MOVIE REVIEWS

So "James" (Asa Butterfield) and girlfriend "Hayley" (Cora Kirk) are saying their goodbyes before heading to their respective families for Christmas. It's only when they are on their separate trains that they realise that they would rather be together, so - without telling each other - they board the other's train. Next thing, she arrives at his and he arrives at her's and what now ensues is a gently comedic tale that quite engagingly illustrates the joys and pains of the season. It turns out that neither have been being entirely honest with each other, or with their families - but can that all get ironed out in time for the turkey? Sure, the story is totally contrived and indulges in just about every Christmas stereotype you can imagine, but there are some fun contributions from Daniel Mays, David Bradley, Dame Harriet Walter and Angela Griffin to help this pass ninety minutes amiably enough. Plenty of snow, a few glasses of mulled wine and a dog called "Peanut" - what's not to like? No, you will not remember it afterwards - even if you haven't had a drink - but it's one of those films that makes you reach for another mince pie at this time of year, and is actually at the better end of these festive television offerings.

Very good! I thoroughly enjoyed this. You never really know what to expect from Xmas films, especially those with (no disrespect intended whatsoever) unrecognisable (to me, of course) leads and those that are straight-to-streaming. <em>'Your Christmas Or Mine?'</em> is, thankfully, a rather swell festive flick. Asa Butterfield and Cora Kirk are a good pairing, though given the plot don't actually spend too much time together onscreen. Butterfield has more to work with, his side of the plot is very much more fleshed out. As such Kirk does well with her scenes. As noted this is my first time watching Butterfield [actually, technically I've seen a ~13-year-old him in <em>'<a href="https://letterboxd.com/film/nanny-mcphee-returns/" rel="nofollow">Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang</a>'</em> - who knew?] and Kirk, though behind those two there are many a well known face that I spotted. Daniel Mays, Angela Griffin, David Bradley and Alex Jennings, plus one or two others, are actors I've seen elsewhere. The support cast are excellent, here. It's amusing, very nicely paced and has all the necessary cheesy Christmas vibes - though, to be fair, it's not Hallmark Channel-esque cheese, it's just the usual strong sense of holiday cheer... which is what you'd want from a production of this ilk to be honest, at least I do.