Top five films to watch this Christmas in Melbourne

The Black Knight! The killer rabbit! The Rude Frenchman! The first full-fledged feature from the Monty Python team, this 1974 spoof of the King Arthur legend has plenty of dubious ideas and absolutely no momentum, but as anti-spectacle it can't be beaten. Co-director Terry Gilliam supplies some medieval grit. Special singalong session, digitally projected. Astor, Boxing Day, 7.30pm. Double bill with Life of Brian.

ALLIED (124 minutes) M

Consciously old-fashioned in its trappings, this vehicle for Brad Pitt and Marion Cotillard starts as a World War II spy thriller, then becomes a more painful study of a marriage. As in most of the best films by director Robert Zemeckis (Cast Away) the flamboyant but chilly style underlines the theme of emotional isolation. General.

WOMEN HE'S UNDRESSED (100 minutes) PG

Orry George Kelly was the boy from country NSW who found himself smack-bang in the centre of the Golden Age of Hollywood, designing costumes for hundreds of films including classics like Casablanca and Some Like It Hot. With gleeful direct-to-camera narration by Darren Gilshenan as Kelly, Gillian Armstrong's documentary is an entertaining eye-opener. ACMI, Christmas Eve, 4pm. Tickets $7 or less.

APRIL AND THE EXTRAORDINARY WORLD (105 minutes) PG

This elegant Belgian-Canadian steampunk cartoon involves a secret rejuvenating formula, a plot to kidnap the world's scientists, and a talking cat (voiced by Philippe Katerin) whose literary tastes range from Plato to Puss In Boots. Directors Christian Desmares and Franck Ekinci are plainly influenced by the Japanese master Hayao Miyazaki, but add some imaginative touches of their own. ACMI, Boxing Day, 12.30pm.