June 02, 2017

10 films worth looking up on TV this week



Field Of Dreams   Sat   3/6   RTE1 @ 14.50

A wonderous tale of baseball and a man hearing voices on his farm. A film about taking a risk, standing up for yourself, regret and getting a rare second chance at doing things right. Baseball is lost on me but i love this film. It's funny, sad, poignant and touching and full of excellent acting. Costner is solid as always and Amy Madigan, Ray Liotta, Burt Lancaster and James Earl Jones all add pure class.

Contagion   Sat   3/6   W @ 21.00

A disease threatens to change life as we know it on earth and a group of scientists try to find a cure. A horribly realistic look at the cause and effect of a world wide epidemic. Tense, downbeat, lowkey, horrifying and squirm making stuff with a cracking cast that really sells the story. Gwyneth Paltrow, Matt Damon & Kate Winslet are excellent as the leads. Don't watch if you have the sniffles.

The Spectacular Now   Sat   3/6   BBC1 @ 23.35

A young chap on the downward slope to alcoholism meets a girl who is his exact opposite. They both want different things while slowly beginning to want each other. Trailers made this look like American Pie but its a far far better film than that. Realistic and far grittier than the usual teen-flick and also well acted all around with Miles Teller and Shailene Woodley in great form.

Pride And Prejudice   Sun   4/6   BBC2 @ 14.15

A rich family in 19th century England strives to marry off their 5 unwed daughters. This is an odd but very watchable 1940 version of the famous Jane Austen tale. Purists beware, this adaption strays considerably from the book but still manages to maintain the feel and fun of it. Greer Garson and Maureen O'Sullivan are great fun as 2 of the daughters and you can all probably guess who Laurence Olivier plays!

'71   Mon   5/6   Film4 @ 23.15

A squaddie finds himself alone and on the run after he gets split from his unit in 1971 war torn Belfast. A strange beast in that it's a view of troubled Belfast from the side you never see but that doesn't take away from it, it's still excellent viewing. Prepare for 99 minutes of terror, stress, palpitations and revulsion with a fantastic performance from Jack O'Connell powering the story along.

Waz   Tues   6/6   Horror Channel @ 22.50

A nasty but surprisingly original tale of police chasing a particularly sadistic serial killer in New York City. Trailers made this look like Hostel etc but its much better than that. It's a clever little thriller about the darker side of humanity. Cracking cast in this lwith Melissa George, Stellan Skarsgard and Selma Blair and a pre-superstardom Tom Hardy. Shot partly in Northern Ireland too.

Looper   Wed   7/6   TCM @ 21.00

Set in the near future where unwanted people are disposed of by sending them back in time to be killed. This is all well and good until a man is faced with an older version of himself. A magnificently original piece of sci fi/action right here. Fun, chilling, brutal, intelligent and mind boggling. Joseph Gordon Levitt and Bruce Willis have a ball of a time playing the young/old versions and Emily Blunt is super as a protective mother caught up in it all.

Cube   Thur   8/6   Syfy @ 22.00

A group of strangers find themselves trapped in a giant cube full of deadly traps and must use their individual skills to both escape and figure out why they were picked. Shades of Saw there but this is more about the ingenuity of the people and the traps than the damage they do. A clever, absorbing and well acted scifi thriller that was made for a pittance and still manages to wee all over the majority of films with budgets 100 times the size.

The Raid 2   Fri   9/6   Film4 @ 22.45

The follow up to Gareth Evan's 2011 action masterpiece sees cop Rama going undercover in the Indonesian criminal underworld to expose police corruption. Things do not go smoothly for him. Ok, 1st & foremost if you are squeamish, avoid this like the plague. If you aren't you are in for a whale of a time. An extremely exciting and action packed thriller that will blow you away in places. 150 mins long and it feels like 90. Brilliant, epic stuff.

Layer Cake   Fri   9/6   TV3 @ 23.15

An upmarket London drug dealer is called upon to search for a missing woman and finds himself drawn into all matter of dodginess. Some may scoff but i think this is the best British crime film since Get Carter. It's great, exciting, stylish stuff that never lets you up for a breath. The film that got Daniel Craig the role as James Bond, he's a cold and calculating lead. Great support from Colm Meaney and Sienna Miller too.  

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