July 08, 2017

11 Films worth seeking out on TV this week.



Kisses   Sat   8/7   BE3 @ 21.00

A boy and a girl run away from their troubled family life and escape into the city centre of Dublin for an adventure that is both exciting and terrifying. A film that finds a strange type of beauty in inner city Dublin, going from black and white to colour as the kids experience their first bit of independence. Kelly O'Neill and Shane Curry as just perfect as the leads. A gritty, warm, scary and lovely Irish film that's well worth a look.


Jackie Brown   Sat   8/7   W @ 21.00


An air hostess arrested for smuggling money finds herself caught between a drug dealer and the law and decides to make something for herself. Arguably Quentin Tarantino's most accomplished and mature film to date.This lacks the blood & fireworks of his earlier films but makes up for it with glorious dialogue and acting and a superb cast including Pam Grier as Jackie and Samuel L. Jackson, Bridget Fonda & Robert De Niro in fine supporting form.

Warrior   Sat 8/7   TV3 @ 22.00

2 estranged brothers torn apart by their broken family finds themselves on a collision course in a mixed martial arts tournament. Gavin O'Connor's family drama is immense stuff. Packs a punch as strong as anything thrown in the excellent fight scenes. The acting is top notch too. Tom Hardy gets all the credit and he deserves it but Joel Edgerton is great too. And it's always a treat to see Nick Nolte on screen.

Foxcatcher   Sun   9/7   BBC2 @ 21.00

2 brothers readying for the 1988 Seoul Olympics find themselves sponsored by an eccentric millionaire and move into his estate to train. Things get strange. A fantastic film right here, unsettling in places, haunting and cringeworthy in others and full of amazing acting. Steve Carell owns the film with a superb performance as a very troubled man but Channing Tatum really surprised me too. This film showed a very different side to him.

Crank   Mon   10/7   ITV4 @ 22.00

A man is poisoned by Chinese gangsters and has to keep his heart rate up high to survive. This film is insane. And absolutely brilliant. Jason Statham plays Chev Chelios with gusto. Whether zapping himself with electric paddles, ODing on red bull, starting fights he can't win or having very very public sex, he'll do anything to stay alive. Hilarious stuff but stay away if you are squeamish or easily offended. This is not for the weak of heart.

Beau Geste   Tues   11/7   Film4 @ 14.30

3 adopted brothers who live in high society London finds themselves in the French foreign legion after a priceless family heirloom goes missing. Gary Cooper, Ray Milland and Robert Preston play the 3 and all hit the spot. A big epic film about the meaning of brotherhood. The story is compelling, the characters are great and as it was shot on location in the desert it looks fantastic too. A perfect rainy day film.

Centurion   Wed   12/7   TCM @ 21.00

A small group of Roman centurions finds themselves isolated behind enemy lines in 117AD. The Scottish tribes do not take kindly to their presence. Neil Marshall's film is great bloody, crunchy, exhilarating and exciting fun and most importantly doesn't take itself too seriously. Michael Fassbender is cracking in his first big action hero role and Olga Kurylenko is on fire as his rival who has plenty of reasons to hate these intruders.

Killing Them Softly   Thurs   13/7   Film4 @ 23.35

Brad Pitt stars in this highly entertaining and very cynical thriller as a hitman brought in by the local mafia to solve a robbery at a card game. Dark, gritty and blackly funny, this is a gangster film by way of Ken Loach not Martin Scorsese. Pitt is brilliant in the lead and James Gandolfini, Ray Liotta and Richard Jenkins lend superb support. All this and it has one of the best all time final lines of dialogue in film.

Mystic River   Fri   14/7   RTE2 @ 21.30

A young girl is found murdered in South Boston and it sets in motion a sequence of tragic events concerning her father and his friends. Clint Eastwood's adaption of  Dennis Lehane's novel is a magnificent movie. Heartbreaking, gripping and a complex look at the effects of violence and all it's myriad consequences. Sean Penn, Laura Linney, Kevin Bacon and especially Tim Robbins are all excellent. 

Wild Bill   Fri   14/7   TG4 @ 21.40

Walter Hill's wonderful film about the last days of the legendary Wild Bill Hickok, a man dogged by his reputation all of his life. Set in the infamous mining camp of Deadwood, South Dakota. Jeff Bridges is brilliant in the lead role and succeeds in turning Wild Bill into a sympathetic and broken character who was haunted by his past. Ellen Barkin is Calamity Jane and is excellent as always. She should be in more films.

Scream   Fri   14/7   Syfy @ 22.00

A masked killer stalks a small American town and sets his sights on a high school girl who is far tougher she looks. Wes Craven's loving homage to 80's slasher films is just a perfect horror comedy. Hilarious in places and flat out terrifying in others. It walks a line so many other copycat films have tried to and failed including the sequels. Neve Campbell is on fire in this and carries the film perfectly. David Arquette & Courtney Cox add loads of fun.




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