This is the second part of the special edition of the Filmstalker Films on Television this Weekend regular article. This one's for Christmas Eve, Day and good old Boxing Day.

Even if you're not in the UK, don't have television, or don't celebrate Christmas, there's plenty of films to talk about...Here we go...

Sunday aka Christmas Eve:
Love Actually on ITV2 00:10 - 02:45
This all star cast film marks the high point of Working Title and Richard Curtis to date. It's got everything in there, laughs, tears, smiles, and even more laughs. What I like about this is the complete humanity of it all, and the way that not all the stories are happy, and not all of them are dripping with sentimentality, this tale has much more of real life in it. This really is a Christmas film, and through it all you'll find yourself feeling that wonderful feeling inside.

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe on ITV 11:25 - 13:05
This is the animated version of the film which really does work well, mainly down to some really good choices for the voice actors. It'll be interestingto look at this version now we've seen the CGI epic and compare them to see if the CGI and special effects are such a huge factor in making the film work. I remember this from when I was young and seeing the animated Aslan on the stone slab was heart breaking.

Apollo 13 repeated on ITV2 10:20 - 12:55

Gremlins 2: the New Batch on on Channel 4 14:40 - 16:30
The follow up to the fun packed Gremlins, and this one frees Joe Dante from the shackles of Steven Spielberg to go totally insane with the Gremlins. There's also some great film references throughout, and it's just a riot of sequences. Forget the overall story and just go with the madness of the Gremlins and their fun poke at all things Hollywood.

Chicken Run on BBC1 18:40 - 20:00
Take the Wallace and Gromit animators and writers and throw them at the idea of chickens in a factory farm talking and thinking for themselves in their own humanistic society. Oh to hell with that, this is superbly funny film from the W&G Aardman funny people. Take some amazing voice talents and add them to the story of chickens rebelling against the farmer who has terrible plans for them all, and you've got one of the funniest films next to W&G. Definitely a must see

Clear and Present Danger on Film4 21:00 - 23:40
Tom Clancy and Harrison Ford as Jack Ryan. This is one of the strongest of the Ryan films. The book has a quite a complex plot and you would have been hard pressed to believe that it would make it into a film, but it does. Ryan is tricked into signing off an illegal war by the CIA against the Columbian drug cartels. It manages to pull in a storyline of hard front line action in Columbia with the backroom betrayals and politics of the CIA, and Ryan kicks ass through it all. Shouldn't this have been the last action film Ford did? Was it the best and also the last good Ryan film?

Dangerous Liaisons on ITV3 21:05 - 23:30
John Malkovich and Glenn Close are truly amazing in this film, both deliver stunning performances and Michelle Pfieffer isn't far off them either. Lust, seduction and revenge, the Marquise (Close) and Vicomte (Malkovich) like to play games with other people's lives, and each others, but during one bet on someone's love Vicomte starts to feel something more. Superbly written and wonderfully acted, it really pulls you into the dramatic story.

A Fish Called Wanda on Channel 4 23:15 - 01:15
Hilarious at the time, and amazingly I've never seen is since. I wonder if it will hold up well and will I find Kevin Kline ramming tomato sauce covered chips up Michael Palin's nose that funny anymore?

Love Actually repeated on ITV2 10:00 - 12:40

Monday aka Christmas Day:
Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger on Film4 15:00 - 17:10
Although it's the weaker in the Sinbad series that carried the excellent effects of the legendary Ray Harryhausen, any Sinbad film of this style is worth seeing. It's a fun adventure romp, but it never reaches the excitement of the other films. I really wish they would decide one day to show all these Sinbad films together. Still, the effects are fantastic and really do hold up well today.

Monsters, Inc on BBC1 15:55 - 17:20
Oh this is hilarious and wonderfully warm too. Pixar spin their magic again and bring a beautiful tale to the screen of which the CGI is a secondary point and not the main concern, it's the characters and the script that are really paid the full attention in the development of the film, however the animation is still stunning. I love this film because it's chock full of jokes and it also has a superb double act of John Goodman and Billy Crystal, as well as a host of other talent including the legendary James Coburn, inspired casting.

The Remains of the Day on Five 15:10 - 17:30
I've never seen this, but it remains one of my Dad's favourite films so I really should give it a go. It stars Anthony Hopkins, Emma Thompson and other big names such as Christopher Reeve and James Fox. It tells the story of a butler who has given his entire life to his service and realises only too late that he has let life pass him by. Is my Dad right in his favourites choice?

Some Like It Hot repeated on Channel4 16:35 - 18:45

A Matter of Life and Death on Film4 17:10 - 19:10
Michael Powell's stunning film about an RAF pilot who is shot down and killed, yet there's a mistake in Heaven and he's not picked up and so he remains on Earth. Before the mistake can be rectified he falls in love, and then must argue for his life in a heavenly court. Starring David Niven, Kim Hunter and a very young Richard Attenborough, this is a gorgeous film that will really touch you, and another great message for Xmas, whether you believe in a Heaven or not.

Gladiator on Film4 21:00 - 23:50
One of Russell Crowe's best performances, not to mention Joaquin Pheonix, Djimon Hounsou, Derek Jacobi, Richard Harris and the amazing Oliver Reed. This is sitting at number hundred and thirty seven in the IMDB top two hundred and fifty, and I think that's a crime. Wonderfully written, acted and with the amazing direction from Ridley Scott, it provides for an extremely entertaining and dramatic film.

Unforgiven on ITV4 21:00 - 23:30
I think Clint Eastwood surprised everyone with this film of what it was really like in the Wild West, and what real gunfighters would have been like. His portrayal as the tired old gunman is only surpassed by his superb direction. Eastwood never tries to do anything too fancy and distracting with the camera and prefers to tell the story, and he does this here to great affect. Gene Hackman, Morgan Freeman and Richard Harris also star and provide their usual excellent performances. I really do love this film and will no doubt be watching it again. Who would have thought there was this much talent in Eastwood in those early days of his career?

Metallica: Some Kind of Monster on More4 22:15 - 01:00
Another film I've yet to see, and one that I've wanted to for a long time. This follows the Metallica band as they embark on a world tour and also therapy to try and stop hating each other so much, for in some of the scenes I've caught in trailers for the TV showing, they do look like they hate each other, and the therapist just as much. This promises to be a very interesting insight into the band members and how people relate to each other.

Tuesday aka Boxing Day
Switchblade Romance (Filmstalker review) on Film4 02:20 - 04:00
From the review:

It rides a fine line between schlock horror and suspense horror, it manages to combine the two without falling into a complete gore flick. It is gory mind you, very gory...The film is exceedingly tense, and it's raised slowly to begin with, but creeps up at every set piece, and it's not long before the shocking and surprising final set piece is upon you...Part of me thinks that this movie could have done much better without all the horror, but I'm not sure that the film would have carried on the tension and suspense alone, it's the very presence of the horror that adds to and heightens the pressure.

A very stylish, tense film, truly a suspense-thriller-horror to be proud of from the French. Please Hollywood, don't remake it.

Bugsy Malone on BBC1 10:20 - 11:55
This is Alan Parker's debut feature which he not only directs but also wrote, and it's hugely entertaining. This is a Bugsy Malone story with a difference, all the actors are children and instead of the gangs using real guns they have splurge guns which fire cream. The film is a complete riot and shows early on that Jodie Foster is going to be something big. Great fun to watch as you prepare for a second huge dinner!

The King and I on ITV 23:35 - 14:05
Laugh if you want but this film is great entertainment. Starring Deborah Kerr and the amazing Yul Brynner this is a classic. The musical numbers will make you smile, sad and also sing along, while the story does the same. It's quite unusual for me to say that about a musical as I tend to find they are often more about the musical pieces and I don't get drawn into them, but this is a beautiful film and the musical numbers flow through the story.

The Mummy Returns on ITV2 13:40 - 16:10
There's not much to say about this film, it's a ripping adventure yarn and sees the cast return to fight that rotten old Mummy once again. The special effects are amazing to watch even today.

The Thirty-Nine Steps on Film4 15:00 - 16:45
This is the first remake of Alfred Hitchcock's classic and it falls far short of the original, so why am I putting it up here? Well the Hitchcock version is also on TV and so there's a great opportunity for comparison. This one stars Kenneth Moore in the lead as a man who is chased across the country initially not really knowning why.

ET the Extra-Terrestrial on ITV 16:10 - 18:15
Oh there are not words to describe. I can't watch this film because I'll just start sniffling away, but it is a truly great film and surprisingly doesn't make IMDB's top two hundred and fifty films. That is a travesty.

The 39 Steps on BBC4 19:35 - 21:00
Now here's the original Hitchcock version of John Buchan's novel, and it's expertly crafted and filled with bags of tension. It's an excellent thriller and watching this you can see why no one else came close to capturing its essence.

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl on BBC1 20:00 - 10:15
An epic adventure film that is miles ahead of the sequel, and Johnny Depp steals the entire show with his outrageous performance. Gore Verbinski delivers an exciting ride, one which beats the actual ride that the idea for the film came from. Great fun and a superb film choice for the holidays, but then I think everyone must have seen it by now...surely? I just wish they'd done as good a job on the sequel rather than building it as an advertisement for the final film and the new rides.

The Shawshank Redemption on Film4 21:00 - 23:40
Frank Darabont delivers such a cracking film here that there's barely anything to recognised of Stephen King in the writing. This really delivers a great Xmas message and takes you on an excellent journey with Andy, played by Tim Robbins, as he is sent to jail for the murder of his wife and how he handles his time in prison. This has to be one of the top choices for watching over the holidays.

The Mummy Returns (again) repeated ITV2 21:00 - 23:30

United 93 - The Flight That Fought Back on FiveUS 22:00 - 00:00
This is the TV movie about the doomed flight United 93 where the passengers of the plane fought back against the terrorists and saved a much bigger disaster. Having seen Paul Greengrass' United 93 (Filmstalker review), I was always keen to see this. Yes, I know it's harrowing and very difficult to watch, but I feel we need to know what happened so as to remember these people and their sacrifice. It's something I strongly believe in about remembering soldiers who died and gave up so much for their countries through the World Wars. I will try and watch this, despite how tough it could be.

Bound on Film4 23:40 - 01:45
This is the film that Larry and Andy Wachowski made to prove to the studio that the could direct the Matrix trilogy and that the money would be well spent. Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but seeing this very strong thriller where you can see some of the techniques they used later on, you would be forgiving for agreeing with them and handing over the cash. The film stars Jennifer Tilly, Gina Gershon and Joe Pantoliano. Corky (Gershon) moves in next door to a couple and is soon involved with Violet (Tilly), together they hatch a plan to steal mob money and blame Violet's husband (Pantoliano). It is a good film, but it is a shame that it went straight to DVD. Have a look and see what you think.

A Tale of Two Sisters on Film4 01:45 - 15:40
Now I know this is past Boxing Day, but I promised one of the guys from Twitch that I would rewatch this. Somewhere I said that it wasn't such a great film and he debated with me suggesting I give it another try. So I will, right here!

That's your lot. Please have a read through even if you won't be watching these, or even can't, there's still a lot to be discussed and this took an age! Look out for the New Year one...if I have time.