Movie highlights on
M-Net Stars in January, 2009:
MONDAY NIGHT PREMIERES
TRY SEVENTEEN Monday 5 January 2009 at 19h30Elijah Wood, Mandy Moore, (2002) Jeffrey Porter
Elijah Wood, plays 17-year-old Jones Dillon, a sensitive boy who arrives at college to discover that his roommate is a skinhead. Not liking this one bit, Jones moves out and into a boarding house, where the tenants are a gay artist, an aspiring actress, and a mysterious photographer.
The actress is sweet and flirty, but it’s the photographer, who is about 10 years his senior, who really captures his imagination.
THE JERKY BOYSMonday 12 January 2009 at 19h30John G Brennen, Alan Arkin, (1995) James Melkonian
Two telephone pranksters find themselves on the run when one of their pranks goes wrong and they get on the wrong side of the Mob.
Johnny and Kamal are two lowlifes who still live at home. They have been playing telephone pranks since childhood, and enjoy harassing unsuspecting victims by pretending to be any number of rude, crude characters. But when they pretend to be mobsters so they can get free tickets to a Tom Jones concert, they end up angering the Mob and the cops.
CRAZY PEOPLEMonday 19 January 2009 at 19h30Dudley Moore, Daryl Hannah, (1990) Tony Bill
Emory Leeson is a brilliant advertising executive who is tired of all the hypocrisy in advertising. When he makes a series of brutal ads that tell it like it is, his boss has him committed to a mental asylum.
Inside the sanitarium, Emory befriends a kindly shrink and a pretty patient, who teach him how to relax and enjoy life. Then Emory learns that his truthful ads have become such a hit with the public that his boss wants him back.
A SIMPLE TWIST OF FATEMonday 26 January 2009 at 19h30Steve Martin, Gabriel Byrne, (1994) Gillies MacKinnon
Steve Martin's adaptation of George Eliot’s classic novel, Silas Marner about a sad man who is brought out of his shell when he adopts a little girl left on his doorstep.
Michael is a dour furniture maker who has lost everything in life: his wife, his precious cold coin collection, and his ability to enjoy life. But one bitterly cold night, a little girl - whose mother is lying dead in the snow - wanders into his life, and melts Michael’s stony heart.
With the help of a rich local politician, he adopts her. Thus begins a new chapter in Michael’s life, until the biological father decides to sue for custody.
TUESDAY NIGHT PREMIERES
EDUCATING RITATuesday 06 January 2009 at 19h30Michael Caine, Julie Walters, (1983) Lewis Gilbert
Julie Walters (Calendar Girls; Mamma Mia!) plays a sassy, streetwise hairdresser who learns about literature from her burnt-out, boozing professor, and who in turn teaches him what life is really all about.
DAREDEVILTuesday 13 January 2009 at 19h30Ben Affleck, Colin Farrell, (2003) Mark Steven Johnson
Daredevil is a blind superhero with enhanced senses. Since his dad was murdered by the Mob, lawyer Matt Murdock, aka Daredevil, has been a dedicated crime fighter. But New York’s crime lord, the formidable Kingpin, has had enough of the masked superhero’s meddling, and sends an assassin after him.
Bullseye is a ruthless hit man who can kill with anything, and he has never been known to miss.
CARPOOLTuesday 20 January 2009 at 19h30Tom Arnold, Rhea Perlman, (1996) Arthur Hiller
Two very different men, an anally retentive ad executive and a laidback carnival worker, meet in a gourmet pastry shop during a robbery. When the carnival worker is mistaken for one of the robbers, he bundles himself and the other man into the ad man’s car, and drives off.
There are five kids in the van, who soon work out that “bad man” Franklin is a barrel of fun compared to “good guy” Daniel. As the men chase around town, chatterbox kids in their ears and two incompetent cops on their tail, they start bonding in an unexpected way.
THE MAN WHO KNEW TOO LITTLETuesday 27 January 2009 at 19h30Bill Murray, Peter Gallagher, (1997) Jon Amiel
Bill Murray plays Wallace, a naïve American who arrives unannounced in London to visit his brother and sister-in-law. The brother, who has an important business meeting, sends Wallace off to an improvisational theatre, where Wallace inadvertently intercepts a call intended for a hit man. Soon he’s embroiled in all sorts of shenanigans involving spies, terrorists and a femme fatale who may be a double agent. Wallace, who thinks all these characters are actors, is oblivious to any danger, leading real British and Russian spies to mistake him for a super spy.
WEDNESDAY NIGHT PREMIERES
TOP GUNWednesday 07 January 2009 at 19h30Tom Cruise, Kelly McGillis, (1986) Tony Scott
Tom Cruise plays a gung-ho student fighter pilot vying for the title of Top Gun as well as the heart of a cute flying instructor. Cruise plays Maverick, a talented fly boy with unorthodox manoeuvres in and out of the cockpit.
Trivia: October 10, 2006 was declared "Tom Cruise Day" in Japan; the Japan Memorial Day Association said that he was awarded with a special day because he has made more trips to Japan than any other Hollywood star. The movie had box office earnings of: $353,816,701.
FISHER KINGWednesday 14 January 2009 at 19h30Jeff Bridges, Robin Williams, (1991) Terry Gilliam
The Fisher King centres round Jack, a radio jock who is suicidal after one of his offhand remarks on radio results in seven deaths, and Parry, the demented homeless man who takes him on a remarkable journey of self-discovery.
Trivia: Robin Williams won a Golden Globe for “Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture in a Comedy/Musical
THIS BOY’S LIFEWednesday 21 January at 19h30Robert De Niro, Ellen Barkin, (1993) Michael Caton-Jones
DiCaprio plays Toby, a rebellious teenage boy who, since his parents’ divorce, has been roaming from town to town with his mother Caroline. When Caroline marries Dwight, a divorced car mechanic, she sees it as a chance to start a new life and settle down.
Toby sees it as a chance to make new friends. But the boy soon discovers that his new stepfather, though well-meaning, is a control freak, and it’s not long before Toby’s ducktail makes way for a crewcut, setting the scene for friction.
BEVERLY HILLS NINJAWednesday 28 January at 2009 at 19h30Chris Farley, Nicolette Sheridan, (1997) Dennis Dugan
When a clan of ninjas find a baby on a Japanese beach, they raise him, hoping he will grow up to be the Great White Ninja of legend. Sadly, Haru grows up to be fat, clumsy with no intuitive ninja skills at all. But no matter. His adoptive father and brother love him.
When a beautiful girl arrives from America and asks Haru to spy on her no-good boyfriend, Haru realises this is his big chance to show just what he’s made of.
THURSDAY NIGHT PREMIERES
BEAVIS AND BUTT-HEAD DO AMERICAThursday 01 January 2009 at 19h30Voices of Bruce Willis, Demi Moore, (1996) Judge & Yvette Kaplan
Beavis and Butt-head (both voiced by their creator, Mike Judge) are two grungy slackers who spend their every waking moment watching TV. So when their TV is stolen, something they take a while to discover, they decide there’s only one thing to do: find a new one.
LEGENDThursday 08 January 2009 at 19h30Tom Cruise, Mia Sara, (1985) Riddley Scott
A fantasy flik about a world in which humans live side-by-side with fairies, unicorns and goblins.
Jack is a young forest dweller who falls in love with Lily, a beautiful princess. But Jack has competition: Darkness, a demon who lives in the depths of the earth, wants Lily for himself. When Darkness lures Lily into the underworld, it’s up to Jack and a small army of mythical creatures to rescue her and save the world from eternal night.
JAKOB THE LIARThursday 15 January 2009 at 19h30Robin Williams, Hannah Taylor-Gordon, (1999) Peter Kassovitz
It’s 1944, and the Germans are close to defeat. But the Jews who live in a Polish ghetto don’t know this. Hungry terrorised by the Nazis and forbidden to own radios, the mood is one of despair.
When one man, Jakob, overhears some good news while being interrogated by the Gestapo, he passes it on. Word soon spreads that he owns a radio, a misconception he is happy to reinforce but soon his fictional tales of Allied victories reach the ears of their captors.
GUILTY BY SUSPICIONThursday 22 January at 19h30Robert De Niro, Annette Bening, (1991) Irwin Winkler
David Merrill is a filmmaker whose devotion to his craft has cost him his family and his friends. When an anti-Communist committee starts targeting Hollywood actors, writers and directors, he isn’t concerned - until he is called into a private meeting and asked to betray his friends.
David refuses. But word gets around, and soon he can’t get any work in the film industry at all, not even making commercials. In desperation, he moves back in with his estranged wife, and starts wondering if betrayal really is worse than being blacklisted.
Based on actual events in Hollywood in the 1940s and 1950s when the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) blacklisted scores of people in the entertainment industry for their Communist links, real or suspected.
Trivia: This movie saw Annette Bening win the London Critics Circle Film Awards for Best Newcomer.
WHERE THE MONEY ISThursday 29 January 2009 at 19h30Paul Newman, Dermot Mulroney, (2000) Marek Kanievska
Paul Newman plays Henry Manning, an ageing bank robber who is admitted to a nursing home after suffering a stroke. Unable to move or speak, he just sits; until his nurse decides he’s faking. Carol tries to seduce him, but he doesn’t move a muscle. Then she does something a little more drastic.
It works. Henry admits he was faking, and expects her to turn him in. Instead, she makes a suggestion that he teaches her how to rob a bank.
FRIDAY NIGHT PREMIERES
HEAD ABOVE WATERFriday 2 January 2009 at 19h30Harvey Keitel, Cameron Diaz, (1996) Jim Wilson
Natalie (Cameron Diaz) is looking forward to spending a romantic weekend at her beach cottage with her new husband George, a respected judge. Lance, a neighbour, welcomes George to the island, and the two men go off on all all-night fishing trip.
As Natalie wonders how she’s going to pass the time, along comes Kent, her ex-boyfriend, with flowers and chocolates. They open a bottle, and talk about old times. The next morning, just as George and Lance arrive home, Natalie discovers that Kent is dead. In a mad panic, she tries to hide the body.
MISSION IMPOSSIBLE IFriday 09 January 2009 at 19h30Tom Cruise, Emmanuelle Beart, (1996) Brian De Palma
There’s a traitor in the top secret agency Impossible Missions Force and it’s up to Ethan Hunt and his fellow spies to draw him out by offering him something he wants - information about spies. But something goes horribly wrong and everyone on the mission except for Hunt is killed.
Suspicion soon falls on Hunt, and he is forced to go on the run to find what went wrong - and who set them up.
With the help of two blacklisted agents and a beautiful woman, Hunt embarks on an adventure that is not only dangerous, but close to impossible.
Trivia: Worldwide box office earnings: $457.6 million.
BICENTENNIAL MANFriday 16 January 2009 at 19h30Robin Williams, Oliver Platt, (1991) Chris Columbus
It’s sometime in the future, and the latest must-have gadget is a robot to do menial jobs around the house. But when Richard Martin brings home NDR-114, an android with a positronic brain, the family soon discover that this is no ordinary robot. NDR, or Andrew, has feelings, and a creative streak.
As the years pass and he takes on ever increasing challenges, the Martins support him every step of the way. How will they react when they discover that the thing Andrew wants most is to be human?
BRAZILFriday 23 January 2009 at 19h30Robert De Niro, Jonathan Pryce, (1985) Terry Gilliam
Sam Lowry is a meek, mild-manned man with a mind-numbing job in a Big Brother-type society. But in his imagination, he is a dashing hero, with a girlfriend who adores him.
When Sam has to sort out a bureaucratic muddle involving two men with similar sounding names, he encounters characters both mad and bad - and meets the real-life version of his dream girl.
No title available for Friday, 30 January, 2009.
SATURDAY NIGHT PREMIERES
ZOOLANDERSaturday 03 January 2009 at 19h30Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, (2001) Ben Stiller
Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson play models Derek Zoolander and Hansel, equally gorgeous, equally witless, whose rivalry on the catwalk turns to friendship when they team up to outwit a fashion mogul with an evil scheme up his fashionable sleeve.
Hansel is crowned Model of the Year, leaving Derek dumbstruck. His life spirals out of control and he decides the only thing left for him is to start a school for kids who “don’t read good”. But then a fashion mogul makes him an offer too good to refuse.
MISSION IMPOSSIBLE IISaturday 10 January 2009 at 19h30Tom Cruise, Thandie Newton, (2000) John Woo
Tom Cruise reprises his role as secret agent Ethan Hunt in this sequel. Ethan Hunt is busy climbing a mountain when he receives news of his latest assignment.
A fellow secret agent Sean Ambrose has, in a dramatic mid-air hijacking, stolen a lethal man-made virus and killed its creator. Now Hunt has to assemble a team, including Ambrose’s ex-girlfriend, to get close to Ambrose and find out what he’s planning.
Trivia: Worldwide box office earnings: $545,902,562
HOOKSaturday 17 January 2009 at 19h30Dustin Hoffman, Robin Williams, (1991) Steven Spielberg
A re-imagining of Peter Pan as a boy who grew up to be a workaholic lawyer with a wife and two kids. Unable to remember his childhood, Peter Banning has no idea he is really Peter Pan of Neverland - until his two children are kidnapped during a visit to the woman who raised him.
His search for his kids leads him to the magical world of Neverland, where he meets scores of fascinating creatures, including a fairy named Tinker Bell and a fearsome pirate named Hook. It’s the beginning of a journey in which Peter will rediscover his childhood and the meaning of family.
Trivia: Worldwide box office earnings: $300.85 million
THE KING OF COMEDYSaturday 24 January 2009 at 19h30Robert De Niro, Jerry Lewis, (1982) Martin Scorsese
Rupert Pupkin (De Niro) hangs around TV studios, hoping to catch a glimpse of talk show host and comedian Jerry Langford, a man he admires and wants to emulate.
One day, Jerry talks to him, and Rupert takes it as an invitation to be on his show. He starts following the comic around, but is rebuffed at every turn. So Rupert enlists the help of a kooky friend to make the comedian see sense.
Trivia: The film won 3 BAFTA awards including Best Actor: Robert De Niro
K-PAXSaturday 31 January 2009 at 19h30Kevin Spacey, Jeff Bridges, (2001) Iain Softley
Hospital psychologist Mark Powell has a mystery on his hands. His latest patient, a man named Prot, claims he’s an alien from the planet K-Pax in the constellation of Lyra. This can’t possibly be true, but Prot is very knowledgeable about space and science.
He is also remarkably wise, and has a knack of looking deep into people’s hearts. But just as Dr Powell starts thinking there could be some truth in Prot’s claims, he discovers something that throws a whole new light on the man from K-Pax.
SUNDAY NIGHT PREMIERES
THE SUPERSunday 04 January 2009 at 19h30Joe Pesci, Vincent Gardenia, (1991) Rod Daniel
Joe Pesci (Goodfellas) plays the loud, uncouth and offensive Louie, a landlord who is quick to take the rent, but slow to do any repairs. As a result, his building has become a slum. But Louis gets a wake-up call when a judge orders him to live in own building for 120 days. If Louie doesn’t start fixing up the building, he’ll send him to jail for real.
QUICKSILVERSunday 11 January 2009 at 19h30Kevin Bacon, Jami Gertz, (1986) Thomas Michael Donnelly
In one brutal day on the stock exchange, brash young stockbroker Jack loses his and his parents’ entire life savings. Mortified, he drops out of the corporate rat race and becomes a bicycle messenger. No more stocks, no more suits, and no more stress. But the streets of San Francisco have their own perils, as Jack discovers when drug dealers target his new girlfriend, Terri, to run drugs for them.
SHAPE OF THINGSSunday 18 January 2009 at 19h30Paul Rudd, Gretchen Moll, (2003) Neil LaBute
Adam is a nerdy literature student who moonlights as a security guard in a museum. One day, he stops a rebellious art student from defacing a statue to make a political statement. They start talking, and soon they are dating.
Adam is in love, so when Evelyn suggests he cut his hair, update his wardrobe and swap his glasses for contact lenses, he goes along. As he changes in small but far-reaching ways, his friends Phillip and Jenny wonder what’s gotten into him.
COBBSaturday 25 January 2009 at 19h30Tommy Lee Jones, Ron Shelton, (1994) Ron Shelton
Ty Cobbs (1886-1961) was one of America’s biggest baseball stars. But he was also notoriously difficult, as sportswriter Al Stump discovered when he was invited to help write the dying sportsman’s autobiography.
As he delved into Cobb’s life, Stump found himself playing driver and nursemaid to a contentious old man who remained defiant to the end. Cobbs died of cancer at the age of 75, leaving a legacy that included a place in the Baseball Hall of Fame and millions of dollars to education. This film tells the story.