March 23, 2019

10 films worth watching on TV this week


The Dressmaker   Sat   23/3   Film4 @ 21.00

A very different kind of revenge thriller. The strange, upsetting, unique, surreal and funny tale of a woman returning to the small Australian town that spurned her and getting her own back. Kate Winslet is superb in the title role and pulls off an Oz accent that will make you say strewth!. Judy Davis as her mam is fantastic too and Liam Hemsworth and Hugo Weaving are good in support.


Silence   Sat   23/3   TG4 @ 22.45

Eoghan is returning to Ireland. It's been years since he was home. He's there for an unusual job. To record the sounds of a landscape free from man made noise. One of the more unusual films you'll ever see. It's tough to get into at first but soon enough you'll be glued to the screen by it's beautiful blend of sound & vision. Director Pat Collins has made something very special here. 

The Cabin In The Woods   Sun   24/3   CH4 @ 00.15

5 friends go to stay in a.... well... a cabin in the woods. Demonic presences stalk and attack them. But the underlying reason for the attacks is the last thing you'd expect. This is a joy to watch. Hilarious, knowing, gooey as hell and packed full of injokes for fans of the genre. Even if you ain't a horror fan there's loads here for you. Kristen Connolly, Chris Hemsworth, Bradley Cooper and Richard Jenkins all have a whale of a time.

Inside I'm Dancing   Mon   25/3   TG4 @ 21.30

Rory has muscular dystrophy. Michael has cerebral palsy. They become best friends in the residential care home they share and push each other to explore the world outside. This film is a perfect example of Irish cinema's ability to make you laugh while punching you in the stomach at the same time. A lovely watch led by two excellent performances by James McAvoy & Steven Robertson.

Spider   Mon   25/3   TCM @ 23.00

Dennis is a troubled man living in a halfway house after his release from a psychiatric hospital. His grip on reality is getting more and more tenuous as each day passes. This is a tough watch but stellar work from Ralph Fiennes and David Cronenberg turn what could be exploitative and cliched into a film that will grip you while quietly devastating you too. Definitely not for everyone.

Ghost Dog : The Way Of The Samurai   Tue   26/3   Film4 @ 23.40

A brilliant oddity of a film. Ghost Dog is a mafia hitman who bases his code of ethics on ancient samurai ways. When a hit goes wrong he must defend himself against his former employers. A unique thriller that just radiates cool. Forrest Whitaker is a superb as Ghost Dog, the cast is a who's who of faces you'll recognise from gangster cinema and the soundtrack is just A1

You Were Never Really Here   Thur   28/3   Film4 @ 21.00

Joe is a man who uses a hammer to mete out justice to the scummier side of New York City. A mission to save a young girl finds him tangled up in all manner of trouble. Lynne Ramsay's 2018 thriller is a master class in tension, implied horror and sound design. It's the kind of movie you watch with your jaw dropped and afterwards you'll feel like you've been kicked in the head. In a positive way of course.

Road Games   Thur   28/3   The Horror Channel @ 22.50

Pamela is hitchhiking across Oz. Pat is a lorry driver who picks her up. Then Pamela disappears and Pat finds himself playing cat & mouse with a very dangerous presence. Richard Franklin's thriller is a forgotten classic, one that plays out like an 80's version of a Hitchcock movie. Very unpredictable and very entertaining. Stacy Keach and Jamie Lee Curtis both do good work.

Phone Booth   Fri   29/3   Syfy @ 21.00

Stuart makes the mistake of answering a phone call one day and all of a sudden his life is turned upside down. You'd imagine a film set almost entirely in a phone booth would be boring but it's actually a pretty gripping watch thanks to a committed performance from Colin Farrell who plays a high powered New York City asshole to a tee. Kiefer Sutherland, Rahda Mitchell and Forest Whitaker back him up royally.

Standby   Fri   29/3   RTE2 @ 22.

Alice is stuck in Dublin airport waiting on a standby flight home. She bumps in Alan who's working there and hating it. They had a fling years before and the old spark is still there. At no point will you not know how this film is going to end but there's a lot of fun and belly laughs on the journey. Brian Gleeson is a fine lead and Jessica Pare is an enchanting foil to his misery.



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