A music teacher in a Welsh school who is trying and failing to stage a Shakespeare play decides to give things a modern day spin by adding popular music to help engage her couldn't care less pupils. This 70's set drama is good fun and Minnie Driver in the lead role is great. This is likable feel good stuff with an amazing soundtrack. Aneurin Barnard and Kimberley Nixon are good in support.
Red Rock West Sat 2/9 TCM @ 23.20
A drifter turns up in a small town and it mistaken for someone else. But then the someone else turns up and things get bloody. John Dahl's modern noir thriller is a little cracker of a film. Intelligent, chock full of unpredictable twists and turns and with a super cast including Nicholas Cage, Dennis Hopper and Lara Flynn Boyle. Thankfully they all manage to tone down the madness they are usually known for too and give fine performances.
The Blues Brothers Sun 3/9 RTE1 @ 00.35
2 musicians set out to raise money to save an orphanage and they do it the only way they know how. John Landis's cult comedy is brilliantly bonkers stuff. An action comedy musical with a surreal edge would be one way to describe it. The late John Belushi and Dan Ackroyd are perfect as Elwood and Jake and lead a super cast of famous musicians like Aretha Franklin, James Brown and Ray Charles. Plus nazis die. Always good.
Toy Story 3 Sun 3/9 BBC1 @ 17.00
Andy is off to college and his toys accidentally get thrown out. But the toys aren't about to take this lying down. The 3rd in the Toy Story trilogy is a rare beast. A film that's better than the ones before it. This is a magnificent film about growing up and moving on, while also being a brilliant comedy/action film/escape movie. It will make you laugh and kick you in the heart at the same time. A perfect family film.
Mad Max : Fury Road Mon 4/9 RTE2 @ 21.00
In a post apocalyptic Australia a drifter joins up with a group of women to escape an evil master. Tom Hardy & Charlize Theron lead the cast as Max Rockatansky and Imperator Furiosa in one of the best action films of the 21st century. Seriously. Hardy does his usual grumbly thing while Theron steals the film from under him. The title may be Mad Max but the women own this film. It's awesome. Give it a go. It will wow you.
The Outlaw Josey Wales Mon 4/9 TCM @ 23.10
A man loses his family and sets out for revenge but finds himself building a surrogate family on the way. My all time favourite western. A mix of the old fashioned westerns of the 50's and the revisionist ones of the 70's. It's just a perfect movie. Clint Eastwood stars and directs and does a wonderful job of both. Superb cast too. John Vernon, Sondra Locke, Joseph Bottoms and numerous recognisable genre faces.
The Farthest Tues 5/9 RTE1 @ 22.15
40 years ago the twin voyager probes were sent on a journey into deep space and are still travelling now. Their missions were to explore our solar system and hold information in case of contact with extra terrestrial life. This Irish made documentary is a look at a stunning human achievement. A look at the good we are capable of. It will wow you with what could be done with the technology of the time and may even bring a tear to your eye.
Don't Look Now Tues 5/9 The Horror Channel @ 22.50
After they suffer an unimaginable tragedy, a married couple go to Venice to grieve and to repair the cracks in their relationship. But things get strange. Not a horror film exactly but this is quite terrifying in places. A dark, haunting, eerie but yet beautiful film that will stay with you long after you finish it. Julie Christie and Donald Sutherland give career best performances here.
Stoker Wed 6/9 Film4 @ 23.40
After her father dies, a young woman and her mother are visited by an uncle they never knew existed. Slowly she begins to realise all isn't what it seems. Mia Wasikowska is great as the lead in a slow burn thriller that breaks free of it's Hitchcockian roots to become something very compelling, lurid, darkly funny and quite unique. Matthew Goode is excellent as the mysterious man and Nicole Kidman gives solid backup.
Senna Thur 7/9 ITV4 @ 23.00
A stunner of a documentary about the life and death of the famous Formula One driver Ayrton Senna. Even if like me you couldn't give a flying fig about the sport you'll still find yourself gripped by this absorbing, dramatic and tense story. It paints a superb portrait of a driven charismatic chap and even though you know how it will end you'll still find yourself hoping for a different outcome.
This Is England Fri 8/9 Film4 @ 21.00
A young boy grieving for his father is taken under the wing of a gang of skinheads. Life is sweet until a face from the past turns things upside down. The best British film of the 21st century right here. A fantastic look at the horrible dark underbelly of life in Margaret Thatcher's Britain. Shane Meadow's directs an astounding cast of unknowns in a film that will bowl you over. Stephen Graham & Thomas Thurgoose are the stand outs.
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