Christmas movies

Nine years old, a single-minded wish, and a narrator who never lets you forget it.

A rigged bet, a culture-swap and Louis Winthorpe III — still very funny, still very sharp.

Silent Night, Deadly Night: family and the safety of home, and why this 1984 movie still matters.

A man who daydreams his way out of paperwork—and into trouble.

Invasion U.S.A.: fear and authority, and why this 1985 movie still matters.

Rocky IV: courage and mortality and lifespan, and why this 1985 movie still matters.

Young Sherlock Holmes: mortality and mortality and lifespan, and why this 1985 movie still matters.

Less Than Zero: family and friendship, and why this 1987 movie still matters.

Scrooged: fear and belief in the supernatural, and why this 1988 movie still matters.

One man's quest for the perfect Christmas turns suburban order into glorious, very tangled chaos.

Cynicism, chemistry and a very public argument about friendship — still funny, still persuasive.

Planes are circling, the radios are dead and John McClane has gone back to work.

A fairy tale about a man who can’t quite touch the world — and the neighbourhood that can’t quite handle him.

A winter’s tale of outcasts, double lives and a city that loves its own spectacle.

Kevin in the city: booby traps, pigeons and a very expensive hotel.

Scrooge, the Muppets and a surprisingly sombre Christmas tale — all in eighty-six minutes.

A stop‑motion holiday mash‑up about a restless skeleton who mistakes enthusiasm for understanding.

Sisterhood, stubbornness and a pen — Jo leads the way.

A bright-eyed mailroom clerk, a fast-talking reporter and a corporate plot — all dressed up in old-Hollywood pastiche.

A reluctant dad signs a literal contract and ends up signing up for fatherhood — with bells on.

Anonymity, bookshops and a man who knows how to soften a problem with a smile.

A very long night, jealous impulses and a masked doorway into power.

A diary, a love triangle and the awkward courage to be yourself.

A grown man raised by elves, a New York that refuses to be magical, and one stubborn belief in family that still lands.

A dozen loves, one Prime Minister and a strangely persuasive case for emotional embarrassment.