Friday August 5
Kick-Ass [M-Net.21.30]
Red Rock West [SABC1.22.00]
Snow White: The Fairest of Them All [SABC3.01.35]
Æon Flux [e.tv.22.40]
Saturday August 6
AMANDA SEYFRIED
Letters to Juliet [M-Net.18.00]
My Super Ex-Girlfriend [SABC2.16.00]
THE VERY DASHING CLIVE OWEN
Elizabeth: The Golden Age [SABC3.1930.]
Elizabeth [SABC3.21.30]
Threesome [e.tv.01.00]
Little Women [e.tv.02.50]
Sunday August 7
Shrek Forever After [M-Net.20.05]
The Kingdom [SABC1.20.00]
Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert [SABC3.14.00]
The Portrait of a Lady [SABC3.19.30]
Neil Young: Heart of Gold [e.tv.22.20]
Monday August 8
MR PLUMMER
The Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus [M-Net.22.30]
Tuesday August 9
To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday [e.tv.12.25]
Wednesday August 10
Letters to Juliet [M-Net.09.30]
Shrek Forever After [M-Net.22.30]
Kick-Ass [M-Net.00.35]
***
CATE BLANCHETT
According to my source, which is normally pretty reliable, SABC are showing the Cate Blanchett Elizabethan movies back to back on Saturday night, which is a lovely idea; except that they have them the wrong way around. This reminds me of Film Societies showing 'art house' movies in days of yore; reels 3, 1, 4, 2. Lots of flashbacks; yeah right.
IN THE END, THE MOVIES DID SHOW TWO FOLLOWED BY ONE
Hopefully, someone will click and show Elizabeth [SABC3.Saturday.21.30] before Elizabeth: The Golden Age [SABC3.Saturday. 19.30] and everything will be alright on the night!
ALEXANDRA BYRNE
Blanchett is superb in both dramas, which show the historical ‘Virgin Queen’ keeping her head and leading her nation to an age of endeavor and prosperity. Both movies won Oscars; Elizabeth for Makeup and Elizabeth: The Golden Age for Alexandra Byrne’s Costume Design. The second movie is a bit akin to a second piece of rich cake; too much of a good thing.
GEOFFREY RUSH
The supporting players are well cast and include Geoffrey Rush, Richard Attenborough and a youngish Daniel Craig in the first and Clive Owen as Walter Raleigh in the second. Was Elizabeth an early feminist or was she both a changeling and a boy/man? I don’t necessarily believe the Bisley Boy theory but it does account for his/her ‘virginity’ and early hair loss.
JUDI DENCH IN SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE
Many actresses have played Elizabeth including Bette Davis (twice) Glenda Jackson and Sarah Bernhardt in a silent movie made in 1912. One of the best was Judi Dench who won an Oscar playing Elizabeth in Shakespeare in Love. Over the years, many movie plots have been woven around Shakespeare, his life and his work.
FRANCO AND VANESSA NOW
A new one that is just too romantic to resist is Letters to Juliet [M-Net.Saturday.18.00 and Wednesday.09.30], all about people who write to the tragic heroine about love matters; I can’t help but wonder why, Juliet wasn’t exactly very lucky was she?
VANESSA AND FRANCO AS YOUNG LOVERS
Amanda Seyfried and Chris Egan play the young lovers, with Gael Garcia Bernal around just to spice up the proceedings. As an older couple Vanessa Redgrave teams with her long ago Lancelot, Franco Nero; Redgrave and Nero had a child together after making Camelot in 1967 and in real life married in 2006. Now, that is true love!
VANESSA REDGRAVE IN THE BOSTONIANS
In my day, if one studied English at University, there was no comparative course on the writings of Bob Dylan and Jim Morrison; more’s the pity; Of course, we studied plenty of Shakespeare and normally quite a dollop of American born writer Henry James as well. James' work is very analytical and filmmakers treated him with careful reserve until Merchant/Ivory took the plunge and did a pretty good job of both The Bostonians and The Europeans.
JAMES HEROINE IN TYPICAL POSE
Jane Campion tackled The Portrait of a Lady [SABC3.Sunday.19.30] in 1996, with less than spectacular results. This not to say that Nicole Kidman, John Malkovich, Barbara Hershey and a huge supporting cast including Viggo Mortensen, Christian Bale and Mary Louise Parker aren’t worth a watch.
HARD WORK FOR ALL, INCLUDING THE AUDIENCE
But, for me, James is a cerebral writer and very hard to film; just where do you start and just where do you finish? After a promising start, Campion dithers and rambles on for 144 minutes, about 40 minutes too long.
CLAIRE DANES
To Gillian on her 37th Birthday [e.tv.Tuesday.12.25] comes around again, his rather touching study of coping or should that read not coping with grief is based on a play by Michael Brady and stars Peter Gallagher and Claire Danes along with Michelle Pfeiffer, who really is in flashback.
A TOUCHING MOMENT WITH JO
Claire Danes can also be seen as Beth in Little Women [e.tv.Saturday.02.50], which I was gushing about a few months back, stay up for it or press record, if you missed it last time.
MR YOUNG
Another late-ish night for me, and for you too I hope; Jonathan Demme directs and Neil Young stars and sings in Neil Young: Heart of Gold [e.tv.Sunday.22.20], showcasing one of the greatest names in rock. Young, who, by the way, is both diabetic and epileptic, has been cajoling us with his brilliance since his days with Buffalo Springfield back in the 60s.
MS EMMYLOU
The documentary features a wonderful selection of both Young’s acoustic and electric material and as a bonus, a rare glimpse of Ms Emmylou Harris; that is a sure way to liven up Sunday evening; just a little.
WILL SHE LAST AS LONG AS EITHER OF THE ABOVE?
More music, maestro, please; Miley Cyrus is Hannah Montana or is Hannah Montana Miley Cyrus, I’m never sure which. Answer the question by watching Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert [SABC3.Sunday.14.00]. Seriously, I watched Miley sing Cherry Bomb with Joan Jett on Oprah a while back and she wasn’t half bad.
GUN AS AN EXTENSION OF MAN
Before I launch into Fantasy and Superhero People, The Kingdom [SABC1.Sunday.20.00] with Jamie Foxx, Ashraf Barhom and Chris Cooper is a tight thriller that revitalizes an old formula by giving it a modern setting and doing it well, too.
GUESS WHICH ONE IS THE JOCK?
And, Threesome [e.tv.Saturday.01.00] is better than the title suggests. Just when I think I’ve got the Baldwin brothers sorted, up pops another one; this time youngest brother Stephen, he looks just like all the others, acts like them too,
HAIR 2010
I wonder if they will bleep the dialogue in Kick-Ass [M-Net.Friday.21.30 and Wednesday.00.35], probably not; the movie is not terrible but is inclined towards tiresome. Actually, come to think of it, Chloe Grace Moretz as ‘Hit- Girl’ is the best thing about this Matthew Vaughn action comedy, which also stars Aaron Johnson and Nicolas Cage.
HAIR 1993
Calling all those making a life study of Nicolas Cage’s hair; he is also in a quirky 'mistaken identity' thriller with the late Dennis Hopper called Red Rock West [SABC1.Friday.22.00], which dates from 1993. So a comparative: 'hair now and then' can easily be done.
FOR HER FANS
My Super Ex-Girlfriend [SABC2.Saturday.16.00] is neither that super nor that original; but for fans, it does star Uma Thurman.
MIRANDA-THE NO RELATION RICHARDSON
Snow White: The Fairest of Them All [SABC3.Friday.01.35] is a very dark working of the Snow White fairy tale; a very sinister piece with Kristin Kreuk as Snow and Miranda Richardson as the Wicked Stepmother.
.jpg)
NOT A BLONDE THIS TIME AROUND
Charlise Theron is apparently about to play Wicked in yet another version of this well worn tale; her 2005 movie, Æon Flux [e.tv.Friday.22.40] was sandwiched between her really good performances in North Country and In the Valley of Elah; which goes to show that she is very reliant on the strength of her material.
DEPP, LAW AND FARRELL STEPPED INTO THE BREACH
Christopher Plummer is never bad, given even the most abysmal material. In The Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus, dear Chris has plenty of time to wriggle those famous eyebrows, which is what he always does when flummoxed by dire dialogue. When Heath Ledger died during the making of the movie, Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell stepped in to finish his role and donated their salaries to Ledger’s small daughter.
LAST SIGHTING OF
Ironically, having several actors playing Ledger’s alter egos makes Dr Parnassus work marginally better as a movie. As usual,Terry Gilliam has bitten off far more than he can possibly chew.
SHREK BEING TEMPTED-HOPEFULLY NOT TO MAKE NUMBER 5!
Last word, Shrek Forever After [M-Net.Sunday.20.05 and Wednesday.22.30] is better than Shrek the Third, but to quote no one in particular, enough already!
NEIL YOUNG IN THE 70S
My pick must be Neil Young: Heart of Gold [e.tv.Sunday.22.20]