The Times - UK (2021-12-18)

the times | Saturday December 18 2021 saturday review 23

Best scheduled films

Crazy Rich Asians (12)
Wed, BBC1, 10.35pm
Put brain in neutral for the
blockbusting crowd-pleaser
about a girl who discovers her
boyfriend is ultra-wealthy.

Last Christmas (12)
Thu, BBC2, 9pm
Emilia Clarke’s
winsome appeal is
on full beam in a
heartstring-tugging
seasonal rom-com.

Mary Poppins Returns (U)
Christmas Day, BBC1, 3.10pm
See what you make of Emily
Blunt, above right, in her turn
as the world’s most famous
nanny in the exuberant sequel.

Their Finest (12)

Christmas Day, BBC4, 9.35pm

Gemma Arterton is great fun

as a scriptwriter of morale-

boosting British films in this

wartime comedy-drama.

Paddington (PG)

Boxing Day, BBC1,

4.20pm

The best comedy

this Christmas is a

toss-up between this

and Paddington 2

(Dec 27, BBC1, 5.55pm).

Blade Runner 2049 (15)

Dec 27, BBC2, 9pm

The epically philosophical

sci-fi sequel, with Ryan

Gosling and Harrison Ford.

The Meg (12)

Dec 28, Channel 5, 9pm

Dumb creature-feature

mayhem provided by Jason

Statham and a megalodon.

Inside Out (U)

Dec 29, BBC1, 1.40pm

Pixar’s animation set in the

mind of an 11-year-old.

A Star Is Born (15)

Dec 29, BBC1, 9pm

Lady Gaga in the latest

remake of the showbiz tale.

Shadowlands (U)

Dec 30, BBC2, 2.45pm

Anthony Hopkins as CS Lewis;

a double bill with The Remains

of the Day (4.40pm). JJ

No Time to Die (12A)

Sky Store/digital platforms

Daniel Craig, below, bowing

out as 007 is available to rent.

A Boy Called Christmas (PG)

Sky/Now

Keep the seasonal spirit alive

with this family yarn about a

boy who goes on a snowy

quest with a talking mouse

(Stephen Merchant).

Being the Ricardos (15)

Amazon Prime,

from Tue

Nicole Kidman and

Javier Bardem as the

Hollywood power

couple Lucille Ball and

Desi Arnaz.

Christmas t v & ra di o

For our 12 Treats of Christmas, see pages 8-9

Podcast choice

The Rest Is History

Acast, Apple etc

Want a podcast to entertain

you over Christmas? Look no

further. There are episodes on

everything from Ancient Rome

to Richard Nixon, and we’re

promised specials covering A

Christmas Carol and The Ten

Most Christmassy Churches.

James Marriott

Critic’s choice

All Creatures

Great and Small

Fri, Channel 5, 9pm

Grumble about Christmas TV if
you like, but the broadcasters
work their socks off to help
us to escape reality at this
time of year. That may be with
straight-up entertainment
(Strictly Come Dancing, Bake
Off), grown-up dramas (The
Girl Before, A Very British
Scandal; See our 12 Treats of
Christmas, page 8) or a special
edition of a favourite series.
And when it comes to the
latter, Call the Midwife’s crown
is under threat: All Creatures
Great and Small tugs at the
heartstrings, offers dilemmas
in the vicinity of mistletoe and
even a rendition of a carol, yet
never feels cheap or clichéd.
This is a rather beautiful
edition that will work perfectly
on Christmas Eve, even if its
central crisis is so affecting:
Tricki-Woo is ill and this time it
is more than just too much beef
wellington. Mrs Pumphrey is
beside herself as a theme of
loneliness emerges. Fear not,
this is a real winter warmer too.
James Jackson

Radio choice

Best Christmas

listening

The days when families would

gather around the wireless

may be long gone, but this

Christmas even the most

tech-addicted might be

persuaded to switch on the

radio and put the devices

aside for a little while.

There are dramas galore,

from the surreal, cosy genius

of Tove Jansson’s coming-of-

ager Moominland Midwinter

(Christmas Day, Radio 4,

11am), to an imaginative

reworking of the Nativity

through the eyes of Jesus’s

other dad in Joseph and

the Three Gifts (Mon,

Radio 4, midday), to the wit

and gallantry of that

timeless romp The Princess

Bride (Christmas Day,

Radio 4, 3.15pm).

Traditionalists will enjoy

Martin Jarvis’s peerless

reading of Just William:

The Great Performer (Dec

30, Radio 4, 9.45am) and

requesting Ernie or Let It Go

from Anneka Rice on Junior

Choice (Christmas Day,

Radio 2, 10am).

For the full-fat embodiment

of Christmas magic in

excelsis, look no further than

A Festival of Nine Lessons and

Carols (Christmas Eve, Radio

4, 3pm). And anyone hoping

to claim a piece of New Year’s

Eve for themselves can tire

the youngsters out with two

hours of Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s

Kitchen Disco (Radio 2, 7pm).

Happy holidays.

Gabriel Tate

Nicholas Ralph

in All Creatures

Great and Small

Don’t Look Up (15)

Netflix, from Christmas Eve

Astronomers Leonardo

DiCaprio and Jennifer

Lawrence panic about a comet

in this climate-change satire.

The Last Duel (18)

Disney+

Ridley Scott’s violent medieval

drama with Matt Damon,

Adam Driver and

Jodie Comer.

The Lost

Daughter (15)

Netflix, from

Dec 31

Olivia Colman is superb

as a troubled academic

on a Greek holiday. JJ

Your festive

14-day

listings &

previews

New on-demand films