Vanilla Sky Sat 8/12 Syfy @ 21.00
An accident caused by a romantic entanglement turns a vain man's life upside down in ways he could never imagine. Cameron Crowe's remake of the Spanish film Abre Los Ojos is a unusual watch. A mainstream film packed with A-list stars but made with an arthouse sensibility and with a dreamlike quality that ensures you're never quite sure what's going on. It's good though and Tom Cruise, Penelope Cruz & Cameron Diaz are on fine form.
Calvary Sat 8/12 RTE2 @ 21.15
While hearing confession, a priest is told he will be murdered within a week. He uses that week to investigate in his small town just who is out for his blood. Brendan Gleeson puts in a deadly performance as always as a priest troubled by spiritual manners both external and internal in a blackly comic film that will grip you from it's opening scene. Top notch cast in this including Kelly Reilly, Chris O'Dowd and Domhnall Gleeson.
Hunky Dory Sun 9/12 BBC2 @ 01.00
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. Of course her plan works. This 70's set drama is 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 do well in support.
Enemy Mine Sun 9/12 Film4 @ 16.25
During a future space battle two soldiers find themselves stranded on a hostile planet. One is a man. One is an alien. Two enemies. A very entertaining slice of 80's sci-fi here but one that eschews cheesiness and bombast (mostly) and tells a touching story and carries a hopeful message about trust and friendship. Dennis Quaid and Louis Gossett Jr are both excellent.
American History X Mon 10/12 ITV4 @ 23.05
Derek Vinyard has just been released from prison after he murdered a young black man years before. His time inside helped him lose his taste for hate but his swastika tattoo's still haunt him. This drama about the horrors of racism is a blistering watch about the dangers of hate and how the effects of violence never go away. Edward Norton is very effective in the lead role and gets compelling back-up from Beverly D'Angelo & Edward Furlong.
Deliverance Tues 11/12 TCM @ 23.05
4 men travel into the Georgian wilderness to canoe a down a river before a dam obliterates the valley it flows through. They don't have a nice time. John Boorman's survival tract about man vs nature might be 46 years old but it will still pin your to your chair with it's violence and it's depiction of man's baser instincts. It's a superb movie but be warned, it is rough as hell. Burt Reynolds, Jon Voight, Ned Beatty and Ronny Cox are all fantastic.
Horror Of Dracula Wed 12/12 The Horror Channel @ 22.55
The Prince of Darkness has had his sanctuary disturbed and so sets out to prey on the loved ones of his attacker. Only one man, Dr Van Helsing, can stand up to him. This 1958 Hammer Horror take on the legend of Dracula is a magnificent film. Unsettling, sensual, beautiful looking and after 60 years, still startlingly scary in places. 2 brilliant performances from Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing seal the deal.
Pursuit Thurs 13/12 Virgin One @ 21.00
Fionn has his sights set on Grainne but she is mad for Diarmuid, Fionn's buddy. This love triangle set in Ireland's gangland isn't going to be easily settled. Paul Mercier's thriller is a strange one, a modern story spun from tales of Celtic mysticism but it works well, if you get the myriad of references that is. Top notch acting from Ruth Bradley, Liam Cunningham and Barry Ward will always help though.
The Man Who Knew Too Much Fri 14/12 Film4 @ 11.25
An American family take an impulsive trip to Morocco and finds themselves in the midst of an assassination attempt and their lives are immediately in dangerous. Sounds heavy but this is one of Alfred Hitchcock's lighter and more fun films. James Stewart and Doris Day lead the film and are delightful as their roles as always. A highly enjoyable and suspenseful film worth recording for a rainy Sunday.
Excalibur Fri 14/12 RTE2 @ 23.25
A stylish, bloody and sexually charged retelling of the story of King Arthur and the knights of the round table. Definitely the best cinematic version of the famous tale so far. This one has an absolutely superlative cast of British & Irish actors led by Nigel Terry and Helen Mirren on top form. Keep an eye out for a very young Liam Neeson in one of his first roles too. A very entertaining film. Plus parts of this were filmed in Wicklow and Tipperary.
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