Dear Pandora Santa Claus… (CREDIT: Screenshot)

Dust Bunny

Starring: Mads Mikkelsen, Sophia Sloan, Sigourney Weaver, Sheila Atim, David Dastmalchian, Rebecca Henderson

Director: Bryan Fuller

Running Time: 106 Minutes

Rating: R

Release Date: December 12, 2025 (Theaters)

Ella McCay

Starring: Emma Mackey, Jamie Lee Curtis, Jack Lowden, Woody Harrelson, Kumail Nanjiani, Spike Fearn, Julie Kavner, Albert Brooks, Ayo Edebiri, Rebecca Hall

Director: James L. Brooks

Running Time: 115 Minutes

Rating: PG-13

Release Date: December 12, 2025 (Theaters)

Avatar: Fire and Ash

Starring: Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldaña, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, Oona Chaplin, Kate Winslet, Cliff Curtis, Joel David Moore, CCH Pounder, Edie Falco, Brendan Cowell, Jemaine Clement, Giovanni Ribisi, David Thewlis, Britain Dalton, Jack Champion, Trinity Jo-Li Bliss, Jamie Flatters, Bailey Bass, Filip Geljo, Duane Evans Jr., Matt Gerlad, Dileep Rao

Director: James Cameron

Running Time: 197 Minutes

Rating: PG-13

Release Date: December 19, 2025 (Theaters)

Hey hey, ho ho ho! And now for something completely the assessment of a few movies I saw in the run-up to the End-of-Year 2025 Holiday Season. I considered doing this before Christmas reared its festive rump, but I didn’t quite get around to it. So now here we are in January, hopefully with the benefit of a little more digestion. For this selection of flicks (whose current theatrical availability ranges from “nowhere” to “everywhere”), I shall now discuss how much seeing them and then writing about them has (or has not) kept the holiday spirit alive.

CREDIT: Roadside Attractions

First up is Dust Bunny, the feature directorial debut from Bryan Fuller, which about a little girl (Sophie Sloan) who hires a hitman played by Mads Mikkelsen (formerly Fuller’s titular TV Hannibal) to dispatch the monster under her bed who killed her parents. This was an odd fit for the December release calendar, though I imagine it would have struggled to break out no matter what time of year it arrived. Nevertheless, its use of ABBA’s “Tiger” during the end credits helped put me in the mood for playlist curation, an essential holiday activity.

CREDIT: 20th Century Studios/Screenshot

In second position we’ve got Ella McCay, which kind of feels like a collective hallucination, despite the supposed groundedness of its premise, as (Gillian Jacobs lookalike) Emma Mackey plays the titular politician in the midst of ascending to the governorship of her (never specified) home state. Ella McCay never quite gets a handle on making something exemplary out of its worthwhile intentions, but the fact that it’s set in its character’s home state can certainly put you in the mood to want to return to your own home state.

CREDIT: Screenshot

And of course, finally it’s time to speak upon Avatar: Fire and Ash. James Cameron’s blue crew is of course well-established as an irregular holiday tradition. Thus the latest trip to Pandora doesn’t have to do too much to make it feel like Christmas, so long as it’s repeating its usual immersive formula. I wasn’t snapping all the way for every single one of those 197 minutes, but I’m still happy to sit back and spend some of my much-deserved recreational relaxation alongside the Na’vi.

Grades:
Dust Bunny: 3 Ding Dongs on the Doorbell
Ella McCay: 1 Candy Cane and 2 Ugly Sweaters
Avatar: Fire and Ash: 2 Chocolate Chip Cookies and 8 Sugar Cookies