The Christmas TV Strategy Guide 2020
We're heading fully into the post-Christmas blues; if you’re anything like be by this point you’ll be surrounded by too many snacks filled with an existential sense of emptiness after so many days of wanton consumption. But enough of that, pass the Pringles and get the TV on!
0655 - Channel 4
This is a pretty good movie version of the SpongeBob cartoon, often stretching an idea designed to work over 20 minutes or so to a feature film length doesn't work but here they manage to pull it off
1020 - BBC1
Little Aardman double bill with Were-Rabbit being the stronger of the two. Both are good films showing Aardman in the during- and post-DreamWorks incarnations are able to make really enjoyable films
1400 - Sony Movies
I'd probably put this as number 2 in the body-swap comedies of the late 80s, although that depends on my Tom Hanks tolerance. Most days it's fine but sometimes I really don't get on with late-80s pre-serious acting Tom Hanks and Big leaves me cold. Can never say that about Judge though, he's always a hoot
1405 - ITV2
Here's a family triple bill for you; a daft basketball film, a decent take on a modern Mary Poppins without the songs and one of the strongest of the Aardman feature films. I do have a soft spot for Space Jam but it's defo clear that the quality is on an upswing in this run of films
1545 - BBC1
If you can't punch Nazis then you may as well distract them with singing so you can skip the country. I think thats the lesson from this classic musical but I may have misread the subtext
1840 - Film4
Can't remember if we've already had Kingsman so lets flag it anyways, bit of a weird pairing with Stargate which is one of the few films I can think of that was overshadowed by it's spin-off TV series. Buffy is the other one, maybe Firefly?Answers on a postcard (or in the comments) if you can think of any more
1850 - E4
In the sub-genre of performance capture, not many of the films cover themselves in glory but this one does. It's a proper belter and, thanks to a slightly cartoonish art style, doesn't age as badly as something like The Polar Express. It's just a crying shame that we never got the sequel because this first go in the Tintin world is so good
2100 - Horror Channel
There can only be one! And after talking about a film that deserves a sequel, here we have a film that probably should never have had one. And was defo not overshadowed by its TV spin off.
2115 - ITV4
He may be a bit of a douchebag but you have to admire his film choices and his periodic return to the Western always seems to work out; the Dollars trilogy made his name, Pale Rider in the 80s showed that the genre could still be relevant and Unforgiven in the 90s bagged him an Oscar. This one is a another great film despite the Western falling out of popularity at the time. It gets a bit overshadowed by the other Westerns in Eastwood's filmography but it well worth your time
2240 - ITV
Right, this isn't the best film that has Hannibal Lecter in it, as thats Manhunter as we all know but it's certainly the best of the later Hannibal cycle of films. Thats probably because, like Manhunter, it's not focussed on him content to leave him to the periphery and leave your mind to fill in the gaps. Soon as you bring a monster like Lecter into the light it takes away its effectiveness, a lesson you can also learn by watching Prometheus and Alien Covenant
