Road House Sat 19/2 5Star @ 21.00
Dalton has rocked into town. He's the new head bouncer for the Double Deuce and he has one rule - "....Be Nice." Men want to be him. Women want to have him. One man can't stand him - Brad Wesley, the baddest dude in town. Road House is awesome. A brilliantly brutal slice of 80's cheese carried by a towering turn from Patrick Swayze who was the complete antithesis of 80's action heroes and ended up being more enjoyable than all of them. Sam Elliot, Kelly Lynch and Ben Gazzara add to the joy.
Young Ahmed Sat 19/2 BBC4 @ 23.30
A young Belgian teen finds himself under the influence of a man preaching religious extremism. Soon he's keeping family and friends at arms length and eventually comes up with a plan that may ruin his life. In 85 minutes the Dardenne brothers weave a captivating and quite terrifying story about the horrors of modern day life for alienated and vulnerable teenagers. Idir Ben Addi is a magnificent lead.
What Keeps You Alive Sat 19/2 The Horror Channel @ 22.35
Jackie and Jules are two women celebrating their first wedding anniversary in a remote cabin in the woods. Things get odd, then tense and then kinda scary. But never in the way you'd expect. A fine slice of psychological horror that poses all manner of probing questions about how well you can ever know the people you allow into your life. Britanny Allen and Hannah Emily Anderson play off each other nicely.
Three civil rights workers are murdered in a small town during the early 1960's and the FBI is sent in to investigate but will they find answers in a land and people bound tightly together by hate? Alan Parker's 1988 thriller is a brutal and unforgiving look at country that's never going to change it's stripes. Gene Hackman, Brad Dourif, Frances McDormand, Michael Rooker, Badja Djola and Willem Dafoe all work together wonderfully.
Race Sun 20/2 RTE2 @ 14.40
Berlin. 1936. The Summer Olympics. hitler (I'm not giving him a capital h) is preaching about racial purity and the domination of sport by the white man. But on the track stands Jesse Owens, a young black man about to make a mockery of him. A simplistic look at the story for sure but a really powerful performance from Stephan James brings it over the line. Jason Sudeikis and Carice van Houten are memorable too.
Gray Lady Down Sun 20/2 Great! Movies Action @ 18.45
A submarine, the USS Neptune, is returning home to New York harbour after a tour of duty. It's Captain Blanchard's last tour before promotion and he wants it all to go smoothly. Ha! Hahahaha. One of the less ostentatious disaster films of the 1970's and all the better for it. A stoic Charlton Heston leads a stacked cast in a well crafted and stressful thriller with Ronny Cox, Stacey Keach and David Carradine giving him decent support.
All Cheerleaders Die Sun 20/2 The Horror Channel @ 22.55
Maddie's a high school teenager out for revenge and the first part of her intricate plan is to become a cheerleader and sow seeds of discontent among her peers. But then someone else enters the fray and things get wild. Heathers meets Witches Of Eastwick by way of Dracula might be one way to describe All Cheerleaders Die. Another way to describe it would be a fun and clever story that twists and toys with horror genre cliche. Caitlin Stasey is a game lead.
Videoman Mon 21/2 Film4 @ 01.30
Two outsiders obsessed with the past and all it's trappings are broken by their own personal problems but together they start to put their pieces into a brand new whole. Sounds romantic right? Heh. It's an unusual but compelling deep dive into the minds of people society tends to pass by that will definitely strike a chord with people who enjoy 80's horror. Stefan Sauk and Lena Nilsson are a strong pair of leads.
Se7en Mon 21/2 TG4 @ 21.30
Two detectives, one young and hungry and one near retirement hunt a heinous serial killer in a dark and dreary city. Sounds cliched doesn't it? It might be in places but it's also one of the best films of the 1990's. A ferocious, dark, clever and nasty film from David Fincher that skillfully straddles the line between cop thriller and horror movie. Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman and Gwyneth Paltrow all do expert work.
Universal Soldier Tues 22/2 The Horror Channel @ 22.45
GR13. GR44. Two soldiers with opposing ideologies on war are resurrected after their deaths in Vietnam and reprogrammed into working together in a crack anti terrorist unit. Then they start remembering things. Roland Emmerich's 1992 sci-fi thriller has aged like fine wine. It's fantastically crunchy entertainment that makes the most of it's leading men's abilities. Jean Claude Van Damme has a ball here but it's Dolph Lundgren's hammy villain that you'll remember.
Shane Wed 22/2 Film4 @ 13.05
A worn out gunslinger wants to retire and work on a farm but finds himself drawn into a conflict between a land owner and a rancher. One of the all time best westerns that also contains one of the best bar fight scenes ever. You can't go wrong watching it. Alan Ladd nails the main role and gets solid support from familiar faces of the genre like Van Heflin, Elisha Cooke Jr and a ruthless & grinning Jack Palance.
Lifeboat Wed 22/2 Talking Pictures TV @ 15.30
After their ship has been torpedoed by a U-Boat eight survivors are adrift at sea with little hope of survival. Tempers are fraying and their situation worsens when they find another survivor and take him onboard. A German survivor. Alfred Hitchcock's 1944 war thriller is a peach, full of suspense and sly digs about what happens when those on the same side can't stop bickering and come together. Tallulah Bankhead is a great lead.
The Third Man Thur 23/2 BBC4 @ 20.00
Holly has arrived in Vienna to visit his friend Harry Lime but is soon dismayed to find out his friend is dead. Or is he? Who knows? We don't. Or do we? What? Who? A 1949 classic that still stands tall 73 years later with it's quotable dialogue, stunning cinematography, scenes you'll recognise even if the film is new to you and an atmosphere that just drips off the screen. Watch it. It's deadly. Joseph Cotton, Alida Valli and Orson Welles all hit the spot.
Kes Thur 23/2 Talking Pictures TV @ 21.00
A young boy living in a dreary Yorkshire mining village is living a miserable life, suffering verbal and physical torment from his brother and his classmates. But one day, he finds something he's interested in and it opens up a whole world to him. Ken Loach's 1969 drama is a painfully authentic look at childhood in a place that only offers misery for a future and the little beams of light that can keep us going. Dai Bradley is astounding in his film debut.
Internal Affairs Fri 24/2 BBC1 @ 23.55
Dennis Peck. Ultracop. Smooth as hell. Loved by the ladies and the gentlemen. But there's something shady under the veneer. Something shady that internal affairs cop Raymond Avilla is going to dig out. Mike Figgis's 1990 thriller is still a cracker, and grittier and sleazier than you might remember. Andy Garcia does well as the agent on a mission but Richard Gere owns the film with a rare bad guy turn that will charm then repulse you
Bacurau Fri(sat really) 24/2 Film4 @ 00.45
When her granny dies Teresa comes home to visit the Brazilian town she grew up in and finds it has developed a rather sinister aura. It's location has disappeared from the internet, phones don't work anymore and there's a lot of people popping their clogs. This 2019 film is yet another remake of The Most Dangerous game but it's intelligence, acting and viciousness raise it above the rest. Barbara Colen, Sônia Braga and the infamous Udo Kier all add to the madness.
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