TV PICKS OF THE WEEK By Lisa Jewell

Christmas – there is no better time of the year to take up residence on the couch and watch some great telly. Here’s our pick of the shows to watch this festive period.

Film – Saving Mr Banks

Friday 23 December, 9.30pm, BBC2

Wonderful biopic of author P L Travers, who most notably created Mary Poppins. Emma Thompson stars as the writer whose buttoned up life in the UK undergoes a change when she is brought out to LA in 1961 as Disney Studios attempts to obtain the screen rights to her novels.

Tom Hanks stars as Walt Disney and the chemistry between he and Thompson is spot on. Also in the film are Paul Giamatti, Bradley Whitford and Colin Farrell. Overall, a thoroughly engaging and fascinating story.

Film – Double Bill – The Princess Bride, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory

Saturday 24 December, 3.30pm, TV3

If you’re settling in for the afternoon on Christmas Eve, then the perfect movie double bill is on TV3. It all starts with The Princess Bride, which is unbelievably nearly 30 years old (released in 1987!) The romantic adventure comedy stars Cary Elwes, Robin Wright and Mandy Patinkin and follows the story of a farmhand named Westley who must rescue his true love Princess Buttercup.

It’s a good old swashbuckling romp and the jokes have stood up well to the test of time.

And it just wouldn’t be Christmas without Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, which hits our screens at 5.30pm. The late great Gene Wilder delivers a charming performance as the chocolate factory owner in search of an heir to carry on his work and look after the Oompa Loompas. Sing along to the catchy songs and marvel at the technicolour dreamscape that is the world of Willy Wonka.

Film – Captain America: the Winter Soldier

Sunday 25 December, 9.25pm, RTE2

There used to be huge anticipation about the Christmas Day blockbuster movies on the TV – with the advent of so many ways to watch movies, it just doesn’t have the same excitement.

However, if you want to sit down to a (fairly recent!) action movie for all the family, then Captain America: the Winter Soldier does the job. The 2014 film features Chris Evans as Captain America, along with a star studded cast including Scarlett Johansson, Samuel L Jackson and Anthony Mackie. The plotline surrounds a conspiracy within S.H.I.E.L.D., which Captain America and his comrades try to uncover while facing a mysterious assassin known as the Winter Soldier.

The plotline isn’t really why you’re watching through – it’s the special effects and stunt work that really keeps the show on the road.

Film – Cavalry

Sunday 26 December, 9.15pm, RTE1

Hailed as one of the most important Irish films in recent years, Cavalry takes place over the course of a fateful week in the life of Father Lavelle, played by Brendan Gleeson. The film begins with a confession that promises to have more of an impact on the priest hearing the confession than the confessor himself.

While the focus is on Gleeson’s character (who is played to a tee by the actor), Cavalry is also a darkly comedic commentary on modern day Ireland. The other inhabitants of the rural town include an atheist doctor (Aidan Gillen), a millionaire (Dylan Moran) and a butcher (Chris O’Dowd).

The film keeps your interest as the mystery unfolds and also keeps you thinking long after the final credits have rolled.

Documentary – Life in the Snow

Thursday 29 December, 8pm, BBC1

Wildlife cameraman and presenter Gordon Buchanan has brought us some cracking documentaries over the last few years and this time, he turns his attention to animals that live in nature’s winter wonderlands.

The film takes him to beautiful landscapes including Northern Norway and the Austrian Alps and the creatures include an Arctic fox, polar bears, reindeer, black bears, penguins and the quintessential Christmas symbol, the robin.