rating: 4 out of 10
The Santa Summit
Jordin returns home and attends the town’s annual celebration with friends. She meets a guy she likes but doesn’t get his name before they’re separated in a sea of Santas. This benefits from an out of the ordinary story that is unusually set almost entirely on evening. Jordin and her friends have a natural rapport too. Amy Groening plays one of those friends and gives the best performance.
Rating: 5.5 out of 10
A Heidelberg Holiday
Heidi heads to the Heidelberg Christmas market to sell her hand-painted ornaments. While there she falls for a local artisan who helps her reconnect with her lost heritage. Both the American and fun loving German characters are annoying (especially the kids), and the story pretty lame.
Rating: 2.5 out of 10
Wrapped Up at Christmas
Liam, a fireman, and Amy, a quilting teacher, team up to make a Christmas quilt for Liam’s sister’s wedding. Better than the very unpromising premise, but the adoration of quilts is hard to take!
Rating: 4 out of 10
Christmas at the Holly Day Inn
An over-achieving executive quits her job in London just before Christmas and goes to her father’s country inn to try to find her work/life balance again. The only novelty here is that this is British produced, It is pretty ordinary and the small budget is all too clear.
Rating: 4 out of 10
Mistletoe and Wine (aka A Vineyard Christmas)
Heather, host of a wine based podcast is determined to create the perfect Christmas episode by featuring a unique winery from her hometown. The only thing standing in her way is Rudy, the attractive, stubborn owner of the winery. The plot is routine but the acting, especially by Lucas Penner as Rudy’s brother is very poor.
Rating: 3.5 out of 10
Christmas Time Capsule
James left a family heirloom engagement ring with his best friend, Tiffany, for safekeeping. He asks Tiffany for the ring, intending to propose to another woman. Tiffany has other ideas on who James should marry. A slight story but quite a sweet one with nice chemistry between Franco Lo Presti and Emily Alatalo.
Rating: 5.5 out of 10
Looking for Mr Christmas (aka Mr Christmas)
Zoe Deans has just opened her own PR firm and is looking for a new client. She gets the chance to represent a contestant in an eligible bachelors contest. This feels horribly dated and quite boring.
Rating: 3.5 out of 10
A Home for the Holidays
A local hardware store owner who purchases a run-down house in a small Colorado town, only for the heir of the original owner to show up. This plotline was done so much better in All of My Heart which had more laughs and believable central romance.
Rating: 2.5 out of 10
A Wish for Christmas (aka It’s a Christmas Thing)
When 9-year-old Megan dedicates her Christmas wish to helping her Mum Cara find love, her letter goes viral. This is horrible with the supposed cute Megan character making it virtually unwatchable.
Rating: 1.5 out of 10
Creating Christmas Magic
Harper, a teacher and aspiring illustrator, eager for her big break, has to collaborate with Caleb, a demanding children’s book author who insists on her working through Christmas. The story practically writes itself but the performances are pretty good especially Greer Grammer as Harper.
Rating: 5 out of 10
Navigating Christmas
A Recently-divorced Mum and her teen son make a last-minute plan to spend Christmas on a remote island, only to discover upon arrival that they are expected to decorate and work the community’s lighthouse with the reluctant help of its Christmas hating owner. Yrs, the plot is that ridiculous! And things are not helped by an awful script, annoying characters and unconvincing acting.
Rating: 2 out of 10
A Perfect Christmas
A chef visits her parents and meets a man who will help her re-connect with her roots. I have seen this story so often and this version is only distinguished by some truly awful dialogue.
Rating: 2.5 out of 10
Letters to Santa
During the holidays, young siblings use a magical pen that grants wishes to bring their estranged parents back together. As silly and as sickly as it sounds.
Rating: 2 out of 10
The following can be found on ITV X:
Reporting for Christmas
When an idealistic reporter is assigned a puff piece about a Christmas toy manufacturer over the holidays, she meets a charming toymaker. The oft used plot of a woman learning that loving a man is more important is elevated by an interesting set of supporting characters.
Rating: 5.5 out of 10
The Holiday Proposal Plan
Travel columnist Sonny Kravitz (Tatyana Ali) and her ex-boyfriend Kip (Jesse Kove) are forced to team up to help their best friends Bree (Whitney Able) and Jarod (Geovanni Gopradi) get engaged. As tedious and an unfestive as the description suggests.
Rating: 2.5 out of 10
Secret Santa Admirer
Lila holds a grudge when her former childhood bully, Glenn, moves back to town and gets a job where she works. Glenn claims he’s different and wants to prove it, so he makes sure to become Lila’s secret Santa. Irritating characters and a very silly plot.
Rating: 3 out of 10
A Model Christmas (aka Journey to Christmas)
In a charity press tour, Cali Caldwell, an influencer turned model ends up stranded by bad weather at the family home of the driver she hired to help her during the week. This one took me by surprise as I expected Cali to be an unpleasant, career driven, character who is taught the true meaning of Christmas. Instead she is a grounded and sweet person from the beginning and their is good chemistry between Ash Tsai who plays her and Joey Hayworth as the driver.
Rating: 6 out of 10