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11:50 PM More Max
Freddy Got Fingered (2001 USA): Terrible film. That said, does anything say "Peace on Earth, goodwill t'ward man" quite so effectively as Freddy Got Fingered? If it's a choice between this and Christmas Eve Midnight Mass...well, let's just say the Pope has a difficult decision to make this year.

Friday 12/25/09 and
Saturday 12/26/09

5:00 PM Turner Classic Movies
Holmes for Christmas: The programming geniuses at TCM have done it again with this unprecedented two day salute to the greatest fictional detective of them all. Timed to coincide with the Christmas Day release of Guy Ritchie's re-imagining of Sherlock Holmes — which I must say looks positively dreadful if the trailer is anything to go by — Holmes for Christmas commences with 1939's eerie Hound of the Baskervilles and continues with a further 16 Sherlockian mysteries, including the entire run of Universal features starring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce as Holmes and Watson. Early fruit borne from TCM's recent licensing agreement with that famously hidebound studio, no doubt. Amongst the highlights are (on Christmas Day at 10:15 PM) Sherlock Holmes' Fatal Hour, a very rare British feature from 1931 starring Arthur Wontner as the great man and Ian Fleming (no, not the author) as his loyal sidekick, and (on Boxing Day at 1:00 AM) A Study in Terror, in which Holmes (future Baron Munchhausen John Neville) crosses swords with Jack the Ripper. Sadly, it's not airing in widescreen, but is still very worthy of your attention, and co-stars Judi Dench (in only her third screen appearance), Adrienne Corri, Frank Finlay, and Robert Morley as Sherlock's brother Mycroft. If you don't have the hard drive space to devote to twenty-four hours of Holmes, these are the two to record, as the Universals are all but certain to be released on DVD sooner rather than later.

Saturday 12/26/09

6:00 PM HBO
Revolutionary Road (2008 USA): I used to think Leonardo DiCaprio was an annoying and talentless pretty boy, but my perceptions began to change with 2002's Catch Me if You Can. Since then he's made a series of wise career moves and has gone from strength to strength, with his performance in Martin Scorsese's The Departed being of particular note. I missed Revolutionary Road when it came out last year, but will be making up for that tonight when it makes its small screen debut. Its trailer made it look like a more expansive take on themes explored by Todd Haynes' Far From Heaven, with perhaps a dash of American Beauty bitterness courtesy director Sam Mendes. Incidentally, why the delay on Scorsese's (and Leo's) Shutter Island? I've been looking forward to that one for a while...

Sunday 12/27/09

9:00 PM Turner Classic Movies
Sherlock Holmes (1922 USA): TCM isn't quite done with ol' Sherl just yet, having saved this John Barrymore version for the much-coveted Silent Sunday Night spot. This wasn't the first screen iteration of Arthur Conan Doyle's creation, but I believe it's the earliest feature - length film to survive (thanks mostly to the tireless efforts of historian Kevin Brownlow), and though far from perfect is still more than just a cinematic footnote. Barrymore is decent if not at his best as the great man, but the real pleasures come from the supporting cast, including Gustav von Seyffertitz as a very evil Moriarty, delightful Roland Young as Doctor Watson, and a young William Powell, here making his very first screen appearance. It's an attractive, enjoyable film which benefits from some rare-at-the-time London location photography.

11:00 PM Turner Classic Movies
The Bicycle Thief (1948 ITA): This neo-realist classic returns to the small screen tonight after an undeserved and quite lengthy absence. Directed by Vittorio de Sica before he went soft, the film stars Lamberto Maggiorani as long unemployed Roman Antonio Ricci, recently hired to post movie flyers around town. Antonio is overjoyed at his good fortune, but the job requires he provide his own transportation—and when his bicycle is stolen, he and son Bruno (Enzo Staiola) are compelled to go to great lengths to try and reclaim it. A simple but beautifully told tale on a par with de Sica's other unimpeachable classic, Umberto D, The Bicycle Thief was penned by Cesare Zavattini, a Communist who didn't let ideological purity get in the way of this magnificent, humanistic tale of hard-knock working-class life.

Monday 12/28/09

3:00 AM Starz
The Class (2008 FRA): Movies about teachers dealing with unruly students are a dime a dozen, but here's one of the best ones you're likely to see. Aspiring novelist Francois Begaudeau stars as Francois, a Paris teacher charged with the tricky task of making French grammar relevant to his multi-ethnic students. Filmed documentary style, The Class is a remarkable fact-fiction hybrid, with some impressive performances from its young cast members (who, unlike their American equivalents, truly are of high-school age), most notably Esmeralda Ouertani as a particularly sharp and cheeky pupil. Also airs at 6:00 AM.

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