Top film picks for the week before Christmas

Sunday 17/12/17

Don't Think Twice (2016) **** (Sky Cinema Premiere, 1.10pm & 9.40pm)

Director Mike Birbiglia's acclaimed, perceptive comedy drama focuses on an improv group named The Commune, who perform at run-down New York theatre. Although they have an impressive rapport on stage, their bond is threatened when two of the members, Jack (Keegan-Michael Key) and Samantha (Gillian Jacobs), are invited to audition for the potentially star-making TV show Weekend Live (very clearly modelled on Saturday Night Live). The news has an impact on all of the troupe, including leader Miles (Mike Birbiglia), who once unsuccessfully auditioned for the show himself and is finding it increasingly hard to watch his former improv students outstrip him.

Nativity! (2009) *** (BBC2, 5.20pm)

This feelgood festive movie is set in overcast Coventry, where teacher Paul Maddens (Martin Freeman) reluctantly takes charge of the nativity play at St Bernadette's primary school as a farewell gift to outgoing headmistress Mrs Bevan (Pam Ferris). To help Paul in this hour of need, he is assigned an odd classroom assistant, Mr Poppy (Marc Wootton). With first rehearsals looming, Paul bends the truth in Mr Poppy's earshot, who repeats the lie to the kids: "A big Hollywood company are coming here to see our nativity and we're all going to be famous!" Soon, the entire city, including the mayor (Ricky Tomlinson), is abuzz with news about the little nativity play with huge ambitions.

Gravity (2013) ***** (ITV2, 7.15pm)

Sandra Bullock and George Clooney head the cast of this stunning Oscar-winning sci-fi drama. She plays gifted medical engineer Dr Ryan Stone, who journeys into space for the first time alongside Commander Matt Kowalski (Clooney), a veteran of the space programme on his final mission. Out of the blue, they are ordered to abort the mission and return to their shuttle. Unfortunately, space debris destroys the craft and kills another crew member, leaving Stone and Kowalski drifting through the void. The rest of the film charts their desperate battle for survival. A modern classic co-written by director Alfonso Cuaron and his son Jonas, this is a delight for the senses, although it does lose something when not viewed on the big screen.

Love Is Strange (2014) *** (Film4, 11.15pm)

Ben (John Lithgow) and his partner George (Alfred Molina) have spent almost four decades together. They finally legalise their union in front of family and friends including Ben's nephew Elliot (Darren Burrows) and wife Kate (Marisa Tomei), plus police office neighbours Ted (Cheyenne Jackson) and Roberto (Manny Perez). Shortly after the happy day, George loses his job as a music teacher a Catholic school because Facebook pictures of the honeymoon in Petra have been brought to the attention of the Archdiocese. Without George's steady income, the couple face the prospect of having to live apart. Love Is Strange is an elegant character study underscored predominantly by Chopin, which sketches the central middle-aged soulmates with tenderness and heart-breaking intimacy.

Monday 18/12/17

Anger Management (2003) *** (Sony Movie Channel, 9.00pm)

Dave Buznik (Adam Sandler) is a mild-mannered, non-confrontational guy with an irrational fear of public displays of affection. After an airplane altercation spirals out of control and Dave is accused of assaulting an air stewardess, he finds himself in court at the mercy of an iron-fisted judge. She sentences Dave to intensive anger management sessions run by therapist Dr Buddy Rydell (Jack Nicholson), whose unorthodox approach to his work includes moving in with his subjects until they are cured. As Dr Rydell employs increasingly extreme methods to get a reaction from his patient, Dave's love interest Linda (Marissa Tomei) struggles to keep her man from self-destructing. Anger Management is a bit hit-and-miss, but the stars provide some great moments.

Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004) *** (Film4, 9.00pm)

Ron Burgundy (Will Ferrell) is the five-time Emmy Award-winning anchorman on the top-rated KVWN Channel 4 news in San Diego in the 70s. Every night, the city dutifully tunes in to see Ron distil the headlines of the day in his usual easy-going manner. Tempers flare and egos are severely bruised when station manager Ed Harken (Fred Willard) hires ambitious journalist Veronica Corningstone (Christina Applegate) as Ron's co-presenter. Ron's adoring news team - sports reporter Champ Kind (David Koechner), dim-witted weatherman Brick Tamland (Steve Carell) and field reporter Brian Fantana (Paul Rudd) - resent Veronica's challenge to the macho status quo and they plot to halt her meteoric rise. It's funny on the first viewing, but like This Is Spinal Tap, this highly quotable comedy somehow gets better the more you watch it.

Tuesday 19/12/17

Carol (2015) ***** (Film4, 9.00pm)

Shrinking violet Therese Belivet (Rooney Mara) works in the toy section of Frankenberg's department store. She has an adoring boyfriend, Richard (Jake Lacy), but her humdrum life lacks excitement until glamorous housewife Carol Aird (Cate Blanchett) sashays into the store looking for a Christmas present. Their chance encounter eventually leads to a passionate affair, which prompts Carol's estranged husband Harge (Kyle Chandler) to seek sole custody of their daughter. Elegantly adapted by Phyllis Nagy from the novel The Price of Salt by Patricia Highsmith, Carol is a masterful period romance anchored by Mara and Blanchett's flawless embodiment of the star-crossed protagonists. Director Todd Haynes renders the emotional devastation in meticulous detail.

Safe House (2012) *** (Film4, 11.20pm)

Agent Matt Weston (Ryan Reynolds) is caretaker of a CIA safe house in Johannesburg. Humdrum routine is thrown into disarray by the arrival of grizzled agent Daniel Kiefer (Robert Patrick) with a prisoner: rogue operative Tobin Frost (Denzel Washington), who famously sold out the agency to the highest bidder. In the middle of a highly charged interrogation, the building's defences are compromised by a gang of gun-toting thugs led by Vargas (Fares Fares). Matt escapes the hail of bullets with Tobin, bundling the prisoner into the boot of a car as he makes a hasty exit, alerting his boss David Barlow (Brendan Gleeson) and senior agent Catherine Linklater (Vera Farmiga) to the clear and present danger as a protracted - and tense - game of cat and mouse begins through the streets of South Africa.

Wednesday 20/12/17

Chicken Run (2000) **** (BBC1, 3.35pm)

Ginger (voiced by Julia Sawalha) is a fearless fowl who is planning a daring escape from the clutches of evil farm owner, Mrs Tweedy (Miranda Richardson). Help arrives in the feathered form of a cocky American rooster called Rocky (Mel Gibson), who claims to be able to fly. Unfortunately, time is at a premium, and Rocky isn't quite what he appears, so poor Ginger has to concoct an elaborate back-up scheme to save them all from the chop. Chicken Run is a technical masterclass from Aardman Animations, playing out the plot of The Great Escape with a cast of Yorkshire fowl. Vocal performances are superb. Sawalha steals the show as the strident heroine who lays her own life on the line to rescue the flock while Gibson's boisterous wise-cracking matches the energy of Nick Park and Peter Lord's direction.

Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2006) *** (Sony Movie Channel, 9.00pm)

Ricky Bobby (Will Ferrell), has always abided by his father Reese Bobby's (Gary Cole), mantra: If you ain't first, you're last. As a rising star of the Dennit Racing team, Ricky gains a devoted following, including childhood best buddy Carl Naughton Jr (John C Reilly) as a wingman. Ricky's monopoly of pole position on the NASCAR circuit comes to an emergency stop with the arrival of flamboyant Frenchman Jean Girard (a scene-stealing Sacha Baron Cohen). Ricky pushes himself to the limit to beat Jean Girard and is involved in a terrible crash. With the love and support of his old man, Ricky must rediscover his confidence behind the wheel. It's a conventional tale of sporting triumph against the odds, souped-up with jokes that should rev the engines of anyone who enjoyed Anchorman.

Thursday 21/12/17

The Family Stone (2005) **** (Film4, 4.40pm)

They say it's better to give than to receive and the characters in Thomas Bezucha's festive comedy are certainly very generous... with their scathing insults, sarcasm and mocking one-liners. The Family Stone is a beautifully written and acted ensemble piece that reflects modern concerns (like the search for enduring love and miscommunication between the generations) through the eyes of a deeply dysfunctional New England clan. Everett Stone (Dermot Mulroney) returns home for Christmas with his uptight girlfriend Meredith (Sarah Jessica Parker), who hopes to make a good impression on her future in-laws. Feeling out of her depth, Meredith calls in reinforcements in the shape of her sister Julie (Claire Danes), only to regret it when she proves a huge hit with the Stones.

Django Unchained (2012) **** (5*, 10.00pm)

German bounty hunter Dr King Schultz (Christoph Waltz) gives slave Django (Jamie Foxx) his freedom in return for helping to identify the murderous Brittle brothers, who have a price on their heads. When Dajngo later learns his beloved wife Broomhilda (Kerry Washington) has fallen into the clutches of slippery plantation owner Calvin Candie (Leonardo DiCaprio), his new friend pledges his assistance on a suicidal rescue mission. This blood-soaked western energises a simple tale of redemption with writer-director Quentin Tarantino's characteristic flair behind the lens and on the page. Foxx is tightly wound as a vengeful husband, playing the straight man to larger-than-life performances from DiCaprio, an Oscar-winning Waltz and Samuel L Jackson as a fire-and-brimstone-spouting slave.

Friday 22/12/17

Saving Santa (2013) *** (Channel 5, 9.55am)

A plucky elf is the only person standing between a very happy Christmas and global catastrophe in Leon Joosen and Aaron Seelman's festive computer-animated comedy. Santa (voiced by Tim Conway) has been forced to employ hundreds of elves to create smart technology like a hologram to hide the North Pole from prying eyes and a time machine to allow him to visit every home in one night. One elf, Bernard (Martin Freeman), dreams of joining the ranks of these noble inventors and thinks his latest creation, a memory machine, is the ticket to glory. Unfortunately, the machine causes a blackout at the North Pole and the hologram protecting its location fails - meaning Santa's nefarious enemy Neville Baddington (Tim Curry) and his equally despicable wife Viera (Joan Collins) now know where the workshop is.

Puss in Boots (2011) **** (BBC1, 3.40pm)

The story begins with the young Puss (voiced by Antonio Banderas) being abandoned at an orphanage where kind Imelda (Constance Marie) raises the kitten as her own. Initially picked on by the boys, Puss learns to fight to survive and he helps protect fellow outcast Humpty Alexander Dumpty (Zach Galifianakis). Many years later, the surrogate brothers join forces with pickpocket Kitty Softpaws (Salma Hayek) to steal magic beans currently in the possession of murderous outlaws Jack (Billy Bob Thornton) and Jill (Amy Sedaris), as they try to find the Golden Goose. While it doesn't quite live up to the Shrek movies that spawned it, this animated adventure has a charm all of its own. Banderas once again shows why he's so perfectly cast as Puss, and Hayek and Galifianakis are great additions to the cast.