Our favourite Christmas movies and where to watch them
We recommend our best festive films. Plus: Netflix’s new spy thriller, David Mitchell's new murder mystery, and a fresh take on a well-known Scottish detective.
Breaking news: it’s officially December, and Christmas is only 19 sleeps away. Down here in Ōtepoti Dunedin it’s staying light until 10pm, and it does seem a bit weird to be recommending people stay inside and watch the telly while the first days of summer are lingering outside. But it’s also true that there’s nothing better to get you in the Christmas mood than watching a Christmas movie, and in our opinion, the cornier, the better.
As we dive into the silly season, the team at The Spinoff are making their lists (of Christmas movies) and checking them twice, and have recommended our favourite holiday watches to you. There’s a few classics, some family friendly new releases and a lot more Lindsay Lohan than you are probably expecting. Happy watching.
The Holiday (Prime Video, Netflix, AppleTV+)
Every Nancy Meyers movie has five acts when it should have three and The Holiday is no exception. It’s soooo long (two hours, 11 minutes) for a Christmas movie but it’s also one of the last true, big, taking-the-genre seriously offerings we have, and isn’t it depressing that it came out nearly two decades ago. The Holiday stars heavy hitters Kate Winslet and Cameron Diaz as two singles living very different lives, who do a trans-Atlantic house swap over Christmas to escape their misery. Perfect premise, no notes. Jack Black and a shockingly tanned but truly beautiful Jude Law play their respective romantic interests as they learn to love again through the magic of the holidays. It’s not Meyers’ best movie, nor was it particularly well-reviewed by critics, but it remains one of the best Christmas movies we have.
Bring back directors who actually care about making good rom-coms, and bring back Oscar winning actors taking the genre seriously. Only then will we get good Christmas movies again. Until then I’ll be rewatching The Holiday and bitterly not spending $100 to watch it with a live orchestra in Auckland or Wellington this month. But if that’s pocket change to you, I highly recommend. It’s one of Hans Zimmer’s best original scores (again, we love to see the pros take the genre seriously) and would be stunning to hear performed live. / Mad Chapman
Bad Santa (Available for rent on Aro Vision, Neon)
This shouldn’t be possible. A film about a sleazy, drunken, thieving, horny mall Santa, who beats up kids, and it’s totally sweet and heartwarming too? Something about the combination of peak Billy-Bob Thornton and peak Terry Zwigoff as director made this a misanthropic Christmas classic, one which both trashes the form and joins the canon. The whole cast shine, including magic work from John Ritter in one of his final roles, Bernie Mac and Gilmore Girls’ Lauren Graham, a long way from Stars Hollow. But it’s the bizarro chemistry between Thornton and a pre-teen Brett Kelly which gives this film its big strange heart. Watch with a whiskey. And a sandwich. / Duncan Greive
That Christmas (Netflix)
An animated Christmas movie written by Richard Curtis and starring Brian Cox as Santa? Don’t mind if I do. Netflix’s 2024 family friendly film features an impressive all-star cast, with the voices of Cox, Bill Nighy, Fiona Shaw, Rhys Darby, Guz Khan, Jodie Whittaker, Katherine Parkinson and Lolly Adefope. Based on Curtis’ trilogy of children’s books, That Christmas tells a series of holiday stories about family, belonging, love – and Santa mucking everything up on the biggest night of the year. One job, Santa! It also features an original song by Ed Sheeran. So much star power, you may as well put it at the top of your tree. / Tara Ward
Our Little Secret (Netflix)
It’s not healthy to be as invested in Lindsay Lohan’s Netflix-era comeback as I am but exploited Disney child stars seizing control of their adult destiny is an easy obsession to develop, and Lohan picked the “so bad, they’re good” Netflix movie route.
Her first movie, Falling for Christmas, saw her character literally fall off a cliff and sustain a head injury mere minutes in. It was genuinely awful, and I loved it. Her second film for the streaming giant, Irish Wish, is not a Christmas movie but is so cooked I’ve seen it three times and believe it to be a contender for cult status. Her third, Our Little Secret, is one of this year’s Christmas movie offerings.
The premise is actually quite good if not a real workout for your suspension of disbelief muscle. Lohan has to spend Christmas with her partner and his family. Her partner’s sister is dating Lohan’s long-lost ex-boyfriend and they decide to try and keep that fact a secret. It’s a pretty decent crack at elevating Lohan out of “terrible” and into sparky rom-com territory. Kristin Chenoweth is a terrifying treat as Lohan’s partner’s awful mother.
Happily, it also remains true to shitty Netflix movie form. There’s a cliched weed gummy/church scene, inexplicably bad wardrobe choices for Lohan (a recurring theme of her Netflix films) and a really weird opening sequence that does double duty as a summary of the decade between the love interests’ break up and awkward reunion, and a showreel for Netflix.
Get yourself some treats, lower your expectations and watch the Lohan Christmas double bill. / Anna Rawhiti-Connell
The Princess Switch (Netflix)
Lindsay Lohan may wear the so-bad-it’s-good Netflix Christmas movie crown these days, but it was originally forged to the dimensions of Vanessa Hudgens’ head for 2018’s The Princess Switch. In the first instalment of a classic law-of-diminishing-returns trilogy she plays two identical strangers – one a humble Chicago baker, the other a princess of a tiny made-up European nation state – and, well, they switch places… at Christmas. There have been dozens more Netflix Christmas movies since (some of them actually good, like the animated Klaus and charming teen romance series Dash & Lily), but for me this is still the definitive one. / Calum Henderson
The Nightmare Before Christmas (Disney+)
What’s this? A Christmas movie that starts with its characters singing ‘This is Halloween’? You may argue that The Nightmare Before Christmas is no more of a Christmas movie than Die Hard, but then you’d be overlooking the formula that makes a Christmas movie. Jack Skellington swallows his hubris and downs the festive cheer. Also: it has Christmas right there in its name. / Lyric Waiwiri-Smith
Meet Me Next Christmas - (Netflix)
If you can get past the premise, a race to get tickets to real-life a cappella group Pentatonix’s Christmas concert, this is actually a fun and pacey watch. There is chemistry between leads Christina Milian and Devale Ellis, and the script isn’t as annoying as it could be. The central idea is a riff on Serendipity. Promises are made if Milian’s character and a handsome stranger (who also happens to love Pentatonix) are single in a year’s time. Fast forward and a single Milian is racing around New York City with the help of ticket concierge Ellis to try and get tickets to the sold out gig where she knows she’ll run into the handsome stranger again. Toronto doubles as New York, and because NYC plays starring roles in many great Christmas films, that’s more obvious than it should be. Milian is charming, there’s a fun ballroom scene and you can genuinely root for Ellis. Easy and breezy. / ARC
Gremlins (Neon)
There is no better way to feel all festive and snuggly than by witnessing a small gang of aggressive imp-like creatures tearing up the fictional Pennsylvania town of Kingston Falls at Christmas-time after being fed after midnight. Gremlins gets better and better with every watch, a dark, edgy, funny, weird creature feature that pushed the boundaries of “family film” so hard it triggered the invention of a whole new rating classification (PG-13). Here’s what the voice of Gizmo had to say about watching Gremlins for the first time in this sublime oral history of the film: ”I kept watching it and I kept thinking – because I didn’t know – ‘Is this really a kid’s movie?’... It’s kind of dark and funny and scary and Christmas-y. It’s like everything. It’s like four different genres at once.” Sounds like pretty good value this Christmas season! / Alex Casey
Brazil (Disney+)
If you like a little Orwellian sci-fi satire with your Christmas pudding then go immediately to Terry Gilliam’s trippy, audacious, giddy, borderline-bonkers 1985 feature Brazil. Sam Lowry (Jonathan Pryce) is a state bureaucrat living a humdrum existence hurled into a phantasmagoric alternative reality. There’s adventure. There’s romance. There’s Robert De Niro playing a terrorist plumber. And is it really a Christmas film? Well, it’s more of a Christmas film than Die Hard is. It’s crucially set in the festive swirl. Even Santa has a cameo. / Toby Manhire
Home Alone (Disney+)
The 90s was a golden time for Christmas movies (see also: The Muppet Christmas Carol, also on Disney+). Nothing beats watching a tiny Macaulay Culkin at home, alone, eating a mountain of ice cream and watching a black-and-white gangster movie while two crooks scope out his house. Kevin McCallister is the kick-ass youngest child we all wanted to be (for a very short time), and the reason we were all obsessed with booby traps and attic bedrooms. Also, Catherine O’Hara stars as Kevin’s mum, so you could start with Home Alone, and segue straight into a holiday re-watch of Schitt’s Creek. / Claire Mabey
The future of The Spinoff depends on its audience
As many of you will have seen, we published an open letter last week outlining the financial situation we find ourselves in. Only 2% of our audience financially supports us. Doubling that number is our last, best shot at retaining the ability to carry on doing what we do. To those who have already supported, we thank you. If you can and haven't yet, please become a member or donate today.
Why you should watch: Black Doves (Netflix)
Whenever I see Sarah Lancashire’s (Happy Valley, Julia) name in a cast list, I know it’s going to be good, so I have high hopes for Netflix’s new spy thriller Black Doves. The six-part series also stars Keira Knightley and Ben Whishaw, with Lancashire playing the boss to Knightley’s undercover spy Helen (or Black Dove, to those of us in the spy industry). Helen has spent the last decade pretending to be a politician’s wife, but when her secret lover is killed, she teams up with an old assassin pal (Whishaw, in a role as far removed from Paddington as you can get) to seek revenge. “Together they uncover a vast, interconnected conspiracy linking the murky London underworld to a looming geopolitical crisis,” Netflix tells us. One early review said “the six parts are irresistible, if one can resist the nonsense”. Nonsense! That’s exactly what we’re here for.
Why you should watch: Ludwig (TVNZ+)
One of the many challenges the holidays throw at us is what to put on the telly when you’ve got multiple generations together in the same living room. If you identify as either a boomer parent or a millennial child thereof, may I suggest Ludwig, new this week on TVNZ+, as a safe option. David Mitchell stars as a neurodiverse-coded puzzle setter forced to assume the identity of his identical twin brother, a detective who’s gone missing in mysterious circumstances. Each episode sees him employ Sherlockian logic to solve a slightly quirky murder while he and his sister-in-law (Anna Maxwell Martin) chip away at the season-spanning riddle of her husband’s disappearance. It’s a highly bingeable series with strong trans-generational appeal – fans of “cosy” murder mysteries, quality BBC drama and British comedy will all find something to like, and plenty of actors-from-other-things to recognise. / CH
More pop culture news from The Spinoff
“There was so much dancing to be done and so much euphoria to be felt”: I loved reading Alex Casey’s review of this week’s “sexy, sweaty” Troye Sivan concert in Auckland.
Comedian and Taskmaster NZ star David Correos recounts his bloodiest TV appearance in this week’s delightful My Life in TV.
Alex Casey finds out about the dangerous TikTok UV tanning trend that’s influencing young New Zealanders.
Gabi Lardies and Lyric Waiwiri-Smith relive six hours and 10 acts at the recent The Others Way festival.
I took a journey through the 26 times that the prime minister said “what I say to you” on TVNZ’s Q+A last weekend.
I also really enjoyed Claire Mabey’s helpful tips on how to get back into reading this summer.
“From naughty grooves to rock’n’roll that refuses to sink into the swamp”: we’ve got the top 10 tunes on musician Sam Fowles’ perfect weekend playlist.
Our new to streaming list has the best new movies and films to stream this week, including a devastating coming-of-age film and a new series from the Star Wars universe.
The Year in Review at Q Theatre in Auckland
After a sold-out night in Wellington, senior writer Anna Rawhiti-Connell will again take a running jump backward into the year’s biggest headlines, political dramas and Spinoff yarns at Q Theatre on December 11. Award-winning writer and podcaster Dr Emma Wehipeihana and Spinoff alum Hayden Donnell will join her live on stage.
Come along for a night of easy laughs to wrap up this crazy year.
Why you should watch: Rebus (ThreeNow)
Richard Rankin stars in the new BBC reboot of Rebus, the gritty Scottish detective series based on the Inspector Rebus books by Ian Rankin (no relation). Set in Edinburgh, Rebus is a troubled antihero who struggles in both his home life and career, mostly because he doesn’t like to follow the rules. (Richard) Rankin’s Rebus is a much younger detective than in previous TV renditions of (Ian) Rankin’s beloved character, and the series itself is tough and dark, with most of the drama set in the tower blocks and back streets of Edinburgh. It's a well made, well acted crime series, with Rankin (last seen disappearing through the stones in Outlander) skillfully depicting the deeply conflicted Rebus. Fans of classic, no-frills British crime dramas will enjoy.
Before we pop off…
Please tell me that is not your surgeon: US talk show host Conan O’Brien will make a cameo on Shortland Street next week.
After 18 years on air, radio host and TV presenter Sharyn Casey is leaving The Edge, with her last show on December 13.
Daily news bulletin Te Ao Māori News on Whakaata Māori will come to an end next week after 20 years on air, as the channel faces signficant financial shortfalls.
A new trailer has been released for upcoming local film The Rule Of Jenny Pen (described by one critic as “Stephen King’s Misery for the geriatric”). It stars John Lithgow, Ian Mune, Geoffrey Rush and George Henare, and is based on an Owen Marshall short story.
TVNZ confirmed Breakfast presenter Anna Burns-Francis and sports presenter Hayley Holt will leave the network, as TVNZ axes 50 jobs to save $30 million.
Ahead of latest project Badjelly The Witch, Mukpuddy co-founder Ryan Cooper shares his experiences of working in the animation industry for over 20 years.
That’s it for Rec Room for this week. If you liked what you read, why not share Rec Room with your friends and whānau.
