Christmas tv (a brief summary)

We suddenly ended up watching a few things on Christmas tv, and here is my brief summary, if I may:

“How the Grinch Stole Christmas” (Netflix)

Surprisingly, I never watched this classic Christmas comedy before, although I am somewhat familiar with Dr Seuss (his works have never been part of my childhood, so there) and all the pop-cultural references connected to the Grinch as a staple meme of that one annoying git who’s fun at parties. The movie was exactly what I expected—daft beyond belief, sickly sweet, with lots of stupid slapstick gags for young kids. The best element of all this was the future Goth queeny Taylor Momsen as a baby: she was insanely cute. On the other hand, the most confusing part of the whole film was a moment when Jim Carrey mumbled “schedule” as “sheh-jool” (?!)—perhaps a weird attempt to add even more malice into the Grinch, casually inserting Britishisms in his scrambled furious philippics? I don’t know, but that was strange.

“Mog’s Christmas” (Channel 4)

A new animation about Mog the cat, a lovely character created by the late Judith Kerr, voiced by various (upper/middle class) British actors—Benedict Cumberbatch, Claire Foy, Charlie Higson etc. with their crisp, slightly old-fashioned RP tones. Pure bliss and absolute joy: if you want to see an atmospheric short film with a fair bit of nostalgia about late 1970s England (mostly imaginary, but nevermind), you’d love it as much as your children or grandkids.

“Death on the Nile” (1978, BBC1)

I completely forgot what a cinematic gem this adaptation with Peter Ustinov was! Usually I recollect another film with him playing Poirot, “Evil Under the Sun,” which I also adore, but Mon Dieu! What a super-star cast in this version of “Death on the Nile“! Ustinov himself (ok, he’s not my favourite Poirot: Suchet is the one and only, but still), Bette Davis, Mia Farrow, Dame Angela Lansbury, Dame Maggie Smith, Olivia Hussey etc, etc, etc! And each and every one is incredible, as Art Deco as you can ever imagine, gorgeous, dangerous, evil, iconic, and silly! Chef’s kiss!

“Miss Marple: The Murder at the Vicarage” (1986, BBC 2)

Joan Hickson is the only Miss Marple for me, and none of the attempts to recreate the character after her was even remotely successful: Hickson’s Marple quiet, reserved, kind without any sentimentality, and the audience believes that her mind is *the* sharpest out there. “The Murder at the Vicarage” is one of the most complicated detective stories created by Agatha Christie, but this recreation is perfect, as it doesn’t include any additional and, frankly, annoying elements, which, as new filmmakers think, have to make the whole story more exciting (it fails every time).

“A Ghost Story for Christmas: Lot No 249” (BBC 2)

A complete disappointment: feels like Gatiss is too tired of his own campiness and has made this one as the last ghost tale. Well, sometimes even the most talented ones out there need a break. The Lot story was silly (not in a good way), convoluted, and, what is the most baffling, not creepy at all. A failure (but what actually do you expect if it all supposedly happened in That Place of Darkness? We, decent folks of Cambridge, never mention its name).