Projection Room: Ripped Ticket TV Movie of the Week- the Christmas listings

If you’ve listened to the Ripped Ticket Show on a regular basis since I came on board, every week I have scoured the UK free-to-air TV listings for the best films and provided a recommendation on what to watch. And as the show is off air until January, I figured I’d pick a film for every day of this Christmas break. I won’t be taking the high road and going for festive releases- instead, I’ll be highlighting the best of the best, and the films that will get overlooked.

DECEMBER 22nd

The Muppets, BBC Two, 10am

Myself and good friend of the blog Ed Greenberg subjected ourselves to The Happytime Murders- a puppet film aimed at adults- earlier this year. It was awful. But it reminded us of how good the proper Muppets were back in the day, and the BBC have put on the 2011 film (not the bad Ricky Gervais one, the decent Jason Segel one) to kick off proceedings.

DECEMBER 23rd

Casino Royale, ITV1, 9pm

In 2006, a new Bond arrived on the scene. While the casting was mocked back then, the first film with Daniel Craig literally blew everyone away, especially with the director of GoldenEye (Martin Campbell) returning to set the scene. Plus, that theme from Chris Cornell though. I’ve played it a few times on Ripped Ticket, and that tells you everything really.

CHRISTMAS EVE

Mary Poppins, 5pm, BBC One

With the release of Mary Poppins Returns over the weekend, good old auntie Beeb has kindly blessed us with the original film- a real family classic.

HONOURABLE MENTION: Zootropolis, 2.55pm, BBC One

If you really want to go all-out and recreate one of my infamous cinema marathons, stick with the BBC all day, because they have some absolute crackers on Christmas Eve when it comes to the films. Zootropolis is a hell of a pick from them, as it is one of Disney’s finest works of the last few years, especially when it comes to the animation itself.

CHRISTMAS DAY

Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, 9pm, Film4

After you’ve watched the latest episode of The Journal (which will go out on YouTube just as the Queen begins her yearly address at 3pm), why not have an explosive Christmas and a little bit of Tom Cruise- as the Brad Bird-directed Mission film is on TV again. It’s not the strongest film now that Fallout has come and gone, but if you haven’t seen any of them, here is a good place to start.

HONOURABLE MENTION: Brooklyn, 1.30am, BBC Two

It may be on super late (with sign language), but it’s on the iPlayer until the end of the month, and it’s my 2015 Film of the Year after all- if you like heartfelt filmmaking and some outstanding performances, especially that lead role from Saiorse Ronan, get this film in your life.

BOXING DAY

The BFG, BBC One, 5.40pm

Bumblebee is released in cinemas today. But for those of you who want to stay in, Spielberg’s take on the Roald Dahl story gets its UK terrestrial premiere over the festive period- and yes, while it doesn’t hold a candle to the animated version of the 1980s, the Mark Rylance performance alone is worth a look.

DECEMBER 27th

Skyfall, ITV, 8pm

The best Bond film of the Daniel Craig era. Enough said.

DECEMBER 28th

Eddie the Eagle, Channel 4, 8pm

One of my absolute favourite films of 2016 has its UK terrestrial premiere- if you loved the rags to riches story of Cool Runnings, the stereotypically British rise of skier Eddie Edwards makes a pretty enjoyable (and a totally feel-good) film, especially if you have the talents of Dexter Fletcher behind the camera.

HONOURABLE MENTION: Wreck-It Ralph. 2.40pm, BBC One

DECEMBER 29th

Philomena, 9pm, BBC Two

Steve Coogan. Judi Dench. Directed by the mighty Stephen Frears (the man who helmed films like Victoria and Abdul, The Queen, High Fidelity and Florence Foster Jenkins) and based on the true story of journalist Martin Sixsmith, this is a very emotionally driven piece of filmmaking that has some humour in the right places too.

HONOURABLE MENTION: Ant-Man, 7.50pm, BBC One

DECEMBER 30th

Paddington, 5.40pm, Channel 4, and Happy New Year, Colin Burstead, 10.30pm, BBC Two

December 30th is all about the Brits- in 2014, StudioCanal adapted one of the most beloved characters in British culture into a film. There were skeptics when it was announced. But then the bear gave them a hard stare, and the resulting film was magnificent. If you haven’t already seen Paddington 1, see it tonight- and then watch Paddington 2 after it. You won’t regret it. 

And on the other side of the spectrum, later on that evening, Ben Wheatley’s new film gets it’s first UK airing following a brief run in cinemas last month- originally codenamed ‘Colin, You Anus’, Wheatley’s newest release swaps brutal violence for a remote country manor, but it ain’t as festive as things would appear- don’t worry, I will be reviewing it for the blog as soon as I can.

NEW YEAR’S EVE

Spectre, ITV1, 8pm

Tonight, we reveal the 2018 Film of the Year. But before the Smit Awards post goes up, controversially I’m going with another Bond film for New Years Eve. Spectre may not be the all killer, no filler sequel to Skyfall, but in terms of what Sam Mendes was trying to achieve with this film, he did a pretty solid job.

HONOURABLE MENTION: Big Hero 6, 2.40pm, BBC One

NEW YEARS DAY

Inside Out, BBC One, 5pm and The Revenant, BBC Two, 10pm

2019 will easily bring out emotions. Especially after *that* announcement in the Journal. So a classic Pixar film is the cure to that. Inside Out is their most thoughtful and intellectual film ever, it just works on so many levels. Plus, it’s on before Doctor Who. A win for everybody.

Later on in the night, over on BBC Two, the film that won Leonardo DiCaprio his Oscar airs on British free-to-air TV for the first time- it’s a brutal watch, but if you want to see how Leo did it, Alejandro G. Inarritu’s gritty tale of survival is there on the schedules to kick off 2019 with a bang.​