CHRISTMAS DAY

Saving Santa

Three, 7.40am Voices Martin Freeman, Tim Curry.

This animated Christmas comedy is average at best, but should provide just enough entertainment to satisfy the kiddies. ★★

The Christmas Ball

Three, 9am Not reviewed.

A Winter Song

Three, 10.30am Starring Stan Shaw, Ashanti.

Not reviewed.

Ailo’s Journey

Whakaata M ori, 2pm Forget Rudolph – this French-Finnish documentary looks at the real lives of reindeer. It is told through the eyes of Ailo, a newborn calf who has to survive a bleak landscape and numerous predators. ★★

Frozen

Whakaata M ori, 10.30am

Voices of Jaedyn Randell, Awhimai Fraser.

Teo reo version of the Disney animated movie. ★★★

Elliott: The Littlest Reindeer

Three, 3.35pm Voices Josh Hutcherson. A miniature horse dreams of becoming a reindeer on Santa’s sleigh and enters the North Pole qualifying event. Not reviewed.

The Polar Express TVNZ 2, 5pm

Starring Tom Hanks. Tom Hanks pulls an Eddie Murphy by playing at least five major characters in this digitally animated holiday season film that looks great but comes across as a little schmaltzy. It’s about a boy who begins to lose his ‘faith’ in Christmas and is taken on a whirlwind ride aboard the Polar Express to see Santa. ★★★

Hunt For The Wilderpeople TVNZ 2, 7pm

Starring Sam Neill, Julian Dennison. Wonderfully off-beat and charming New Zealand comedy which underscores Taika Waititi’s skill as both a writer and filmmaker. It tells the story of city kid Ricky (played with heartwarming conviction by Julian Dennison), who gets a second chance at life in a new foster home. But when tragedy strikes, Ricky suddenly finds himself on the run with his cantankerous Uncle Hec (Neill). Part road trip and part male bonding tale, New Zealand film-making doesn’t get any better than this. ★★★★★

Mama’s Music Box

Whakaata M ori, 7.30pm

Starring Unaloto Funaki, Sieni Leo’o Olo.

This Pasifika-themed movie, from the makers of Take Home Pay, features two brothers trying to find their grandmother’s music box. Not reviewed.

The Heist Before Christmas

Sky Open, 8pm Starring Timothy Spall, James Nesbitt.

Good Santa, bad Santa here in this British comedy drama. A somewhat cynical 12-year-old boy finds two Santas in the woods. One is a bank robber, the other is tad confused and claims to have fallen out of his sleigh. The boy has his eyes on the robber’s loot, but over the course of events comes to realise that there’s more to Christmas than money. Schmaltzy, but saved by its two leads. ★★★

Grease 2

Three, 8pm Starring Maxwell Caulfield, Michelle Pfeiffer.

Disappointing 1982 sequel to the 1978 hit. This time the story reverses the original roles, with wooden-faced English actor Maxwell Caulfield as the squeaky-clean student at Rydell High trying to win the attention of

tough Pink Lady Michelle Pfeiffer. ★★

Top Gun: Maverick

Sky Premiere, 8.30pm Starring Tom Cruise, Miles Teller.

Is this the perfect blueprint for a blockbusting box-office sure thing? It has the lot – top stars, romance, rivalries, poignancy, a great story and breathtaking shots of space-age US fighters taking on their Russian counterparts. As well as the two leads, Val Kilmer reprised his role as Iceman, struggling with throat cancer, which Kilmer has recovered from in real life. ★★★★★

Downton Abbey: The Movie TVNZ 1, 8.35pm

Starring Hugh Bonneville, Michelle Dockery.

The TV series was an enduring favourite, and if it ain’t broke, why fix it? Which is probably why the Downton Abbey movies plays out like a two-hour episode. That’s no bad thing, and a plot centred on a visit by the king and queen of England puts plenty of meat on the bone, so to speak. Don’t expect shocks, twists or turns. Things plot along predictably, spiced up by conflicts between the Downton staff and royal entourage, and some anxiety about who a relative (who is also the Queen’s lady-in-waiting) will leave her considerable estate to. ★★★

The Longest Yard TVNZ 2, 8.40pm

Starring Adam Sandler, Chris Rock.

Adam Sandler plays a former top gridiron player who, down on his luck, finds himself imprisoned for drink driving in this loose remake of the 1974 original. Formulaic but funny, with a welcome appearance from Burt Reynolds, star of the original film. ★★★

Vai

Whakaata M ori, 9pm

A portmanteau of Pacific stories, all connected by water (vai). Not reviewed.

Santa Camp

Sky Open, 9.30pm Documentary about a real-life Santa Camp and its focus on diversity. It tells the story of three unconventional Clauses – one black, one trans, and one born with spina bifida. Not reviewed.

Happiest Season TVNZ 2, 10.35pm

Starring Kristen Stewart, Mackenzie Davis.

A woman takes her girlfriend back to her conservative parents’ home for Christmas. But she has failed to tell her partner that she hasn’t yet come out to them as her father is campaigning for mayor. A feel-good affair. Great great family fare. ★★★★

Adam Sandler’s Eight Crazy Nights TVNZ Duke, 10.45pm

Starring Adam Sandler, Rob Schneider.

It’s hard to imagine the target audience for this animated Adam Sandler production. At first glance it seems like a kids-friendly holiday movie for the whole family to enjoy, but anyone lured into watching it under those pretences will be sadly mistaken, as its vulgar and often offensive content makes it unsuitable for children – and probably most adults as well. ★

A Christmas Movie Christmas

Three, 11.25pm Not reviewed.