Thursday June 30
…I’m only putting this up on Friday
Friday July 1
The Bourne Ultimatum [SABC1.22.00]
Splitting Heirs [SABC3.21.30]
The Last Castle [e.tv.20.30]
Saturday July 2
Robin Hood [M-Net.18.00]
Hot Tub Time Machine [M-Net.20.05]
THE DON
Iron Man 2 [M-Net.22.50]
The Road [M-Net.01.00]
Michael Collins [SABC1.20.00]
The Fog [e.tv.21.50 and 01.55]
A DANGEROUS GAME
Zathura: A Space Adventure [e.tv.23.55]
Sunday July 3
Taking Woodstock [M-Net.22.50]
BELLA OF A DIFFERENT KIND
Bella [M-Net.00.50]
Terminator 2: Judgment Day [e.tv.20.00]
Monday July 4
Peacock [M-Net.22.30]
Tuesday July 5
Hot Tub Time Machine [M-Net.23.00]
Wednesday July 6
Zilch
WILL HE BE THE FIRST HOMEGROWN WINNER SINCE FRED PERRY IN 1936? GOOD LUCK!
Hi, I came back from my travels with a dreadful cold; which lingered— hence the silence, in more ways than one; I lost my voice for nearly a week. I hope that in my absence, you have been enjoying the movies and the tennis. I’m rooting for Andy Murray—maybe this time…
STAN WINSTON-HIS CREATIONS WERE ALWAYS MORE FAMOUS THAN HE EVER WAS
Beginning, as I often do, with Academy Award winning films; it’s not just acting, writing or directing prowess that win citations every year; more than a dozen other Oscars are handed out, ranging from awards for sound to special effects; these awards sometimes going to movies that appear at first glance not to be Oscar winning material.
THESE DAYS THEY WOULD SIMPLY BE BOURNE 1,2 & 3
Take for example The Bourne Ultimatum [SABC1. Friday.22.00] the third movie in the franchise made from the novels by the late Robert Ludlum. Once again, Matt Damon stars as Jason Bourne, the man who can’t quite remember why he is where he is. As in both The Bourne Identity and The Bourne Supremacy, the action is slick and pacey and Damon’s timing cool and controlled.
NOW, WHY ISN'T HE SIR ALBERT? MAYBE HE DIDN'T WANT TO BE!
This time, the very real acting skills of Albert Finney and David Strathairn augment the proceedings while old favourites, including Joan Allen and Julia Stiles return to thrill us once again.
SHARP EDITING-SHARP ACTING TOO
The movie won Oscars for Film Editing, Sound Editing as well as Sound Mixing. The Bourne Ultimatum is a good reason to stay in and brew up some gluwein; not to much— the plot twists demand a deal of focused concentration.
RIDING HIGH IN T2
Fans don’t need to be told what T101, Harlan Ellison, 'I Will Be Back' and Stan Winston’s robots have in common. The second Terminator movie, Judgment Day [ e.tv.Sunday.20.00] won Oscars for Make Up, Sound, Sound Effects, Editing and Visual Effects in 1991, back in the day before sequel sickness had become a pandemic.
ARNIE DOING HIS RONALD REAGAN IMPERSONATION
Now that Arnie has proved himself to be human after all, he will definately be back, over and over again, at least on our TV screens; the powers that be have a whole box of Arnie flicks stashed away, sadly not many of them as good as Judgment Day. Be warned.
IRON MAN 3-HERE WE COME
Before Iron Man premiered in 2008, Iron Man 2 [M-Net. Saturday.22.50] was already in pre production. Robert Downey and Gwyneth Paltrow spark a little, but like most sequels, a lot of the initial excitement is lost. Don Cheadle is a welcome addition to the cast, as is— surprise, surprise— Mickey Rourke.
JON FAVREAU
Before director Jon Favreau landed the Iron Man franchise, he made a neat little Sci-Fi movie called Zathura: A Space Adventure [e.tv.Saturday.23.55] , based on the novel by Chris van Allsburg, where two brothers play a sort of lethal Monopoly, where passing ‘Go’ becomes a potentially deadly endeavor. Look out for Kristen Stewart; she’s there in all her pre Twilight glory.
THE WOODSTOCK MEMORIAL ON MAX YUSGAR'S FARM
Can you imagine living in a town and suddenly, the local farmer loses his senses and rents out his land to a bunch of stoned hippies set on celebrating three days of music, love and peace.
THE CROWD SNAPPED IN 1969
The kids keep coming, 450,000 in all, complete with flowers in their hair and no idea where the next bath, adequate toilet facility or square meal is coming from. But, hey man, the vibe was cool and the acid good, and then, on the second day, it began to rain… Heavy…
A PSYCHODELIC BUS WAS A HIPPIE ESSENTIAL
This is, more or less, what happened in Woodstock in August 1969. Ang Lee’s Taking Woodstock [M-Net.Sunday.22.50] takes a wry look at this piece of recent history and he does a pretty good job, highlighting the impact that the world’s first massive rock concert has on the real people who actually lived in this quiet part of Upstate New York.
HAIR LENGTH TELLS ITS OWN STORY
You don’t have to be an aging hippie to dig this one; but I guess it helps. Imelda Staunton, Demetri Martin, Emile Hirsch, Liev Schreiber and Mamie Gummer head a terrific cast.
Now and in a time to be,
Wherever green is worn,
Are changed, changed utterly:
A terrible beauty is born.
So wrote Irish poet William Butler Yeats in September 1916.
JULIA ROBERTS PLAYS KITTY KIERNAN
Neil Jordan often has Ireland and her political problems at the heart of his movies, never more so than in Michael Collins [SABC1. Friday.20.00], which chronicles the life and death of fiery IRA struggle hero, Michael Collins.
IRISH ACTOR LIAM NEESON
Liam Neeson stars as Collins, with Julia Roberts as Kitty Kiernan, Aidan Quinn as Harry Boland, Alan Rickman as Eamon de Valera and a marvelous British supporting cast.
MICHAEL COLLINS AT EASTER 1916
The movie is a finely textured piece which proves that, like in South Africa, it is relatively easy to fight for a cause, while there is plenty of adrenalin pumping, but so much harder to keep any kind of peace, when concessions and appeasement have to be made.
A PHOTOGRAPH FROM THE TIME
Jordan, a superb writer and filmmaker, succinctly encapsulates the drama that unfolded in O’Connell Street, both before and after the Easter Rebellion.
WHAT A GREAT ACTOR HE IS!
Neeson is splendid, as the intelligent, troubled leader, desperately trying to keep ‘the terrible beauty’ alive.
ROB THE RED-BATTERED BUT QUITE UNBOWED
Robert Redford is equally effective both behind and in front of the camera. The Last Castle [e.tv.Friday.20.30] is not one of his finer moments, but Redford is always wonderful to watch, as he portrays the quintessential American Male, a role he has been perfecting since the 70s. By the way,I’ve been reading some interesting things about his latest directing effort, The Conspirator.
MCCARTHY AS A YOUNG MAN
The Coen Bros were probably the most successful directing team to bring Cormac McCarthy to the screen when they made No Country for Old Men. John Hillcoat however, does a more than adequate job directing The Road, set in a near future of apocalyptic ruin.
THERE ARE SOME FINE MOMENTS IN THE ROAD
Viggo Mortensen and Kodi Smit McPhee play father and son, struggling to survive in a new reality; both are quite brilliant, while Robert Duvall, Charlize Theron and Guy Pearce flesh out characters from the pages from McCarthy’s sadly frightening but, intensely believable novel.
VERY 'IN' FOR A WHILE-HOW WILL IT DATE?
What is funny? What is clever? What is smart? Tastes vary and change, at the moment, movie goers are suffering from one long Hangover.
CUSACK AND PALS
Everybody is trying to cash in; Bridesmaids has just given the female of the species a turn. John Cusack is one the ‘buddy’ stars in Hot Tub Time Machine [M-Net.Saturday.20.05 and Tuesday.23.00].
THE BOYS IN PRE HANGOVER MODE
At first glance a martini mixed at the same bar as The Hangover, but there is a much stronger point to this movie than just being legless in Las Vegas; these men are confronted with visions of their younger selves, tasting the bitter tang of squandered potential and wasted opportunity.
ERIC IDLE-BACK IN THE DAY
The Monty Python team, or at least some of them have been trading on the dead parrot joke for far too long, Splitting Heirs [SABC3.Friday.21.30] sees Eric Idle and John Cleese in their most tiresome ‘nudge nudge wink wink’ mode— the story is trite and the laughs laboured and sparse. Both Barbara Hershey and Catherine Zeta-Jones are wasted; this one is really only for 'silly walk' fanatics.
SWEET
I was talking about Disney’s animated Robin Hood [M-Net.Saturday.18.00] a few weeks back, now is a chance to see it. Certainly, it is no Pinocchio, but pleasant enough; only snag, all the characters act and sing like refugees from The Jungle Book!
HOPE I HAVEN'T RUINED ANYTHING
Peacock [M-Net.Monday.22.30] is an odd little movie starring Cillian Murphy, Ellen Page and Susan Sarandon, deep shades of the Bates Family come back to haunt the unsuspecting viewer.
EDUARDO VERASTEGUI AND TAMMY BLANCHARD
Bella [M-Net.Sunday.00.50] is a very satisfying movie by Mexican director, Alejandro G. Monteverde with a gently simple touch; all about the triumph and sustainability of love and friendship. Wait up for it if you can.
MORE FUNNY THAN FRIGHTENING
Why remake The Fog [e.tv.Saturday.21.50 and 01.55], when the John Carpenter original did the job perfectly well. Joke is that John Carpenter himself helped to produce this rather anemic rehash of the spooky story that tells of things that go bump in the night. An example of a horror movie that isn’t really scary at all.
PAT, TOM AND LIAM CLANCY LIVE WITH TOMMY MAKEM (EXTREME LEFT)
I was brought up on stories and songs about Ireland and freedom; therefore Michael Collins [SABC1. Friday.20.00] is an obvious choice. And to quote at least two of The Clancy Brothers, Up the Republic!