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Movies on M-Net Stars across August 2008:


SUNCHASER
Monday 4 August at 19:30

1996 Directed by V. Woody Harrleson, Anne Bancroft

Dr Michael Reynolds is a wealthy oncologist whose life revolves around his sports car, his trophy wife and the new mansion he’s about to buy. The last thing he expected is a young hoodlum taking him hostage at gunpoint to force him to travel across two states to a lake with magical properties.

Blue, it turns out, is a half Navajo Indian who has been diagnosed with cancer. Tough on the outside, terrified on the inside, this is a boy in need of a miracle. As Reynolds discovers, he's not the only one.


IF LUCY FELL
Monday 11 August at 19:30

1996 Directed by Eric Schaeffer. Sarah Jessica Parker, Ben Stiller

Joe and Lucy are roommates and best friends. For some reason they themselves are unable to comprehend, they have never had much luck in the romance department.

They are both attractive, smart and able to communicate - and if Cupid doesn’t do something soon, they’ll both soon be dead. That’s because they made a pact to jump off the Brooklyn Bridge if they don’t find love by the time they turn 30.

Things look promising as Joe’s lusting after a supermodel and Lucy’s dating a painter. The only problem is, is it love?


MR WRONG
Monday 18 August at 19:30

1996 Directed by Nick Castle. Ellen DeGeneres, Bill Pullman

TV talk show host Ellen plays TV talk show host producer Martha, who is single and looking. When she meets Whitman, it’s love at first sight. The man is handsome, rich, romantic, attentive - everything she imagined Mr Right to be. But Martha soon discovers another side to Whitman - he's obsessive to the point of creepiness, and it doesn’t help that he’s surrounded by weirdos. Martha falls out of love very quickly, but how does she dump Mr Wrong when he’s convinced she’s Ms Right?


MR JONES
Monday 25 August at 19:30

1993 Directed by Mike Figgis. Richard Gere, Anne Bancroft

Mr Jones is a bipolar manic depressive, which means he suffers from wildly fluctuating mood swings. He’s ecstatically happy one moment; deeply depressed the next. Understandably, Mr Jones has few friends.

While pouring out his heart to his psychiatrist, Dr Libbie Bowen, he falls in love with her, and she (who should know better), in love with him.

It’s a romance that’s doomed to fail, but Mr Jones is an utter charmer, especially during one of his upswings. Will Mr Jones ever find equilibrium? Will love succeed where psychiatry and medication failed? And, most importantly, will Libbie find out his first name?


MR DESTINY
Tuesday 5 August at 19:30

1990 Directed by James Orr. Jim Belushi, Linda Hamilton

Larry is a regular guy with a devoted wife, a good friend, a regular job - all the things that should make him happy, but which don’t.

Larry has always believed he was destined for greater things. One particularly bad day, he decides to drown his sorrows in a pub. The bartender listens to his story, then takes him back to that pivotal moment in Larry’s life - a high school baseball match.

If Larry does the right thing this time round, his future will be perfect - or will it?


OFF BEAT
Tuesday 12 August at 19:30

1986 Directed by Michael Dinner. Meg Tilly, John Turturro

Joe is a library assistant who whizzes around on rollerskates putting books back where they belong. But he ends up where he doesn’t belong when he agrees to do his policeman pal a favour.

He dons a policeman’s uniform to audition for a policemen’s benefit dance, and promptly falls in love with the ravishing Rachel, a hostage negotiator. But posing as a cop brings its fair share of problems, like being expected to catch a bank robber or two …! A wacky comedy set in New York City.


ROOMMATES
Tuesday 19 August at 19:30

1995 Directed by Peter Yates. Peter Falk, Julianne Moore

Rocky is a grumpy Polish American baker who is 75 when he adopts his orphaned young grandson Michael. Over the years, Rocky takes care of the boy, until he goes to medical school. When Michael, 25, learns that Rocky, 96, is about to be evicted from his apartment, he takes him in.

There is friction when Michael falls in love, but Rocky reluctantly accepts the status quo when Michael marries and starts a family. Then a tragedy in Michael’s family brings the old man, now 107, back to his grandson’s side.


MAN IN THE MOON
Tuesday 26 August at 19:30

1991 Directed by Robert Mulligan. Reese Witherspoon, Jason London

Dani, 14, lives with her parents and older sister Maureen in rural Louisiana, where nothing much happens. The sisters talk girl talk, and listen to Elvis records. One day, while out swimming, Dani meets Court, the neighbour’s 17-year-old son.

They become friends, share a kiss and soon Dani is head over heels in love. But Court only has eyes for Maureen, which threatens to drive a wedge between the close-knit sisters.



MR MAGOO
Wednesday 6 August at 19:30

1997 Directed by Stanley Tong. Leslie Nielsen, Kelly Lynch

Quincy Magoo, a millionaire who is too vain to wear glasses, is attending an unveiling function at a museum, when thieves strike. Their target is the Star of Kuristan, a giant ruby.

In all the confusion, Mr Magoo unwittingly ends up with the gem, making him the prime suspect. Soon the thieves, the cops and a high-kicking femme fatale are on his trail.


LEGALESE
Wednesday 13 August at 19:30

1998 Directed by Glenn Jordan. James Garner, Kathleen Turner

A rookie lawyer is thrilled when his boss, celebrity lawyer Norman Keane, asks him to defend a Hollywood starlet accused of murder. Angela Beale is beautiful, winsome, and surely didn’t kill her sister’s husband. But as the case progresses, Roy gets the uncomfortable feeling that his boss is manipulating the media to get the outcome he wants.


IF THE SHOE FITS
Wednesday 20 August at 19:30

1990 Directed by Tom Clegg. Jennifer Grey, Rob Lowe

By day, Kelly works as a seamstress for Paris’s prince of fashion, Francesca; by night, she designs dazzling shoes. Kelly is really Cinderella in disguise – in love with a man who doesn’t know she exists, and treated as a slave by her two wicked roommates. But one day, Kelly slips into a pair of her shoes, and is transformed into a stunner.

Suddenly, Francesca wants her to be his model, perhaps even his princess, but what will he do when he discovers she’s just a lowly seamstress?


AT SACHEM FARM
Wednesday 27 August at 19:30

1998 Directed by John Huddles. Minnie Driver, Rufus Sewell

Minnie Driver plays Kendal, a woman who is dating Ross, a stockbroker who is consumed with making money. When he decides to sell the family’s priceless wine collection to buy a manganese mine, she tries to talk him out of it. But it is Ross’s Uncle Cullen, who is into Eastern clothing and meditation, who forces the issue into a surprising direction.

Other characters on the farm include Ross’s hermit-like brother, Kendal’s beautiful friend and a former Olympic swimmer obsessed with diving.


PUSHING TIN
Thursday 7 August at 19:30

1999 Directed by Mike Newell. John Cusack, Angelina Jolie

Pushing tin - controlling 7 000 planes a day as they land and take off - is no easy task, but Nick Falzone makes it look easy. He’s the best air traffic controller there is, until Russell Bell, half Irish, half Native American, and as a cool as a cucumber breezes into town.

Russell can push tin with the best of them, which puts Nick on the defensive. Things gets turbulent in and out of the control room as the two battle it out for king of the skyways, and it’s not long before their wives are dragged into their private little turf war.

TOOTSIE
Thursday 14 August at 19:30

1982 Directed by Sydney Pollack. Dustin Hoffman, Jessica Lange

Michael is a volatile New York actor who can’t land a role because he’s so difficult to work with. With nothing to lose, he dresses up as a woman and auditions for the role of Dorothy, a middle-aged hospital administrator in a soapie. He lands the role, and the empathetic, no-nonsense Dorothy character becomes a hit on and off the set.

Michael is pleased, but he soon discovers that dressing in drag can be a drag – especially when he falls in love with the leading lady and her dad falls in love with him.


PRINCE OF TIDES
Thursday 21 August at 19:30

1991 Directed by Barbra Streisand. Nick Nolte, Barbra Streisand

Tom Wingo, a football coach whose marriage is falling apart and whose sister wants to kill herself. He travels to New York where his sister’s psychiatrist, Dr Susan Lowenstein, encourages him to talk about his family. As he does so, shocking details about his past emerge.


LEAP OF FAITH
Thursday 28 August at 19:30

1992 Directed by Richard Pearce. Steve Martin, Debra Winger

Jonas Nightengale is a charismatic con man who has honed his revival meetings to a fine art. In exchange for money, he gives gullible people music, marvels and a message of hope. Is that so bad? The sheriff of a small Kansas town where they’ve set up camp seems to think so, and tries to shut them down.

Jonas sends his manager Jane to charm the lawman, but she falls for his charms. To make matters worse, Jonas finds himself developing feelings for a local waitress, whose disabled young brother is waiting for a miracle. Is this holy roller about to meet his nemesis?



I.Q
Friday 1 August at 19:30

1994 Directed by Fred Schepisi. Meg Ryan, Tim Robbins

Ed is a motor mechanic whose life changes dramatically when a brainy young woman drives into his shop to have her car serviced. They hit it off immediately, but Catherine is engaged to the brilliant, pompous James: she plans on marrying him, because IQ is very important in her family as her uncle is the scientific genius Albert Einstein.

However, Ed soon discovers that Uncle Albert is a born romantic who will do anything to ensure his niece’s happiness, including coming up with a crazy scheme to make Ed look like an expert on physics, cold fusion and space travel.


HEARTBURN
Friday 8 August at 19:30

1986 Directed by Mike Nichols. Meryl Streep, Jack Nicholson

Writing is in Nora Ephron’s blood. Her parents were screenwriters; her two sisters are screenwriters; and she is an award-winning screenwriter (she was nominated for Oscars for her original screenplays for Sleepless In Seattle, When Harry Met Sally and Silkwood). All three of her husbands were writers too.

Ephron’s second husband was Carl Bernstein, who wrote All The President’s Men and helped expose the Watergate scandal. When he cheated on her, she divorced him, and wrote the book Heartburn, in which she said scathing things about him and his lover.

This movie is based on that book, but all names have been changed. Nora is now Rachel, a New York food writer, and Carl is Mark, a Washington political columnist.


THE OUT OF TOWNERS
Friday 15 August at 19:30

1999 Directed by Sam Weisman. Steve Martin, Goldie Hawn

Ohio yokels Henry and Nancy have been married for over 20 years and the younger of their two kids has just gone off to college. When ad executive Henry decides to go to New York City to look for a better job, Nancy decides to go with him.

The trip turns into one disaster after another, as they lose their way, their luggage and their credit-worthiness. But despite all the mishaps, or perhaps because of them, Henry and Nancy rediscover something they haven’t felt in years - passion.


SENSE AND SENSIBLITY
Friday 22 August at 19:30

1995 Directed by Ang Lee. Emma Thompson, Kate Winslet

Elinor (Emma Thompson) is cool and reserved, the “sensible” one. Marianne (Kate Winslet) is the hotheaded one, the sister who will die for love, who lives by her senses. The two fall on hard times when their stepfather dies, leaving everything to their stepbrother. As they - and their mother and their younger sister - try to keep up appearances in the English countryside, love comes calling in the shape of two suitors.

For Elinor, it’s Edward Ferrars (Hugh Grant), a charming gentleman with a secret. For Marianne, it’s the dashing John Willoughby (Greg Wise), her dream lover made flesh, but who, too, hides a secret.


SOAPDISH
Friday 29 August at 19:30

1991 Directed by Michael Hoffman. Sally Field, Kevin Kline

Celeste is the popular lead actress of the long-running The Sun Also Sets, but waiting in the wings is Montana, who fancies herself as the queen of soaps. Soon Montana’s conniving with the producer to get Celeste to leave the show, resulting in one bizarre plot twist after another.

Jeffrey, a character who was killed off in the soap some years before, is resurrected to unsettle Celeste, and a deaf-mute girl is introduced to shake things up even further. With the help of her scriptwriter and some cunning ad-libbing, Celeste manages to turn every backstabbing scheme to her advantage.



SABRINA
Saturday 2 August at 19:30

1995 Directed by Sydney Pollack. Harrison Ford, Julia Ormond

Linus and David Larrabee's lives are turned upside down when Sabrina, the daughter of their chauffeur, returns from Paris, a beautiful butterfly.

Playboy David is immediately smitten, which worries workaholic Linus no end. David is supposed to marry Elizabeth, a marriage that will seal a billion dollar merger between their two wealthy families. So Linus, in the best interests of business, starts making a play for Sabrina and ends up falling in love.


THE WEDDING PLANNER
Saturday 9 August at 19:30

2001 Directed by Adam Shankman. Jennifer Lopez, Matthew McConaughey

Mary is a no-nonsense wedding planner who is on the way up so when she bumps into a charming doctor who is on the verge of getting married to her richest client, she knows she has to take a step back, no matter what her heart tells her.


STOLEN HEARTS
Saturday 16 August at 19:30

1996 Directed by Bill Bennett. Denis Leary, Sandra Bullock

Roz has been with Frank for seven years, but she’s sick and tired of his unstable job (he’s a petty thief). Frank promises Roz that his latest job (the theft of a $4million Matisse painting) will be his last. All they have to do now is hang around on an island, wait for their buyer, and hope the cops aren’t on their tail.

Meanwhile, there are fun things to do, like horseriding, sailing and attending cocktail parties with their neighbours, one of whom is the handsome, refined and very stable Evan. When Roz starts responding to Evan’s charms, Frank gets worried. Is his girl getting the seven-year itch everyone talks about?


SIMON BIRCH
Friday 23 August at 19:30

1998 Directed by Mark Steven Johnson. Ashley Judd, Ian Michael Smith

Joe’s mother, Rebecca, refuses to tell him who his father is. As a result, Joe is something of an outcast among his friedns, so he is naturally drawn to Simon Birch, a tiny boy with a form of dwarfism.

Simon is bright and optimistic, and believes God has put him on earth for a great purpose. However, before this purpose is revealed, there is a great tragedy, which draws the boys closer together and gives Joe a purpose of his own.

Based on John Irving's A Prayer For Owen Meany.


IT COULD HAPPEN TO YOU
Friday 30 August at 19:30

1994 Directed by Andrew Bergman. Nicolas Cage, Bridget Fonda

Charlie, a nice (but married) New York cop, has a ticket. When he discovers he doesn’t have enough money to tip Yvonne, a sweet (but broke) waitress, he tells her he’ll split his lottery winnings with her. It’s a joke, of course. Neither Charlie nor Yvonne believe this will ever happen. But then Charlie does win the lottery – and feels compelled to share his $4 million with Yvonne. Charlie’s wife Muriel goes ballistic. And as much as Charlie tries to explain that $2 million is $2 million more than they had yesterday – nothing – Muriel wants all of it. It all turns very ugly from there, but could this be Cupid’s way of bringing two perfectly adorable people together?



UNCONDITIONAL LOVE (2002)
Sunday 3 August at 19:30

2002 Directed by P.J. Hogan. Kathy Bates, Rupert Everett

Middle-aged Grace goes from delighted to shocked to horrified when she learns that 1) her favourite singer, Welsh crooner Victor Fox, is coming to town, that 2) her husband wants to leave her because he wants to feel more alive and 3) that Victor has been murdered just before his Chicago concert.

After pouring her heart out to her daughter-in-law, Grace goes to Wales to attend the singer’s funeral, where she meets Dirk, Victor’s valet and secret lover.

Soon she’s talked Dirk into going back to Chicago with her to find Victor’s killer, an adventure that teaches both of them that it’s never too late to start living.


WHAT PLANET ARE YOU FROM?
Sunday 10 August at 19:30

2000 Directed by Mike Nichols. Gary Shandling, Annette Bening

H1449, an emotionless alien living on a male-only planet, is selected to travel to Earth to impregnate a human woman. After a name change and the addition of a vital piece of equipment, Harold arrives on Earth where he tries to carry out his mission. But humming trousers aren’t every woman’s idea of romance, and it’s only when he strolls into an AA meeting that he gets lucky - or so he thinks.

Susan insists on getting married first, so it’s off to Vegas for a quickie wedding before he can put the hummingbird to work. Susan duly falls pregnant, which means Harold can go home. Somewhere between dealing with sleazy bankers, suspicious FBI agents and predatory females, Harold discovers he's grown an emotional bone in his body,


SUMMER SCHOOL
Sunday 17 August at 19:30

1987 Directed by Carl Reiner. Mark Harmon, Kirstie Alley

Gym teacher Freddy Shoop is looking forward to his vacation in Hawaii, when he is ordered to teach remedial English to a class of misfits. With no idea of how to teach, Freddy takes the kids on unusual field trips, and promises them favours in exchange for studying. His unconventional methods begin to get through to the youngsters, but not all.

Unless Freddy can get the whole class to pass, he’s out of a job.


STRAIGHT TALK
Sunday 24 August at 19:30

1992 Directed by Barnet Kellman. Dolly Parton, James Woods

When Shirlee wanders into a radio station, she is mistaken for the new radio therapist and handed a mic. Soon “Dr” Shirlee is dispensing homespun wit and down-home advice to all and sundry, delighting audiences and the station bosses. But Jack, an investigative reporter who had met Shirlee earlier, smells a rat, and starts dating her to find out just what qualifications lurk behind those holy moly assets.


ANGIE
Friday 31 August at 19:30

1994 Directed by Martha Coolidge. Geena Davis, Stephen Rea

Thirty-something Angie has just discovered that she’s pregnant. Her plumber boyfriend Vinnie wants to get married at once, but she’s not so sure. She wants the baby, but does she want the man?

She’s just met Noel, an Irish lawyer who’s sweet and funny and never talks about pipes. As she tries to decide what she wats out of life, she goes on a journey of self-discovery that confuses her friends and family.

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