Sky Christmas HD | Our festive favourites

Thursday 9 December 2021 by Charlotte Whyatt  Features

There’s lots on TV over Christmas but let’s face it, it’s not always that great. Luckily, Sky Cinema boasts a variety of fantastic films to help get you in the festive mood. Here’s our pick of the best you can watch right now.

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Scrooged

One of the best adaptations of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, Scrooged sees Bill Murray on top form as tyrannical TV executive Frank Cross who swaggers through his workplace on Christmas Eve firing longtime lackeys and forcing the rest of his staff to work overtime. 

Holed up in his office with a bottle of champagne, he’s shortly visited by three ghosts (Carol Kane, David Johansen and Robert Hammond) and encouraged to change his selfish ways, particularly in regards to lost love Claire (Karen Allen) and secretary Grace (Alfre Woodard).

Bad Santa

This hilariously crude, deranged comedy is the perfect option for anyone who’s bored with the sickly sweetness of the festive season. Billy Bob Thornton plays Willie, a drunk, petty criminal who every year dresses up as Santa in order to rob shopping centres across America. 

Despite having been released in 2003, Bad Santa has aged well. Thornton is excellent in the gleefully offensive titular role and he’s saved from being totally abhorrent by becoming the unlikely saviour of geeky, overweight Thurman (Brett Kelly) who believes he’s the real deal.

Happiest Season

There are plenty of terrible Christmas rom-coms out there so it’s always refreshing when a good one is made. Kristen Stewart stars as Abby who is invited back to her girlfriend Harper’s (Mackenzie Davis) family’s home for the holidays, only problem is they don’t know that their daughter is gay.

While Happiest Season hits all the familiar story beats, the warm, witty script and examination of an all-too-real issue for LGBTQ+ people adds some much-needed nuance. Also helping to elevate it above standard genre fare is the effortless chemistry between the two leads.

A Boy Called Christmas

One of several original projects released by Sky this festive season, A Boy Called Christmas is a charming, heartfelt adventure film that’s perfect for all the family. It’s surprisingly solid script is genuinely funny and manages to feel upbeat and spirited without being too sentimental. 

Three children are told a magical story by their Aunt Ruth (Maggie Smith) about a young boy named Nikolas (Henry Lawfull) who, along with his pet mouse Miika (Stephen Merchant) and reindeer Blitzen, journeys to the magical city of Elfhelm to find his missing father.

Elf

A new Christmas classic for many, the very funny and sweetly silly Elf stars Will Ferrell as Buddy who as a baby crawled into Santa’s sack and was accidentally taken to the North Pole. Now a clueless adult, he decides to journey to New York City to find his long-lost father Walter (James Caan). 

Ferrell throws himself into the role with his usual delightfully unhinged enthusiasm and it’s difficult to see how anyone else would be able to make Elf work as well as he does. The supporting cast, including Bob Newhart, Zooey Deschanel and a pre Game of Thrones Peter Dinklage all shine too.