Thursday May 12
Safe Men [SABC3.23.00]
Friday May 13
Shopgirl [SABC3.22.30]
Lock Up [e.tv.20.30]
Saturday May 14
Clash of the Titans [M-Net.20.40]
IT'S HIS DAY, ALRIGHT!
Groundhog Day [e.tv.13.55 and 00.35]
White Chicks [e.tv.20.00]
A Price Above Rubies [e.tv.22.10 and 02.30]
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End [SABC3.19.30]
JANE FONDA WITH JEFF BRIDGES IN THE MORNING AFTER
The Morning After [ SABC3.21.30]
Sunday May 15
The Pink Panther 2: The Agony Continues [M-Net.10.00]
Dear John [M-Net.20.05]
THE INNOCENCE OF YOUTH
Stand By Me [e.tv.22.05 and 01.45]
Curious George [SABC3.14.00]
The Paper [SABC3.02.30]
Monday May 16
Remember Me [M-Net.22.30]
Tuesday May 17
Clash of the Titans [23.00]
Wednesday May 18
Dear John [M-Net.22.30]
MARX BROTHERS FOR THE 21ST CENTURY?
Regular readers might have inferred, quite incorrectly, that I stay as far away from Clan Wayan as is humanly possible; just in case anyone is labouriong under this misconception, let me set matters straight and take a look at White Chicks [e.tv.Saturday.20.00 and Sunday 13.35]
OH MY GOD!
Here, Keenen Ivory, Shawn and Marlon send up white women. The humour and situations are so slap and sticky that even the blondes among us should click almost at once.
CLAIRE DANES WHEN SHE WAS A LITTLE WOMEN
Another actor/ writer with sticky fingers is Steve Martin, who wrote and starred in Shopgirl [SABC3.Friday.22.30]. Only the participation of Claire Danes makes the effort of watching the movie worthwhile. To digress; wasn’t she wonderful as Beth in Little Women; her final scene with Jo always has me clutching for the tissue box.
SERIOUSLY, HIS BANJO PLAYING HAS WON HIM A GRAMMY
Fortunately, I’m not a great Pink Panther fan [M-Net.Sunday.10.00] so I don’t really mind what Steve Martin does to Inspector Clouseau; but I’m sure that serious Peter Sellers aficionados wish that Mr Martin would go and pick his banjo somewhere out of earshot.
THE CLOCK TICKS...
Neither am I a huge Bill Murray fan but in Groundhog Day [e.tv.Saturday.13.55 and 00.35], he is picture perfect. The plot stays fresh and original, if you have seen it before, watch the movie again; every time there is a tiny new nuance to savour.
THE MAN IN THE YELLOW HAT AND FRIEND
Curious George [SABC3.Sunday.14.00] makes his transition to the big screen, more or less, unscathed. The animated adaptation of the delightful stories about the inquisitive monkey and his yellow hatted friend by H.A. and Margret Ray reach us well, thanks in large part to the vocal participation of Will Farrell and Drew Barrymore.
GUESS WHO?
The Pirates are still pillaging, this time At World’s End [SABC3.Saturday.19.30]. I love this sort of Errol Flynnesque caper and Johnny Depp as Jack Sparrow, certainly has enough flair and panache to carry his sail with ease. Sequels can work once in a while, but in this case, maybe I’m a little biased—Ships and Stones, as it were.
IN THE BEGINING...WITH BILL,MICK,BRIAN AND CHARLIE
A teensy word on Keith Richard of the Rolling Stones, he is not an ideal role model for anyone, but that’s not his calling; he is one of the most durable members of the first real generation of mega rock stars. He is the archetypical ‘n’ roll man.
JUST SHOWS YOU WHAT PASSING THE VODKA BOTTLE FOR FIFTY YEARS CAN DO
One of my best loved stories about Keith is that he claims not to remember the 70s, this is the time when he and Mick composed a whole heap of great rock classics; Brown Sugar, Angie and Tumbling Dice to name but a few.
KEITH RICHARD GIVES THESE BLOKES A RUN FOR THEIR MONEY
Technology demanded a remake of Clash of the Titans, so it happened [M-Net. Saturday.20.40 and Tuesday.23.00]. CGI rules; trouble is, it really isn’t that much better than the dreary original, even though two of my favourites, Liam Neeson and Ralph Fiennes appear as Zeus and Hades; with Sam Worthington beefing it up as Perseus.
THESE DAYS HIS TYPE ARE CALLED EXTREME SPORTSMEN
Here’s one for the trivia buffs—did you know Ralph and his brother Joseph are third cousins of Ranulph Fiennes, that rather strange man who walked backwards from both the North and South Poles on crutches; or something.
PLAY IT AGAIN, SAM
Although Avatar brought him into the spotlight, Sam Worthington has been around for a while. Safe Men [SABC3.Thursday.23.00] dates back to 1998, with him and Steve Zahn getting everything wrong, in rather a sweet and touching way. Paul Giamatti, Harvey Fierstein and Michael Lerner and Mark Ruffalo make the antics even more watchable.
CHANNING TATUM AND AMANDA SEYFRIED
And now, I’m about to be shot down in flames by my feminist friends; if anyone thought that the blonde joke was sacrilegious, stick around; I’ve been dying to say this for nearly two years, Nicholas Sparks writes like a girl. If you don’t believe me, just watch Dear John [M-Net.Sunday.20.05 and Wednesday.22.30].
THREE OF THE FOUR STORIES WERE MADE INTO MOVIES
On the other hand, Stephen King writes with his finger on his reader’s racing pulse. Sometimes his verbosity is tiresome but some of his short stories are nothing short of brilliant. I may have mentioned this before but try and lay a hand on Skeleton Crew; at least three of the stories are in the mould of Edgar Alan Poe; you stay scared forever.
A MOMENT FROZEN IN TIME
His Different Seasons from 1982 produced Apt Pupil, (Rita Hayworth and the) Shawshank Redemption and The Body which was filmed by former TV star, Rob Reiner as Stand By Me [e.tv.Sunday.22.05 and 01.45]; this poignant and believable study of the angst of adolescence was made in 1986, with a young and newly sparkling cast list.
REMEMBER THEM, THEN
Twenty five years have seen many changes. Wil Weaton has had a bits and pieces career, Kiefer Sutherland, after indulging in a frenetic off screen existence that included a broken engagement to Julia Roberts, seems to have settled into a life as a TV rather than a movie star while Corey Feldman fizzled after a brief flare.
RIVER PHOENIX-FOREVER YOUNG
Richard Dreyfuss, who narrates, was edging towards oldie status even then; sadly, River Phoenix, possibly the most talented of them all died under tragic circumstances in 1993, aged just 23. The ghouls had fun for a while, but he is almost just a memory now.
A RECENT PHOTO OF JOHN CUSACK; BROTHER OF THE EQUALLY FABULOUS JOAN
The young actor who has fared best career wise is John Cusack, sometimes he miscalculates his material, but he is always interesting to watch.
CANADIAN ACTOR DONALD SUTHERLAND
I’m a great fan of Kiefer Sutherland’s dad, Donald; he is a splendid actor, who is always good, sometimes in spite of his material. A case in point is Lock Up [e.tv.Friday.20.30], a particularly nasty little movie about vengeance and violent retribution starring Sly Stallone.
DIRECTOR SIDNEY LUMET DIED IN APRIL
In the late 70s Donald Sutherland and Jane Fonda made three films together FTA, the cultish Steelyard Blues and most famously Klute which won Jane her first Oscar. She was nominated for another one for The Morning After [SABC3.Saturday.21.30]made by Sidney Lumet in 1986. She and the film are pretty soap opera-ish, but entertaining enough in a sluttish way.
ROBARDS AND FONDA IN JULIA
Fonda seems to be popping up quite frequently at the moment, I wonder if the SABC has bought a cache of her films- two for the price of one. If so, please show Fred Zimmermann’s Julia with Fonda as Lillian Hellman and Jason Robards, who won an Oscar playing Dashiell Hammett.
ROBARDS AS A YOUNG MAN
Towards the end of his life, Robards, surely one of the finest actors of the 20th Century, played a small part in The Paper [SABC3.Sunday.02.30], an all star cast extravaganza about journalism; directed by another former TV star, Ron Howard.
CLOSE AND MICHAEL KEATON
The cast is truly impressive and includes Michael Keaton, Glenn Close, Robert Duvall, Marisa Tomei, Randy Quaid and Catherine o’ Hara. It’s an inky Airport, if ever there was one; fast paced and fun, and as they say…Hold The Back Page…
RENEE ZELLWEGER-ALWAYS RELIABLE
Also on offer are two very good pieces of cinema, one new and one not so new. A Price Above Rubies [e.tv.Saturday.22.10 and 02.30] features a stand out performance by Renee Zellweger, a movie with thoughtful acting and a excellent sense of plot and timing.
PATTINSON- PASSION WITH EMILIE DE RAVEN
A recent flavour of the month who runs a huge risk of overdevelopment in the tabloid dark room is Robert Pattinson; which would be a pity because he does show that he more than a fang with legs in Remember Me [M-Net.Monday.22.30]
PIERCE BROSNAN PLAYS PATTINSON'S FATHER
In it, he plays a young man whose emotional life is close to short circuiting. His performance is nicely rounded out by Emilie de Raven, Pierce Brosnan, Chris Cooper and Lena Olin.
GROUNDHOG DAY EVERY DAY
I planned to mention a few more flicks but time and space dictates otherwise. Remember, any film that I’ve reviewed over the last two years, is but a click away. My pick is an old companion, Groundhog Day [e.tv.Saturday.13.55 and 00.35].