Natural Born Killers 1/4 TG4 @ 23.25
Oliver Stone's film need to be seen at least once. An insanely bonkers story of a loving couple's crime spree across America and a film that still feels dangerous 23 years after it's release. Funny and nasty in equal portions and a tour de force show of every film making style going. Woody Harrelson and Juliette Lewis are top notch as the star crossed lovers but Tommy Lee Jones is just insane in this. A brilliant 2 hours.
Doubt 1/4 BE3 @21.00
A well liked priest is accused of child abuse. But did he do it? That's the crux of the tale in this excellent film. Philip Seymour Hoffman ( ah jesus, even typing his name would make ya sad ) is the priest in question and Meryl Streep is the nun investigating him. Immense performances from both. The subject matter might be hard to take but this is compelling and gripping stuff that will stay in your head for days after.
Jimi : All Is By My Side 1/4 BBC2 @ 21.45
A stylish and interesting biography of Jimi Hendrix set during his time in London as his career was just starting to take off and one that isn't afraid to show the nastier side of the man. Andre Benjamin ( The singer with Outkast ) plays Hendrix with aplomb and nails his look and voice perfectly. Parts of this were filmed in Dublin and Ruth Negga and Lawrence Kinlan show up in supporting roles too.
Hard Target 2/4 ITV @ 22.45
Criminals are hunting homeless men in New Orleans for sport and there's only one man who can stop them. JEAN CLAUDE VAN DAMME. And his awesome mullet. This was John Woo's first American film and its still his best one. Great cheesy fun, hilarious one liners, cracking fight scenes and some lovely Louisiana scenery. And did i mention the mullet. It's awesomeness cannot be over estimated.
The Barefoot Contessa 3/4 Film4 @ 11.00
A tale told in flashback about the rise and fall of a Hollywood starlet and the effect she has on the men who gave her career a start. Ava Gardner is luminous in the title role. Earthy, sexy and impossible to look away from. Humphrey Bogart & Edmond O'Brien play 2 of the men, Bogie is his usual stalwart honest self and O'Brien is a brilliantly slimy creep. A glorious looking film full of cracking dialogue.
Houseboat 4/4 TCM @ 18.45
A widower finds himself trying to look after his 3 kids gains an Italian nanny but she isn't exactly who she makes herself out to be. Cary Grant & Sophia Loren lead this lovely little comedy drama. Grant is his usual charming funny, suave, self effacing self and Sophia Loren takes a role that could be corny and makes it into something special. Great fun, record and keep it for a day when you need to cheer yourself up.
Breakdown 4/4 TV3 @ 21.00
A man and his wife breakdown in the desert and she takes a ride from a trucker to get help and she disappears. Of course. IMO one of the most underrated thrillers of the 90s. A lean and extremely tense thriller with not a second wasted. Kathleen Quinlan is good in a thankless role but Kurt Russell & the late JT Walsh are excellent as always. Superbly oppressive desert scenery too.
Slumdog Millionaire 5/4 More4 @ 21.00
A teenage boy from Mumbai looks back on his life after he finds himself in a precarious position after he appears on a famous television show. A stunning and uplifting film that gives us a fantastic insight into life in one of the most densely populated places on earth. It's a film that's hard to watch at times but it's so worth sticking with. It's also Dev Patel's 1st film role and he just nails it.
Never Been Kissed 6/4 Film4 @ 18.45
A geeky journalist excitedly goes back to high-school to do an undercover story and finds herself with a chance to re-do her teenage years but bad memories of the past resurface. One of the many many teenage films released in the late 90's and one of the best of the lot ( the best is 10 Things I Hate About You). Definitely the sweetest anyway. Drew Barrymore is just captivating in this lovely, cringe making, sad and funny film.
Blade 7/4 Dave @ 22.00
The film that arguably started off the whole current vogue for comic book films and still one of the most entertaining. Wesley Snipes is perfect as Blade, a half human half vampire hero who protects people from the vampire underworld. A different take on vampire tales, this is great fun, chugs along like a race car, it's very funny in places and breathtakingly nasty in others. A perfect Friday film to watch with beer and pizza.
A short biteen here because I cannot be arsed to expend time on this film. It's awful, mean spirited shite that pisses on the legacy of a much loved show.
You know when against your better judgement you buy a bag of chips from a van and they are undercooked and yet somehow mushy and only have a speck of salt on them. I'd rather eat a bucket of those than watch this again.
2 dud comedies in a row for Michael Peña now. Get a new agent buddy.
Ugh.
Best In Show 25/3 TG4 @ 22.20
This Is Spinal Tap meets Crufts. 5 dogs and their owners/trainers go to a dog show in Philadelphia. This is another Christopher Guest mockumentary that hits the spot just perfectly. A super ensemble cast and full of lovely quirk and proper snorty belly laughs. And well dogs are just deadly aren't they. Eugene Levy and Parker Posey (generally the best thing in any film she's in tbh) steal the film.
The Reluctant Fundamentalist 25/3 BBC2 @ 23.15
A unique film here, a look at the root causes of religious fundamentalism and from the viewpoint of a young Muslim man instead of a US government agent. Riz Ahmed is excellent as Changez, a student from Pakistani who's love of America and all it offers changes dramatically after global events alter his world view. Compelling and well written stuff that will stay with you and make you think.
Edit - after events in London this week this film may not be shown so I've added the below film instead.
Dead Man's Shoes 25/3 Film4 @ 23.05
A man returns to his hometown to get revenge on the people who tormented his brother. Yes yes i know it sounds cliched as hell but this is a magnificent little film. It's like if Emmerdale was crossed with a slasher film and then stained with a dollop of very black humour and some horribly realistic carnage. Paddy Considine is just immense in this tense, nauseating, gripping and funny (in places) film.
Bend Of The River 26/3 ITV4 @ 13.10
Yet another James Stewart starring/Anthony Mann directed film makes the list and guess what, it's another excellent one. The oft told tale of simple homesteaders being harrassed by landowners but kept fresh by great acting, action and scenery. Plus it's always fun to see someone with a screen persona like Stewart play someone ruthless. Looks lovely in technicolor too. A perfect rainy sunday afternoon film.
Tigerland TG4 27/3 @21.30
A young infantry recruit training for Vietnam in 1971 Louisiana tries to fight back against the system but the system is having none of it. The film that made Colin Farrell a star. He's just magnetic in the role of the rebellious Boz and IMO no film since has used his potential as much as this one did.. A funny, sad & tense film with a glorious evocation of 70's America. Watch out for Michael Shannon in a early role.
Things To Do In Denver When You're Dead 29/3 TCM @ 22.50
One of the MANY Tarantino inspired films of the 1990's and one of the best. Andy Garcia leads a great cast in the story of a motley crew of criminals who find themselves in a spot of bother after a job goes wrong ( shocker huh?). Great fun in a dark and nasty way and full of ridiculously quotable dialogue. Plus it contains the all time scariest Christopher Walken performance and that is really saying something.
Sightseers 30/3 Film4 @ 23.00
A meek couple goes on a caravan holiday around the north of England. Sounds deathly boring right? Well it's not. Quite the opposite. It's deliciously dark and hilarious. Like Badlands crossed with This Is England. The leads are played by Alice Lowe & Steve Oram who i didn't know of before but they left a serious impression. Super use of some 80's power ballads too. Oh btw, not for the squeamish.
Drag Me To Hell 31/3 Syfy @ 23.10
Sam Raimi's hilariously gooey and crunchy tale of a young woman's mistake and her efforts to fix that mistake. Alison Lohman is great fun in the lead role and certainly earns her pay as she gets thrown around the screen like the coyote in the old Roadrunner cartoons. This is the perfect horror film for people who claim not to like horror. It's brilliantly funny and you'll snort laughing as much as you roar at the screen.
I like going to see films I haven't a clue about. It's a risk because sometimes they turn out to be godawful, but sometimes, just sometimes they turn out to be excellent. The kind of film you'd know straight away will be in your top 10 of the year. The Lost City Of Z is one such film.
A young British army officer called Percy Fawcett who was based in Cork in 1905 is offered the chance to redeem his family name by leading an expedition into uncharted Bolivia to help map out the border between Bolivia and Brazil and to help get Britain into the very profitable rubber business. He does so knowing his is risking his life and also that he will be leaving his wife and young son for at least 3 years. The trip sets into motion a lifetime obsession.
Percy is played by Charlie Hunnam. Hunnam has been around for a while and I'll be honest, I've never rated him as an actor but he is superb here. Hits all his notes perfectly. One scene of speech making is just immense. Leaves all his swaggery hard man bullshit from Sons Of Anarchy in the dust. Sienna Miller plays his his much abandoned wife Nina Fawcett. She's brilliantly fiery and strong willed, always rebelling against the social mores of the day. It's the second period piece in a row I've seen her in ( the other being Live By Night ) and she's been the best thing in both of them. She's just great. A totally unrecognisable Robert Pattinson plays Percy's travelling partner Henry with a lovely quiet dignity and a less or more style and erases all memories of his dull as milk acting in the Twilight films.
It's a beautiful looking film, full of lush jungle landscapes and winding rivers. Even the scenes in Britain are lovely, full of dark wood and shadows. I just felt transported away when i was watching it and felt a little tiny bit of the awe these explorers must have felt. It gripped me straight away from the opening scenes. One downside. Ya, there's always a downside. It's a long film and needs that time to tell the story but the middle section lost a bit of wind, just a bit but enough to be noticeable.
That one gripe aside i really really liked this film. It's one i need to see again soon. It just felt epic. And i mean epic in it's proper sense. Not the way dopes say "ah man that breakfast roll was epic". I mean it was a big glorious looking film. Shot in proper locations, it felt like a return to old school film making. Reminded me in places of 70's classic like The Man Who Would Be King ( or am i thinking of The Wind And The Lion, i always get those mixed up ), not in story but just in style and scale. It's probably full of CGI but i can honestly say i didn't notice any. I was too wrapped up in it. It has nods to Herzog films ( Fitzcarraldo especially), old Italian cannibal films and more and i was happy as a pig in shit being all geeky and smiling at the screen.
Go see it, don't mind Disney's cynical $$$$$$$ Beauty and The Beast remake. Give this a go. It would just be great to see a return to this style of film making again.
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| Look at that hat |
Men of certain ages all have that one special scene in a film that gave them *euphemism klaxon* a funny feeling. For some its Princess Leia in a gold bikini in Return Of The Jedi. For others maybe its the opening scene of Betty Blue. Maybe its the train scene in Risky Business. Or maybe, just maybe its the Erika Eleniak in a cake scene in Under Siege. Ahh cake, you can't beat a lovely cake.....err where was I.
Oh yes Under Siege.
I'm of the opinion that Under Siege is one of THE best action films of the 90s. Stop rolling your eyes. I'm serious.
Steven Seagal plays Casey Ryback, a chef on the USS Missouri during a tour of duty in the Pacific. The ship is hijacked by Tommy Lee Jones and his gang of dodgy types (included is Colm Meaney who just rocks the hell out of a polo neck) who intend to use the ships nuclear arsenal for nefarious purposes. Seagal is having none of it and uses skills from his past as Navy Seal to put an end to their Shenanigans. Yup THE GODDAMN COOK IS A NAVY SEAL. And yes, he puts those skills to glorious use to slice, dice and generally make shit of Tommy Lee Jone's plans.
Tommy Lee Jones. This film's secret weapon. Seagal is the star but TLJ owns the hell out of the film and has great fun doing so in the role of William Strannix "WHO IS THE HIGHEST RANKING OFFICER IN THIS ROOM??" "WELCOME TO THE REVOLUTION" "IF YOU RESIST WE WILL KILL YOU AND THE MAN NEXT TO YOU". Look at that unremarkable dialogue. But it just sounds great coming out of his mouth. He's vicious but he's fun. He's a great baddie. He feels like he existed before the film was made. He gets angry and laughs with frustration and falls around the place like the coyote in the Roadrunner cartoons when he gets deafened by the ships massive cannons and when he inevitably dies (in gloriously violent fashion btw) you feel a bit sickened even though he's a massive gowl. More films need bad guys like this.
Seagal is grand, gets the job done and doesn't say to much. Lets be honest, he's there cos he knows aikido in real life and can convincingly fuck people up onscreen. And jaysus he does it well.
Gary Busey plays another baddie and brings his manic persona along for the ride.
Colm Meaney too, doesn't do much and gets a pure shite death scene but he gets to use his Dub accent and it makes all his scenes enjoyable "I'll bet they fuckin love ya now". Deadly.
Erika Eleniak, The lone woman on the boat. An insanely gratuitous role. No defending it. There for no reason but to get naked. If Under Siege ever gets remade her role is gone straight away.
The action. Blunt, vicious, bloody, not flashy. One thing the early Seagal film did brilliantly was the action. Economic and efficient and clearly filmed. Necks are stabbed, armpits are stabbed, heads are stabbed. Seagal is fierce stabby in this film actually. Although saying that, he does rip out one poor chap's trachea so i suppose that adds a dash of variety. The video version we had to put up with in the 90's was censored by 9 seconds too btw. The powers that be don't like us plebs seeing nasty things.
There's loads of things i love about this film. I love that you can see Casey's recipes all over the kitchen, I'm a sucker for details like that. I love that the baddies plan's actually make sense and you can see the minutiae of how they go about them. I love the little drips of humour throughout the film. That we get to see the inner workings of a warship and a detailed how to guide to using the big cannons. Above all i LOVE that it's only 100 minutes long. Its grand and lean. Modern films are way to long. That last Bond film for example was 150+ minutes long and I felt every minute of it. This film moves like a freight train.
Yes it's a Die Hard rip off and pretty cliched and sexist but i just can't help loving it. As with music i think the films you experience in your early teens are the ones that stick with you for the long run. It's fast moving fun, has a great baddie and some Jimi Hendrix on the soundtrack. What more does a person need?
Went to the cinema yesterday to see Get Out. There was a healthy crowd there which was no surprise as there's been a lot of hype about the film. Happily it lived up to the hype too. Thought provoking and scary and fun.
One thing ruined it though. The pair of absolute fucking melts behind me who insisted on talking throughout the film. I asked them to be quiet 3 times before I moved and after I moved I could still hear them. I was quite tempted to bounce my empty cherry Pepsi Max bottle off them but seeing as they were women and I'm not a total bollix I abstained.
Why do people do this? If you want to have a chat with a friend why not go to a pub or a coffee shop and do it properly. What kind of ape pays the bones of a tenner to sit in the dark and whisper loudly to the person next to them??? A pure dope that's who. And in the process piss off everyone around them. And another thing. Why don't more people get pissed off? I was the only one who said anything. I was the only one who moved. Am I too sensitive or are people just so afraid of confrontation that they will just sit there and let two people talking about trifle (Yup, trifle. Good jaysus, fuckin trifle talk) ruin a film they'd paid to see.
2 weeks ago i went to see Logan. I was giddy with excitement about this. Booked me cinema ticket weeks in advance and all. Being a true cinema nerd I have a favorite place to sit, slightly forward of the middle row and right in the middle so the screen fills my vision. I sat down and the screen filled up slowly. I was happy out. 15 minutes into the film a bloke walks in and complains loudly that there's no seats. 15 minutes!! (Red mist starts to form )Why would ya bother. Said bloke pulls out his phone and uses the torch (Red mist thickens) to find a seat very near the front. He sits down and puts the phone in his pocket. Grand. (Red mist dissipates) Just in time to see Hugh Jackman skewer some poor hooer's head on screen. Then not 30 seconds later fucko pulls out the phone again and proceeds to use it for the next 10 minutes (Red mist solidifies into a blood rage). Thankfully someone else hopped a load of popcorn off him and he copped on.
I know I'm whinging but cinema is my happy place.
When I'm in charge people will be beaten for these offences.
Vote for me.
True Grit Sat 18/3 BBC2 @ 22.45
A young woman hires a briary old U.S. marshal to hunt the men who killed her father. The Coen Brother's fierce entertaining remake of the classic John Wayne western is a rare beast - a remake that surpasses the original imo. A funny, quirky and in places quite touching, film. The cast is top notch too with Hailee Steinfeld superb in her debut acting role but the film belongs to Jeff Bridges as Rooster Cogburn. He's deadly.
The Tree Of Life Sat 18/3 RTE1 @ 23.55
A man ponders his life and the meaning of existence in this haunting, beautiful and absolutely magnificent film directed by Terrence Malick. A very unique movie that sadly some people might find a bit up its own arse but if you can sit with it and give it your full attention i think you'll fall in love with it. Brad Pitt, Jessica Chastain and Sean Penn are all great in it.
J.Edgar Mon 20/3 TG4 @21.30
Leonardo DiCaprio headlines this film from Clint Eastwood as J. Edgar Hoover, the man who was director of the FBI who nearly half a century. A fascinating and fantastically acted film about a deeply flawed and complex man. DiCaprio is great and Judi Dench as J.Edgar's mam is vile, a big change from her usual performances.
Boyhood Tues 21/3 Film4 @21.00
A film 10 years in the making, charting the course of a young mans life from 8 to 18. Simply put, its a magical experience to see people growing and aging in real life in front of your eyes. It's short on story but that's not the point at all. It's a snapshot of a decade on the life of a young man and its just amazing to watch. Ellar Coltrane is fine in his debut role but Patricia Arquette owns the film with a stunningly human turn as his mam.
The Mutiny On The Bounty Wed 22/3 TCM @08.50
The earliest ( another earlier version is considered lost) and in my opinion best version of the famous seafaring tale of mutiny aboard a British ship during a long voyage home. An exciting, grim, absorbing and epic film with 2 great performances from Charles Laughton & Clark Gable as Captain Bligh & Fletcher Christian respectively. Record this one for a rainy Sunday afternoon.
What Richard Did Thurs 23/3 Film4 @00.40
My favourite Irish film of this century. It's a story leading up to and the aftermath of a night out in Dublin that goes very very wrong. It's a story of how privilege will ruin you and still protect you. An excellently acted film about a part of Irish society that we rarely see in film. Jack Reynor is great in the title role and is surrounded by a cracking supporting cast of fresh faces we'll be seeing more and more of.
The Outlaw Josey Wales Fri 24/3 Dave @21.00
A man loses his family & while out for revenge ends up with another family. My favourite western of all time. It's pretty much perfect. Epic in sweep, full of action & understated humour, immensely quotable (fave line - "I was prouder than a game rooster to have ridden with ye Josey", ah man i love it) and just full of great acting. Clint rocks it and John Vernon & Sam Bottoms are at their best. Give it a go. It's poetry.
I loved monster films as a young lad. Loved em, couldn't get enough. Remember those god awful Doug McClure films - 'The Land That Time Forgot' etc, I was mesmerized by them. The Valley Of The Gwangi was another, Cowboys vs T-Rex's, hilariously bad and with a dinosaur made of mala, I ran home from school once to watch that one. The original King Kong too. Wowed me, the scene were Kong attacks the village was a jaw dropper for a young lad. They were just great fun. No one gave a fig about characterisation or a solid storyline, they knew the audience just wanted screeching monsters chowing down on screaming folks and that was it basically. They entertained you on a visceral level. If they were well made and acted as in original Kong it was a nice bonus.
Last week i watched Kong : Skull Island in the cinema and felt that way all over again. It's not going to win any awards by any stretch of the imagination but jesus I had great craic watching it. You can't beat a film that makes you feel llike you're 8 years old again. Plus happily it's also well made and acted and has managed to get in a nice few digs at US foreign policy into the bargain!
A quick synopsis. An uncharted Island is found in the South Pacific in the early 70's. America wants the Island for its resources ( sounds familiar doesn't it ) so sends a group of soldiers and scientists to explore it. Of course the Island is full of death and monsters and not just the ones in the poster for the film!
I mentioned characterisation earlier. This film does better on that front than the monster films of yore or even the Godzilla film from a couple of years ago. Not much though but the humans in the film are sketched out just enough to let you know who's who and maybe give a fuck when they inevitably get squashed or impaled or eaten. Brie Larson, Samuel L. Jackson and John C Reilly come out of this relatively well. Larson has some nice moments and actually looks like she's from the 70's. Samuel plays angry Samuel very well and John C Reilly has a couple of very funny moments and earns a lovely scene very late in the film.
Ok, lets not fool ourselves here, the main reason to see this film is gigantic monsters and we get them in spades. SPADES. Crunching, bruising, gooey, scary stuff. It's a 12 cert film so it's not gory or bloody and its still quite brutal in places. And one scene is definitely not for arachnophobics. I was freaked out tbh.
It's a fantastic looking film too, full of lush landscapes and swooping epic helicopter shots. Skull Island itself is a very well realised place. Plus the soundtrack is great. Loved the use of Black Sabbath.
If you are the type of person who goes the cinema to analyse everything I'd give it a miss but if you want a slice of well made escapism I'd definitely recommend it.
Foreword. I'm writing this under the influence of solpadeine and a strong IPA cos my shoulder has been on fire for the last few weeks so be kind to any spelling errors.
My parents, and i suspect a lot of Irish parents were a bit bizarre about what they let me watch as a young lad. Bloody violence was ok but the second a pair of boobs appeared i was shipped off to bed. A prime example i remember was The Terminator (aka my second favourite action film of the 80's). I was 7 the first time i saw it. I was terrified but i loved it. Arnie cutting a swathe across Los Angeles. Gunning down the population of a police station! Ripping out a punk's heart!! I couldn't believe i was being let see it. This was great. Then we saw Sarah Connor's nipple and i didn't get to see the rest of the film for 4 years. Brutal violence was fine but a boob. Nope. That was the step too far.
Luckily Predator contained no boobs.
Because of that i got to see Predator numerous times in my formative years and fell in love with it. And i still love it to this day.
A special forces unit walks through a central American jungle. Their mission is to rescue the occupants of a helicopter that has crashed in guerrilla territory. It looks like its going to be a straight forward mission until they come across a pile of skinned bodies and they realise they are being hunted by someone. OR SOMETHING. DUN DUN DUNNNNNN. Ok, if you one of the poor misfortunates left on the planet who hasn't seen this there are spoilers coming up. They are being hunted by an alien who kills its prey and takes trophies. But the alien hasn't counted on them being a shower of hardy fuckers who will give as good as they get. Or has it?
Arnold Schwarzenegger plays Dutch Schaefer, the head of the unit. Arnie gets a lot of grief over his acting ability. Most of it is justified but he's perfect here. His monosyllabic delivery suits the role and he just looks like he could take on a 7 foot tall alien and conceivably win. The man is like a brick wall and has undeniable presence. Carl Weathers plays Dillon, the group supervisor. Another big lump of a hooer. Shane Black ( who wrote the film ), Bill Duke, Sonny Landham, Richard Chaves & Jesse Ventura play the other team members. They don't exactly play deep parts but they are well characterised, you'll easily tell them apart and they all get their moment in the sun, especially Landham who's character seems to have some form of unexplained mystic connection to the Predator.
I love this film. It's lean as hell, not a scene or second is wasted. Every line moves the story forward or helps build characterisation. The music is perfect. Suits the jungle setting and builds tension and its percussive blasts propel the action forward splendidly. The jungle setting ensures the film stays timeless too. No dated 80's fashion to cringe over. No crappy 'Flock Of Seagulls' songs wedged in. Plus it's full of that lovely grittiness that today's action films seem to always lack. This is a film that was proud of its R-Rating. It wears it like a badge of honour. Blood and guts all over the gaff.
It's not perfect. Films rarely are. 1 piece of cringe-worthy homophobia mars the opening scene and the one woman in the film has an absolutely pointless role. She gets one scene of note and then spends the rest of the film running and cowering. It's a pity and the Predator's attitude to women is something that gets (slightly) more screen time in the sequel.
Negative aspects aside i just love it. It's a film I've owned on VHS, DVD and Blu-ray and yet ill still stop and watch it when i come across it on tv. Which happens quite a lot actually. Seems the TV stations know it still has a big fan-base and show it accordingly.
And you know what? Im going to watch it again now. I know, i'm brutal.
Room Sat 11/3 CH4 @21.00
Irish director Lenny Abrahamson's brilliant drama about a mother and son growing up in a very disturbing situation. Too say anymore would spoil the film. Brie Larson & Jacob Tremblay are horribly believable as Mam & Son, unreal acting from both. It's an intense film about what a parent will do for their child that will leave you trying to catch your breath at times but its so, so worth a watch.
LA Confidential Sat 11/3 BBC2 @22.45
One of the best films of the 90's right here, a modern classic magnificently adapted & thankfully pared down from James Ellroy's labyrinthine novel. Three very different policemen find themselves up to their necks in dodginess in post WW2 Los Angeles. Thrillingly satisfying stuff with a storyline that demands you pay attention. Russell Crowe, Kim Basinger & Guy Pearce give career best performances too.
Honeymoon In Vegas Sun 12/3 RTE1 @00.20
A fun little Las Vegas set comedy about a stupid man who makes a stupid decision to pay off a gambling debt. Nicholas Cage is fun to watch as the desperate man rushing to fix the worst mistake he'll ever make in a funny if slightly dated film. The soundtrack though is amazing, full of Elvis covers from artists like Bruce Springsteen & Dwight Yoakam
The Hunger Games Mon 13/3 E4 @21.00
A lot of people overlook this as a childish remake of Battle Royale but this, the 1st in the series is an excellently realised vision of a dystopian future where teenagers are pitted against each other in televised death matches for the entertainment of the upper classes. Compelling and thought provoking stuff that looks fantastic and Jennifer Lawrence as the lead absolutely knocks it out of the park.
The Sheriff Of Fractured Jaw Tues 14/3 Film4 @14.40
A posh English salesman finds himself accidentally thrust into the role of sheriff in a lawless town in the wild wild west. This of course leads to all manner of hilarity. An odd fish of a film, a British made western which looks like it was made for £7 & filled with ropey acting but somehow it works. Its very funny and Kenneth More ( who always did posh gentleman very well) as a man seriously out of his depth is entertaining to watch.
Unstoppable Wed 15/3 3E @ 22.30
The late and much missed Tony Scott's ode to 70's disaster films involves a runaway train that's 800 metres long and characters who just want to get back to their kids. It's cliche central but it's great fun and barrels along like .......well like a runaway train (groan). Denzel Washington & Chris Pine are solid as always in a film that's funny and exciting and definitely won't bore you.
A Simple Plan Fri 17/3 (Technically Sat morning) BBC2 @01.05
3 man discover a stash of money which they decide to keep until mistrust and paranoia rears its head. A simple and often told tale but man it's superbly done. Great acting all around. Bill Paxton who sadly passed away recently is always dependable and Billy Bob Thornton puts in a heartbreaker of a performance. But Bridget Fonda robs the film from both with a dark turn. A blackly comic, twisty and chilling tale of what greed can do.
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| Ignore Wednesday |
Some movies worth tracking down on tv this week
Guilty By Suspicion Sat 4/3 TG4 @23.35
A film director finds himself caught up in the communist witch-hunts of 1950's America. Does he sell out his colleagues or stick to his principles? A chilling and compelling and very well made portrait of an era America would rather forget about. Full of superb acting but Robert De Niro is the main man here. Back when he made proper films and looked like he still gave a fig.
First Blood Sat 4/3 ITV @22.55
Most people roll their eyes and picture a one man killing machine when they hear the name Rambo but the 1st film in the series is a genuinely powerful and thought provoking story of a Vietnam veteran suffering from severe PTSD. A tense, exciting, sad and beautiful looking film with Sylvester Stallone on absolute fire as John Rambo & Brian Dennehy in full on bad bastard mode as his nemesis.
Papillon Sun 5/3 BBC2 @23.30
Steve McQueen headlines this 70's classic about petty criminal who finds him imprisoned on an inescapable Island. Or is it? Steve was the king of cool in the 60's and 70's and brings that coolness to this too yet still finds the film robbed from under him by Dustin Hoffman who is just excellent as a fellow inmate. A grim, tense and violent but ultimately uplifting story about the strength of the human resolve. It's a long one but it's really worth watching.
Mary, Queen Of Scots Mon 6/3 Film4 @16.10
The story of two of the most powerful Women in British history, Mary, Queen Of Scots & Queen Elizabeth Tudor and their conflicts during their reigns in the 16th century. Starring Vanessa Redgrave & Glenda Jackson, this is fantastically acted stuff that will draw you in even if the politics of the film don't really interest you.
Harvey Tues 7/3 Film4 @11.00
Has there ever been an easier actor to watch and enjoy than James Stewart? I think not. And he's on great form in this lovely little film about a man who's new friendship causes his family to think he has utterly lost the plot. A charming and very funny way to spend a couple of hours. Well worth recording to introduce your kids or whoever to the golden age of Hollywood in a way that won't alienate them.
Dawn Of The Dead Thurs 9/3 ITV4 @22.45
Zombies have risen and are devouring the living. A small group of survivors find themselves holed up in the safest place they can find. No it ain't the absolute masterpiece original but it is the unexpectedly excellent 2004 remake. This film shouldn't have worked at all but somehow it has. A thrillingly crunchy & exciting carnival ride of a film with a great cast lead by Sarah Polley & Ving Rhames. Avoid if squeamish!
The Hunting Party Fri 10/3 TG4 @21.30
In the early 70's relaxed censorship rules & the influence of Spaghetti westerns lead to a spate of extremely brutal and grim westerns being released. This is one of the better ones. A rancher's wife is kidnapped and he sets out to get her back. A well made & well acted film with a gorgeous soundtrack but also fierce nasty and one that may upset you. This is a film without heroes. Everyone is a scumbag. Gene Hackman is great as always.
