Merry Christmas Aubrey Flint with John Bradley: An overqualified cast illuminate a British Christmas charmer

A podcast literally named "Bah Humbug" could hardly ignore the arrival of a new, big-budget adaptation of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, now rechristened Ebenezer and starring Johnny Depp as Scrooge himself. It's directed by horror maestro Ti West, and co-stars the likes of Sir Ian McKellen, Sam Claflin, Tramell Tillman, Andrea Riseborough and Daisy Ridley. We got the chance to speak to Claflin and Tillman all about their (very interesting!) performances in the film, and as ever their go-to Christmas movies and traditions. Alongside that, your host Helen O'Hara is joined in the studio by Olly Richards and Phil de Semlyen to get into the nitty gritty of the film itself. Is it too scary, given West's horror background? What does it draw from Dickens? And, most crucially of all, how does it compare to the Muppets version? Listen in and find out. Ebenezer is in cinemas now. For more from Phil, find him on Instagram @phildesem or check out Timeout.com and on YouTube @TimeOutVideo. For more from Olly, find him on Bluesky @ollyrichards, or find the book he mentioned, Tim Burton: The Complete Unofficial Guide, at all good bookshops. For more from Helen, you can find her on Bluesky @HelenLOHara, or at helenohara.com. Her latest books, A Quentin Tarantino Dictionary and 50 Film Ideas You Really Need To Know, are on sale now in all good bookshops or online, and Women Vs Hollywood: The Fall And Rise Of Women In Film (edited by Amanda!), remains on sale. This podcast is produced and edited by Helen O'Hara with Stripped Media. For more on this podcast and others produced by Stripped Media, please visit stripped.media or email [email protected]. If you enjoyed this podcast please leave a shiny five star review on your podcast platform of choice; it really does help. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We've seen Christmas proposals in the movies before, but it's pretty rare that it's followed almost immediately by a break-up. Yet that's the starting point for the new film from Elizabeth Guest - who directs, writes, stars and produces - based on her own award-winning web series. Guest plays Lydia, a self-professed "love addict" who can't quite commit to nice guy Tim (Andrew Leeds), and runs home to her four parents (it's complicated) when her cold feet cause them to break up. But can true love prevail? Only time - specifically about 90 minutes - will tell! We spoke to Guest and Leeds (Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist, Barry) about bringing the film together, her connection to a nailed-on Christmas classic, and the importance of gluten-free pizza. Then editor Amanda Keats joins me, Helen O'Hara, to talk all things true love and gluten. A Very Merry Break-Up is out for digital rental right now. For more from Amanda, find her on Instagram @filmvsbookvstv. For more from Helen, you can find her on Bluesky @HelenLOHara, or at helenohara.com. Her latest books, A Quentin Tarantino Dictionary and 50 Film Ideas You Really Need To Know, are on sale now in all good bookshops or online, and Women Vs Hollywood: The Fall And Rise Of Women In Film (edited by Amanda!), remains on sale. This podcast is produced and edited by Helen O'Hara with Stripped Media. For more on this podcast and others produced by Stripped Media, please visit stripped.media or email [email protected]. If you enjoyed this podcast please leave a shiny five star review on your podcast platform of choice; it really does help. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A dog is, of course, for life and not just for Christmas, but they are also for Christmas in the latest Netflix seasonal offering. Based on the bestselling book by W. Bruce Cameron, this is A Dog's Perfect Christmas, and it's about a dog called Winstead, voiced by Thomas Haden Church, and the family who can't hear him because they're distracted by their own drama. Or something like that. Joining me to discuss it is film critic Clarisse Loughrey, and somehow we manage to draw comparisons between this inoffensive family film and Clayface, Godzilla Minus Zero, Primetime and Venom. Look, it will all make sense. Probably. Apologies for some sound issues on this one, which I have tried to minimise but which may still exist especially if you're listening on headphones. Our environment for this recording was unexpectedly noisy; it won't happen again. You can find Clarisse on Instagram @clarisseloughrey, and fortnightly on the Fade To Black podcast. For more from Helen, you can find her on Bluesky @HelenLOHara, or at helenohara.com. Her latest books, A Quentin Tarantino Dictionary and 50 Film Ideas You Really Need To Know, are on sale now in all good bookshops or online, and Women Vs Hollywood: The Fall And Rise Of Women In Film, remains on sale. This podcast is produced and edited by Helen O'Hara with Stripped Media. For more on this podcast and others produced by Stripped Media, please visit stripped.media or email [email protected]. If you enjoyed this podcast please leave a shiny five star review on your podcast platform of choice; it really does help. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A couple split up and negotiate shared custody of their dog - but when he gets depressed, they reunite for Christmas to cheer him up. It's a rock-solid premise for some light comedy, with likeable stars - Charlie Cox and Zooey Deschanel - and a great canine performance. But does it live up to the basic idea? And is it even Christmassy? Your host, Helen O'Hara, is joined by journalist and author Kat Brown to hash it out. Merv is out on Prime Video now. For more from Kat, check out her website katbrown.com here, or follow her on Bluesky here. Her book, No One Talks About This Stuff, is particularly relevant to this film and may be of help if you've been affected by infertility and childlessness. For more from Helen, you can find here on Bluesky @HelenLOHara, or at helenohara.com. Her latest books, A Quentin Tarantino Dictionary and 50 Film Ideas You Really Need To Know, are available now, and Women Vs Hollywood: The Fall And Rise Of Women In Film remains on sale. This podcast is produced and edited by Helen O'Hara with Stripped Media. For more on this podcast, and others produced by Stripped Media, please visit www.stripped.media or email [email protected]. If you enjoyed this podcast, please leave a shiny five-star review on your podcast provider of choice; it really does help. And Merry Christmas! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Christmas is a time of miracles, and also robberies, according to Netflix's new rom-com crime caper, wherein two plucky but dodgy young people played by Olivia Holt and Connor Swindells decide to rob a department store on Christmas Eve. In defence of these bad Santas, they have both been provoked by its awful owner (Peter Serafinowicz) - and their plan may be smarter than it looks. Here to assess how well they succeeded are your regular host, Helen O'Hara, and film journalist and podcaster Amon Warmann, with bells on probably. Jingle Bell Heist is out on Netflix now. For more from Amon, check out his social media or listen to him weekly on the Fade To Black podcast. For more from Helen, you can find here on Bluesky @HelenLOHara, or at helenohara.com. Her latest books, A Quentin Tarantino Dictionary and 50 Film Ideas You Really Need To Know, are available now, and Women Vs Hollywood: The Fall And Rise Of Women In Film remains on sale. This podcast is produced and edited by Helen O'Hara with Stripped Media. For more on this podcast, and others produced by Stripped Media, please visit www.stripped.media or email [email protected]. If you enjoyed this podcast, please leave us a shiny five star review on your podcast provider of choice; it really does help. And Merry Christmas! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices