It has been less than a year since Great Expectations hit our telly-boxes via the woebegone institute that is the BBC (the less said about He Who Must Not Be Named, the better), so it makes sense that Mike Newell and the British Broadcasting Corporation have remade it AGAIN for the silver screen. If, of course, by “makes sense” you mean “makes no sense at all”. Expect the usual suspects, lavish costumes and lingering glances in this portion of Dickens Lite for the TOWIE age…

Bernard Rose’s new film is a sparse, quietly naturalistic slow-burner that grapples with some of the big questions through the medium of a very small story. Underpinned by the fascinating dynamic between its two leads, Danny Huston and Matthew Jacobs, and swinging from the banal to the life-or-death in a heartbeat, Boxing Day is an oddly affecting film that – despite taking a while to get to the point – has a deeply moving and important message at its heart.

Imagine if Miss Congeniality had a bastard lovechild with 21 Jump Street and instead of the bastard lovechild having the face of Amanda Bynes it had the face of Miley Cyrus and the bastard lovechild was nursed and raised by Veronica Mars and you know, the thing where she’s a tomboy teenager and there’s the evil blonde girl and oh no! someone falls over and the guy is hot and oh my god oh my god this is super cute. Welcome to So Undercover.

It’s grim. It’s really, really grim. No amount of preparation or love for your child can prepare you for Nativity 2: Danger In The Manger, which has more in common with Invasion of the Body Snatchers than it does with any other Christmas film. One could make a cogent argument that this film is a secret military project to liquify the brains of the populace.

After intriguing us with his enigmatic presence in Winter’s Bone, then quietly disturbing us as the maniacal cult leader in Martha Marcy May Marlene, the increasingly versatile John Hawkes now reveals his softer side in endearing comedy drama The Sessions. That rare thing, a populist movie that also happens to be a good one, audiences will rightly flock to see The Sessions – and so should you. Just one word of warning… if Mr. Hawkes wants you to start crying in public, you will start crying in public.

Starring the grey fox Hugh Laurie, The Oranges is an above-average comedy about two suburban families who have their lives utterly bamboozled by an ill-advised romance. It may seem like just another quirky Juno clone on paper, but there’s definitely more to The Oranges than meets the eye. A number of gripes aside, this is a warm and decent comedy that you won’t regret watching.

Following the A5 as it winds eastward from Holyhead in Wales to London’s Marble Arch, Marc Isaacs’ The Road is an insight into immigrants who have adopted England’s capital as their home. Up close and personal, the picture that emerges is a bleak one. Its very nature defined by a state of flux, the road of Isaacs’ documentary seems to act as a point on the horizon as far from homes left behind as it is from those yet to be found.

Like a resounding fist-bump cementing a job well done, police drama End of Watch is a testosterone-fuelled ride-along through L.A.’s crime-ridden south central district. Proving that sometimes a film doesn’t need to be more than the sum of its parts, Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Peña showcase an infectious chemistry that papers over some noticeable cracks, and confirm there’s life in the Academy yet.

Weddings! Weddings weddings weddings. Everybody loves weddings and all films are about weddings these days aren’t they? It really feels like that’s the case. Take wedding themed film Our Family Wedding, for instance. Weddings everywhere! Only, why is there a goat running around eating Viagra and trying to rape people? And why are all the Mexican people so deeply, deeply racist? And why is Forest Whitaker in this film? So many questions! And by questions we mean weddings.

Bursting with humour, poignancy and a good healthy splash of blood, Martin McDonagh’s follow-up to In Bruges is a crazed masterpiece featuring standout performances from its leads. In many ways a barmier, bloodier companion piece to Charlie Kaufman’s Adaptation, Seven Psychopaths is on one hand an intricately worked out, highly self-referential film that’s all about the creative process. On the other hand, it’s an excuse for a ragtag band of brilliant characters to stand around saying funny things to one another. And really, what more could you want?