WEDNESDAY

Hoot

TVNZ 2, 7.25am

Starring Logan Lerman. An interesting movie in which a young man moves from Montana to Florida with his family, where he is compelled to engage in a fight to protect a population of endangered owls. ★★★

Christmas In Angel Falls

TVNZ 2, 11.55am

Starring Rachel Boston. A guardian angel is sent to a town to revive its Christmas spirit and falls in love while doing so. ★★

The Last Christmas Home Three, 1pm Starring Erin Cahill, Justin Bruening. Romance about a Christmas family reunion. Not reviewed.

The Way Back Sky Premiere, 8.30pm Starring Ben Affleck, Al Madrigal. Affleck turns in a solid performance as a former top-line basketballer who turned his back on the game and forfeited a possibly lucrative future. But when he is offered a coaching job in the game he loves, he reluctantly accepts but also sees a chance of redemption. This film is certainly not an emphatic winner but it is still watchable enough. ★★★

Dirty Dancing Three, 8.40pm Starring Patrick Swayze, Jennifer Grey. Despite a certain amount of 80s cheesiness, this quite-serious-at-times romantic drama starring Patrick Swayze remains a classic. Swayze, a trained baller dancer who died of cancer at the age of 57, received a Golden Globe nomination for his role as resort dance pro Johnny Castle who wins the heart of rich kid Baby Houseman. Don’t miss the ending with the duo dancing to (I’ve Had) The Time Of My Life. ★★★★

Office Christmas Party

TVNZ 2, 9.35pm

Starring TJ Miller, Jennifer Aniston. The end-of-year office party has been a staple for movie makers for a long time, but everyone involved clearly had too much to drink when they committed to this. It is OK for a few laughs but we expected a lot more from this talented cast. ★★