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| Chicken Run: Dawn Of The Nugget Photo: Netflix |
Chicken Run: Dawn Of The Nugget, Netflix, now
Those plucky chucks are back - along with an old nemesis - in this animated adventure sequel. Ginger (Now voiced by Thandiwe Newton) and Rocky (Zachary Levi on vocals) have taken their flock to an island haven and welcomed daughter Molly (Bella Ramsey) into the world. But as Molly reaches the cusp of adolescence she decides to go looking for adventure. Hooking up with a new Scouse mate Frizzle (Josie Sedgwick-Davies, so good you wish she was in it much more), the pair are lured in by the promise of an idyllic life at Fun-Land Farms little realising it's a sinister Truman Show/nugget-making outfit run by the evil Mrs Tweedy (Miranda Richardson, returning). Cue plenty of slapstick and shenanigans as Molly's parents ride to the rescue. Nugget lacks the focus of the first film and Rocky feels much less enjoyably cocky this time round but there's still plenty for all generations to enjoy. Plus you can treat yourself to the superior original, which is also on Netflix.
Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse, 6.45pm, Film4, Monday, December 18
When Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) is bitten by a spider he starts to develop some talents that might seem familiar to comic book lovers. It turns out there's a lot of Spider-Men about and Miles has to team up with them to stop the evil machinations of Wilson Fisk (Liev Schreiber). The animation allows for inventive scope in this entry in the franchise as the multiverse cracks wide open so all the iterations of Spider-Man are brought together, including Jake Johnson's world weary and pudgy version and Nic Cage's entertaining Spider-Man Noir. Playful with its source material while also honouring it, fans or newcomers should find themselves happily getting stuck into this film's web of ideas.
1917, 10.30pm, BBC2, Monday, December 18
There might be some trickery involved in this ‘single take’ film but the visceral immediacy of the end result certainly feels as though it was shot all in one go. That’s perhaps no surprise given that top cinematographer Roger Deakins is behind the camera - and he finally won an Oscar for his troubles after 13 previous attempts. Sam Mendes' gripping drama follows a pair of soldiers (George MacKay and Dean-Charles Chapman) as they attempt to deliver a letter across no man’s land as lives, including their own, lie in the balance. Beyond the strong central performances there are also notable cameos from Benedict Cumberbatch and Andrew Scott.
Cyrano, 10pm, BBC2, Tuesday, December 19
Jennie Kermode writes: The famous nose is almost absent from Joe Wright's musical adaptation of Edmond Rostand's play. We see it only briefly, on stage, on another character. Why bother with it when Peter Dinklage's height can fulfil the same narrative purpose? He seems born for the role of the hesitant lover and celebrated wit in what is otherwise a remarkably faithful take on the original work, and it's hard to think of many actors better suited to the role of Roxanne than Haley Bennett. Intelligence is something famously difficult to imitate, but neither of them needs to, and Bennett also demonstrates a fine singing voice. Caught between them is Kelvin Harrison Jr's Christian, equally smitten with Roxanne's beauty, though the rest is lost on him, with Cyrano, who dare not make a move on his own account, ghostwriting the love letters which win her heart. Wright is too smart to rely heavily on either romance or farce to carry the tale, and delves more deeply into the complex character dynamics, including the bond which develops between the two men as they find themselves with a common enemy. It's his finest film to date.
The Shawshank Redemption, 11.55pm, BBC1 Tuesday, December 19
Jennie Kermode writes: Most Stephen King stories suffer from weak endings. This film, based on one of his novellas, gained cult status because of its ending, and while we don’t wish to spoil it if you haven’t seen it yet, it’s worth noting that there are little clues to what’s coming all the way through. This is important because there’s also a great deal of brutality, including sexual violence. At the centre of it is Tim Robbins as Andy, a man determined to serve his time usefully, trying to improve conditions for his fellow prisoners and slowly, very slowly, setting in motion an elaborate plan to bring abusive members of the staff to justice. The questions that director Frank Darabont ultimately wants you to ask is why he didn’t escape sooner, and that’s when you need to drop some of the assumptions that people make about the central character and take another look at the title. There’s more than one kind of nightmare that Andy needs to break free from.
Maestro, Netflix, from Wednesday, December 20
Anne-Katrin Titze writes: Powerful,larger-than-life 20th century icons are catnip for biopics. At the beginning ofBradley Cooper’s Maestro, starring Cooper as Leonard Bernstein and CareyMulligan as his wife Felicia, I couldn’t help but think about Gay Talese’slatest book, Bartleby And Me, which was published earlier this fall andincludes the following description, told to Talese by Frank Sinatra’shaberdasher: ”Sinatra bought luxurious orange Scottish cashmere sweaters notonly for himself but for many of his friends and such employees as his pilot,who always wore an orange sweater when flying Sinatra around in the singer’s Learjet”. We see Cooper as a white-haired Bernstein at the piano at home. Tearsroll down his cheeks, as cameras from the press are reflected in the mirror. Hewears a burnt orange cashmere polo sweater. Lenny is a tornado sweeping throughthe lives of everyone in his path. He cannot sit still and the film flashesonto many important episodes of the famed conductor and composer’s world. Hislove life is complicated and Felicia, who keeps everything buttoned up (notethe many gorgeous buttons on her garments, from costume designer Mark Bridges)asks him not to tell their eldest child Jamie (Maya Hawke) the truth about therumours swirling concerning his male lovers.
Raging Bull, 10.15pm, BBC2, Thursday, December 21
No matter what the dips in Robert De Niro's form over recent years, Martin Scorsese has always brought the best out of him, from the recent Killers Of The Flower Moon to this intense central performance from more than four decades ago. He inhabits the hulking figure of Jake La Motta in this tale of the self-destructive boxer, who can't keep his violence in check. It saw him work for the first, but not the last, time against Joe Pesci, who plays as La Motta's brother-cum-manager Joey, in the role that brought him to prominence. There's an operatic quality to the action both inside and outside the ring, with cinematographer Michael Chapman (reteaming with Scorsese after Taxi Driver) using the crisp black and white to great effect.
Do The Right Thing, 12.15am, BBC2, Friday, December 22
The cool of December seems a far cry away from Spike Lee's classic, which sees the hottest day of the year become a cauldron of tension. His film has lost none of its power – or, sadly, its relevance – in the years that have passed since 1989. Danny Aielo plays Italian-American Sal, the owner of a pizzeria in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn, who has a brace of sons, one racist (John Turturro) and one not (Richard Edson). For all Sal's talk of different communities fitting together, there's an undercurrent there too. An ensemble film, the central beef revolves around the mate of Sal's delivery guy Mookie (played by Lee), Buggin’ Out (Giancarlo Esposito), who starts to campaign for Sal to include pictures of Black stars on Sl's "wall of fame". A shocking incident leads to events boiling over but Lee isn't interested in easy situations or characters, embracing complexity and holding it up to the blistering sunlight. Things start off easy like Sunday morning and end up very hard to forget.
Working Girl, 8pm, ITVBe, Friday, December 22
Jennie Kermode writes: Long before Meryl Streep in The Devil Wears Prada, Sigourney Weaver ruled the roost as the ruthlessly efficient, power dressing, workaholic boss intimidating business rivals and employees alike. She briefly shows warmth towards anxious ingenue Tess (Melanie Griffith) until the latter realises just how disposable she is. At the time, the film was widely disparaged and dismissed as a bit of fluff, but with Mike Nichols at the helm, it should always have been apparent that there was more going on. It's smart in its handling of financial issues which were, then just becoming accessible to the wider public, and equally smart in its approach to feminist ideas. A romcom subplot centred on Harrison Ford, who pitches his performance perfectly to make room for the leads, neatly sends up the way that women were used in films about men, and the devastating final shot puts everything else in context. Looked at with knowledge of how the corporate world has developed since, it's better than ever.
Casablanca, 2.55pm, BBC2, Saturday December 23
Infinitely quotable and featuring Ingrid Bergman and Humphrey Bogart at the top of their game, there's little wonder Michael Curtiz's film about impossible choices and a reunion between old lovers regularly makes it into lists of favourites. The secondary players are all from the top drawer, too, with Claude Rains, Paul Henreid, Sydney Greenstreet and Peter Lorre all puting in memorable performances. It's the heart of the matter that really makes the film tick, however, and scenes between Bergman and Bogart are economical as well as emotionally rich. Plus, of course, there's the song, As Time Goes By, which gains resonance the more you think about it.
It's A Wonderful Life, 4.30pm, Channel 4, December 23
While we're on with classics, would a Christmas list of films really be complete without Frank Capra’s classic? The plot, for the one or two people who have yet to see this seasonal treat, revolves around an angel (Henry Travers), who helps a businessman (James Stewart) at the end of his tether. A story celebrating the little acts of selflessness and kindness that can make a big difference, even if we don't realise it at the time, in the wake of the Covid pandemic – which was marked by these sorts of small gestures to help others – there has perhaps never been a better reason to watch it.
White Christmas, 1pm, BBC2, Christmas Eve
Got some last-minute presents to wrap? Grab a mug of hot chocolate - or your tipple of choice - and treat yourself to this Christmas classic while you do. The song, of course, had been around the block before, with Bing Crosby first airing it in Holiday Inn 12 years before - but they say the old ones are the best. Here Crosby is matched in the effortless charm stakes by Danny Kaye. They play a pair of demobbed soldiers who have hit the entertainment trail and fall for a couple of women (Rosemary Clooney and Vera-Ellen) along the way. The feel-good formula sees them trying to help a struggling Vermont lodge, which just happens to be run by their former commander (Dean Jagger). The plot ticks the boxes you'd expect but you're really here for the performances, the music and the sparkle of romance that remains as evergreen as a Norwegian spruce.
Toy Story 4, 3.10pm, BBC1, Christmas Day
Woody (Tom Hanks), Buzz (Tim Allen) and their friends to the end head off with Bonnie and her family on holiday this time around – along with a new chum, Forky (Tony Hale), a toy made in kindergarten, who believes he is "trash". Soon the gang are embroiled in a rescue mission and find themselves getting a helping hand from an old pal. The strength of the Toy Story films lies in the way that the creators match strong stories to strong characters. They explore childhood anxieties – like the fear of losing a favourite toy – while also offering a nostalgia fix for adults and heartfelt, but unfussy messages about loyalty and friendship that are robust and built to last.
Arrival, 11.15pm, Film4, Christmas Day
Denis Villeneuve's science-fiction drama puts the emphasis on humans even as Earth is being visited by an alien race. It charts the work of linguist Dr Louise Banks (Amy Adams) as she, along with physicist Ian Donnelly (Jeremy Renner) attempt to communicate with the squid-like new arrivals to our planet. This is a thoughtful consideration of communication and loss that unfolds gradually against its sci-fi backdrop, with Villeneuve retaining a sense of mystery and awe about the creatures thanks, in no small measure, to Bradford Young's excellent cinematography.
We're wrapping up our festive selection with Treevenge, a perfect little slice of holiday horror from Hobo With A Shotgun director Jason Eisner - a dark delight!
Hop over to Youtube to watch it.
