The Coops Review Christmas Preview

 

Put that Radio Times away (other listings magazines are available)!  As far as choosing this year’s Christmas and New Year TV movies is concerned, this is the only guide you need – my annual seasonal film preview.

As ever, I’m concentrating on terrestrial and digital free channels, which means everybody can watch them, so out with that marker pen and here we go.  And, if you like classics, you’ll be taking up permanent residence in front of the telly.

 

Christmas

 

 

There aren’t very many films worth mentioning in the run up to Christmas, but you can start the week in style on Monday, 22^nd December with a couple of real crackers.  The 1955 musical Guys and Dolls was re-issued in selected cinemas on Friday, but BBC4 has rather smartly nabbed it as well, and is screening it at 7 pm.  Frank Sinatra, Jean Simmons and, most surprisingly of all, Marlon Brando star in this spirited adaptation of the Damon Runyan stories – and, yes, Brando sings!

Switch over straight afterwards at 9 pm to Channel 4 and you’ll get Alexander Payne’s The Descendants, with an unglamorous George Clooney trying to re-connect with his daughters when his wife is seriously injured in an accident.  It won Clooney an Oscar nomination though, sadly, not a trophy.  The film’s only win went to Payne himself for the beautifully written screenplay.

On to Christmas Eve, when Channel 5 does its usual trick of filling up the morning’s schedule with the epic Gone WithThe Wind.  If you give a damn, it starts at 9.30 am, but the channel’s real highlight comes at 1.50 pm with The Adventures of Robin Hood.  This is the 1938 version with a permanently smiling Errol Flynn in the title role.  It’s pure Hollywood, about as far from Nottingham as you can get and massively entertaining.  But somehow I don’t think the makers intended it to be quite so camp.  Your daily dose of tradition comes at 4.10 pm with Frank Capra’s It’s A Wonderful Life, so if the bell rings while the film is on,  you know that another fairy is getting its wings.

 

 

The big film for the evening is the network premiere of Skyfall on ITV at 8 pm, the most recent outing of the latest James Bond incarnation.  I shan’t say any more – except that I’ll be watching it.  The TV film schedule looks to have been organised around it, as there’s little in the way of alternatives.  Earlier at 6.25 pm, though, BBC 1 has the brilliant Toy Story 3, while the ever-popular Calendar Girls bare their all – discreetly, of course – on BBC 2 at 10.30 pm.  Or you could find yourself sat on a bench next to 1990s everyman, Forrest Gump, on Film 4 at 9 pm.  And, if you’re eating a box of chocolates at the time, that little contents card inside will tell you that Mamma Gump got it wrong!

 

 

If you open your presents in the morning on Christmas Day, you’ve a movie treat to go with them at 10.55 am on ITV.  Climb aboard the DeLorean for the ageless Back To The Future and just enjoy the ride!  And if you wait until after lunch, The Great Escape makes its annual appearance, this time on 5 USA at 2.50 pm.  And you’ll probably be humming the theme tune for the rest of the day.

Once the children have gone to bed, the grown-ups can settle down for one of the best westerns ever, Clint Eastwood’s Oscar winning Unforgiven, 5 USA at 9 pm.  They’ll need to set the recorder for Crazy Heart on Channel 4, though, as it’s screened at 2.30 am – but it’s worth it for Jeff Bridges’ Oscar winning turn as a washed up singer who finds something approaching redemption.

 

 

It’s classics all the way on Boxing Day, starting with Singin’ In The Rain on BBC 2 at 1.50 pm.  Bogart fans will need to set the recorder in the afternoon, as More 4 shows Casablanca at 2.30 pm and 5 USA has The Caine Mutiny at 2.35 pm.  Comedy fans won’t want to miss the Ealing classic, The Ladykillers, on Channel 5 at 3.15 pm, a true vintage that improves with age.  And for late night viewing, Hollywood satire Bowfinger has Steve Martin trying to make a film on the cheap, with Eddie Murphy as the budget priced star – the bungling brother of an A lister.  It’s on ITV at 10.55 pm.

 

New Year

 

The New Year holiday always seems to opt for more recent movies – and, ironically, often seems to have the pick of holiday films in general.  Take this New Year’s Eve.

 

 

In the run-up to midnight, there’s Julian Fellowe’s first shot at Downton Abbey in the shape of Robert Altman’s Gosford Park on ITV 3 at 9pm.  Western fans will be settled in front of 5 USA at the same time for the re-make of 3:10 To Yuma, this time with Christian Bale as the farmer and Russell Crowe as the outlaw.  Unusually, it’s generally regarded as better than the original from 1957.  Slightly earlier on BBC 2 at 8.30 pm is Oscar winner, The Help, set in the segregated South of the 60s.  Worth seeing in preparation for civil rights drama, Selma, which arrives in cinemas in February.

As far as seeing in 2015 is concerned, you can do it with a laugh in the company of another Ealing Classic, this time Kind Hearts and Coronets on BBC 4 at 11 pm, with Alec Guinness playing all the members of the D’Ascoyne family, including Lady Agatha.  ITV 4 shows L A Confidential at the same time, even though it’s set at Christmas.  This crackling film noir made household names of Kevin Spacey, Russell Crowe and Guy Pearce.

 

 

The cinematic big guns are out on New Year’s Day, starting at 1.30 pm on 5 USA with grandiose western The Big Country.  Charlton Heston gets out his chariot again on Channel 5 for Ben Hur at 3.30 pm or you can spend the afternoon in the company of arch villain Gru and his adorable Minions in the excellent animation Despicable Me on ITV 2 at 4.25 pm.  And that recorder is mandatory in the evening, with BBC 2 showing Dustin Hoffman’s Quartet at 9 pm – a thoroughly British affair set in a retirement home for musicians with Dame Maggie Smith and Tom Courtney – and ITV giving us part two of Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy, The Dark Knight, at the same time.  Which means Heath Ledger’s definitive Joker in all its glory.

And, if you’re lucky enough to have the day off on Friday, 2^nd January, make sure the animation Up on BBC 1 at 4.30 pm gets your undivided attention.  It’ll charm your socks off.

 

So that’s it for this holiday’s TV films.  Have a cracking – movie-watching – Christmas and here’s to some great films in 2015!

 

The Coops Review Christmas Preview, Part 1

Woody and Buzz do the treble this Christmas

 

You probably won’t thank me for saying this, but there’s exactly one week to go until Christmas Day.  Whaddaya mean, it sneaked up on you?  It’s the same day every year!

So with everything you have to do before the Big Day arrives, here’s something to scratch from your list: choosing films to watch on the TV over the holiday.  Because I’ve done it for you!  Yes, by popular demand, The Coops Christmas Preview is back, picking the best of the TV movies for the holiday period.  And, to make sure everybody can see them, I’m sticking to terrestrial and digital channels.

There’s two dominant themes in this year’s line-up.  Cartoons and classics.  Correction: Disney cartoons and classics.  Uncle Walt and his team are out in force this year, with a combination of traditional favourites like Fantasia and more recent offerings, including Toy Story and Finding Nemo.   While among the classics are Casablanca, The African Queen and Gone With The Wind.  All of which makes for good family watching, but there’s noticeably less aimed at the adult audience – The Godfather Parts I and II and Sightseers are the exception.

Curiously, some of the best films on the box pop up immediately after New Year – The King’s Speech, Drive and David Lean’s Oliver Twist.  Figure that one out, if you can!

On to this year’s preview, which comes in two sections.  This one takes us up to and including Boxing Day, while the second part covers Friday, 27 December to New Year’s Day.

Fasten your seatbelts …….

 

Monday, 23 December

The day kicks off with the classic, if somewhat unconventional, romantic comedy, The African Queen (More4, 10.50 am) with Humphrey Bogart and Katherine Hepburn as the polar opposites who most definitely attract and end up taking on a German battleship in World War I.  If you miss it this time round, it’s repeated on More4 on Saturday, 28 December at 10 am.

The first big Disney cartoon of the holiday is on BBC1 at 3.15 pm.  Toy Story (parts 2 and 3 are on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day at 3.40 pm and 3.20 pm respectively) brings Woody, Buzz and the crew to the small screen.  This part may be 18 years old, but it’s still fresh and funny and a sure fire winner for all the family.  As are, indeed, the other two parts.  Do yourself a favour.  Just block out the relevant hour and a half on each day and see the whole trilogy – without commercials as well!

For something marginally more adult, there’s the wonderfully silly Airplane! on Film4 at 7.15pm, complete with quotable lines and the gloriously deadpan Leslie Nielsen.  Surely he’ll save the day?  But don’t call me Shirley ……

 

If you want to escape Disney, try Guys And Dolls …..

 

Christmas Eve

Has somebody decided this is Disney Day?  You’d think so from the schedules, but the films are so good, who’s complaining?  You can settle down in front of BBC1 for Toy Story 2 (3.40 pm) and then just stay there for the irresistible Finding Nemo (5.55 pm).  Full of great characters – my favourite is that cool dude, Crush The Turtle – and moments of truly inspired comedy, such as the manic seagulls, this is one of Disney’s best.

It would also be unmissable, but for what can only be described as a scheduling cock-up by the BBC.  Because Disney is on BBC2 as well at 4.15 pm, this time with the classical music inspired Fantasia.  Packed with memorable sequences like Micky Mouse as the sorcerer’s apprentice and ballet dancing hippos, it isn’t often shown on TV or anywhere else.  This is one time when you need to set the recorder.  Which film you watch later is entirely up to you.

If you want to escape from Disney, go for Guys And Dolls (BBC2, 1.50 pm).  Yes, this is the one where Marlon Brando sings!  Based on the stories of Damon Runyan about New York’s small time crooks, it has great songs and is a touch more grown-up than other musicals of the time.

 

Christmas Day

Channel Five has designs on most of the daytime, starting at 10.15 am with the classic Gone With The Wind, with Clark Gable and Vivienne Leigh playing out their stormy romance against the backdrop of the Civil War.  And hard on its heels comes Casablanca (2.35 pm) with Bogart and Bergman as the star crossed lovers who can never forget Paris.

If one epic just isn’t enough, then ITV4 has Spartacus (4.10 pm) with Kirk Douglas leading the slave rebellion.  Full of spectacle and romance, there’s also a couple of scene-stealing performances from Charles Laughton and Peter Ustinov.  Even Laurence Olivier finds himself in danger of being upstaged.

And, yes, there’s Toy Story 3 (BBC1, 3.20 pm).

 

Boxing Day

Epic fans are in for another treat, this time courtesy of the multiple Oscar winner, Ben-Hur (More4, 11.45 am), with a heroic Charlton Heston in the title role.  And don’t miss the chariot race: after 54 years, it still looks pretty impressive!

And, at long last, the schedulers have laid on something for us grown-ups.  Sightseers (Film4, 9 pm) is the blackest of comedies, a low budget British production about a pair of serial killers that was a critical hit and went down just as well with audiences.  Don’t expect anything wholesome and Christmassy.

 

So that’s your films sorted out for the first half of the holiday.  Come back at the weekend for part two, and more of this year’s Christmas cartoon/classic combo.

 

 

And Then There Were Two

Sequels? Prequels? They’re nothing new for Batman.

This is guaranteed to bring out the movie snob in me.  According to BBC Breakfast this morning, there’s talk of plans for a sequel to one of the best films ever.  And that film is Casablanca.

Apparently, the idea is that the main characters are the children of Rick and Ilsa, who were played by Bogart and Bergman, although it’s too early to say who will play them.  Whatever, it obviously won’t have the same cast as the original and, presumably, it won’t be in black and white.  And whether it will include as many quotable – or mis-quotable – lines as the original is another matter.

The obvious comment is “why?”  Sequels don’t have a great reputation and are often viewed as a cynical ploy to make more money out of a film which, presumably, was a success first time round (although that’s not always the case!).  So getting the same names together in the hope of another hit is a given – which is what makes the Casablanca idea so puzzling.

The other problem with sequels is that they are so often a pale imitation of the original.  The plot is frequently a re-run, perhaps with a few tweaks here and there, or it’s impossibly weak.  And it gets even worse when numbers three and four are commissioned.

Even the Golden Raspberry Awards recognise that a sequel isn’t always a good move.  They have a category for The Worst Prequel, Remake, Rip-Off or Sequel and past winners of the dubious award in the past have included Speed 2, Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle, Basic Instinct 2 and Sex And The City 2, all eminently worthy of the tacky little trophy.

At which point, you could be mistaken for thinking that adding the number 2 after a film title was a recipe for disaster.  It can be – but there are, of course, some notable exceptions.  Probably the most famous is The Godfather II, which is often regarded as superior to the original.  For me, the two are equally excellent although, interestingly, the sequel doesn’t miss Brando one iota.  All the previous characters are there, played by the same actors, and it fills in sections from the book that couldn’t be accommodated in the first film.  Watched as a double bill, they work together superbly.

But even Coppola couldn’t pull off the same trick three times running: The Godfather III still had many of the original cast, but the combination of a muddled plot, Sofia Coppola’s lack of acting experience and the expectations of film-goers were the kiss of death.

Other sequels of note include Aliens, The French Connection II, The Dark Knight (the best of Christopher Nolan’s trilogy, in part due to Heath Ledger’s Joker) and the Color of Money which won Paul Newman a long-overdue Oscar.  And dare I mention the likes of Naked Gun 2 ½ and Airplane 2 The Sequel?  Not classics, I know, but wonderfully silly and wonderfully funny.  Nobody did deadpan like Neilsen.

But they are all hugely outweighed by an avalanche of decidedly poor sequels.  I’m spoilt for choice, but Ocean’s Twelve – and, indeed, Thirteen – were lame successors to the remake of Ocean’s Eleven.  A slick, witty, fun film, its sequels were slick – and that’s about it.  And Thirteen also had that clunkingly obvious CGI hotel plonked on the Las Vegas Strip.

There was Alvin And The Chipmunks: The Squeakuel.  Was the original really successful – and good – enough to warrant a follow up?  The best thing about it was the title.

And, considering the quality of George Clooney’s current work, it’s curious he should make a second appearance, this time in the earlier Batman franchise.  Batman and Robin was universally panned on its release, despite an all-star cast.  Even the Clooney name couldn’t save this one.

Of course, sequels aren’t the only fruit.  Prequels aren’t quite so prevalent, but they are still serious contenders for making the most of a franchise.  In all honesty, most of them are even worse than sequels, although there are a handful that don’t fall into that category.

For starters, The Godfather II is part prequel, part sequel.  J J Abram’s Star Trek re-invigorated the series and even brought back an elderly Spock to appeal to the more traditional Trekkies.  And Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins, the first in the trilogy, gave us a Caped Crusader who was human enough to suffer physical injury.  Sergio Leone’s The Good, The Bad And The Ugly is actually a prequel to the two other Dollar films.  Yes, it’s melodramatic – overblown even – with more than a little assistance from Morricone’s soundtrack, but it is easily the best of the three by far.

On the walk of shame, Hannibal Rising was the fourth in the Silence of the Lambs series and was so bad it cured audiences of ever wanting to see Lector again. And then there’s the seemingly interminable Star Wars prequels, all hyped to the max, and all derided except by die-hard Star Wars fans.  I can’t comment – I’ve still never seen them, and I’m standing my ground.  But they do seem to have some of the most bizarre characters.  Jar Jar Binks, anybody?

The very fact that so many prequels and sequels are inferior to their original inspiration begs the question as to why they are ever made.  $ is the short answer.  But there are times when the best decision is to leave well alone – and, in my view, Casablanca has to be one of them.  The film has iconic status – which isn’t always a deterrant – and you wonder how anybody could at least match it.  Or how anybody could have the arrogance to believe that they can ………………..