The Christmas TV Strategy Guide 2022 #04

Yeah, it’s not on the same level as Christmas Carol but this is still a great film. Although, my main bug bear with it is trying to definitively confirm what Gonzo is. Thats been a running gag since pretty much his first appearance, and like most things it isn’t something that needs confirming. In fact, if we have to have something that definitively confirms what Gonzo is then I would refer you to these panels from the excellent Roger Langridge The Muppet Show comic:

Well, here’s your quota of Humphrey Bogart for the Christmas period, one film coming at the height of the Hollywood Golden Age, the other at the end of that period nearly a decade later. Both are great films and were great roles for Bogart. Maybe not quite as iconic as something like The Maltese Falcon but not too bad at all

Time for some more Christmas fare, and a film which is essentially about how to torture an actor; Carrey spent 92 days in the Grinch costume making this film. Was it worth it? I mean, yeah? Its a good Christmas film, it looks nuts thanks to the set design properly invoking the world of the Whos and you can’t argue with Carrey’s performance. I mean, you could, you could say its a little over the top but (a) its Jim Carrey and (b) he’s playing the Grinch so you should be saying how well he was cast.

Speaking of great casting, Dustin Hoffman is a great Captain Hook. Is Robin Williams a good Peter Pan? Yes, once he’s actually Peter Pan. The whole ‘child in a man’s body’ schtick is right up his street, the only problem is the getting there. Hook is a rare Spielberg misstep this, the story themes about not getting caught up in your work and being imaginative like a child gets all of the emotion hammered out of it leaving the film just a bit flat. But don’t feel too bad for Spielberg, his next two films were Jurassic Park and Schindler’s List so the lad did alright for himself.

The theme of casting continues unabated; has there ever been a film as well cast, from top to bottom, as The Addams Family? Raul Julia is the pick of the cast, but honestly there isn’t a weak link in the film at all. And it has probably the best front flip in all of films. And then Wild Rose is a good film as well, with a great soundtrack to boot.

Skyfall is a bit of a Christmas film for me; not because of any Christmas themes in the film, I mean there aren’t any at all. But for a while it always seemed to be on in the background on Christmas Eve as we were sorting out Christmas stuff. So thats good, and then its followed by The Definitive Christmas Film No I Will Not Be Taking Any More Questions At This Time.

Hand on heart, the live episode of Inside No 9 was one of the best half an hours of TV I’ve ever seen so whilst this isn’t a live episode (or is it? No, its not but you know) it should still be a Christmas treat. Then yet another Christmas special from the archives, this time of the sketch show variety. Might be a bit hit or miss? Possibly, but when it hit Gracious Me was always really funny.

Here’s a double bill and a half for you! In that there’s two films, but one is good and the other isn’t. Can you guess which is which? I mean, the stars give it away but First Blood is the good film out of the two. Well, I say good but it is great and is arguably the best of the franchise. The other films in the series probably aim for a slightly different Manpunching shaped target so it isn’t a straight comparison but there you go. Speed 2 though, that film is just pants

I’ve been on something of a murder mystery kick over the past year or so, getting into Japanese locked room mystery books, watching all of the ITV Poirot series and starting my own detective agency. Well, maybe not the last one. Anyway, I’m starting to wonder if all that was kicked off by this; Rian Johnson and Daniel Craig both stepped out of the shadows of their big franchises with this, an Agatha Christie-esque mystery with, and here’s that theme again, a great cast at the top of their game.

Did this get in the list because it has a character called Doyle? I mean, maybe. It helps that its a good film as well, a bit more of a thriller compared to the first film but still a great cop action film. Its all anchored by Gene Hackman in all his grizzled 70s glory, sometimes a bit too grizzled but there you go