Sorry guys, but there’s not much on the tele on Friday night - I would rather suggest to watch the ODI cricket match between SA and the West Indies on SABC3 (starting at 14:30), but Saturday and Sunday makes up for it with some pretty decent movies. My ultimate pick for this weekend must be Runaway Jury. On Sunday night SABC1 will be screening the 2008 MTN African Cup of Nations match between SA and Tunisia starting at 21:00.
THURSDAY, 24 JANUARY 2008
e-tv 20:00 How to Make an American Quilt
Starring: Winona Ryder Anne Bancroft Ellen Burstyn Adam Baldwin
Director: Jocelyn Moorhouse
Finn is a young graduate student, finishing a master's thesis, and preparing for marriage to her fiance Sam. But thoughts of the end of the free life, and a potential summer fling, intrude. She goes home to her grandmother, where, over the making of her wedding gift by a group of quilting-bee friends, laughter, bickering, love, and advice lead her toward a more open-eyed examination of her course.
FRIDAY, 25 JANUARY 2008
SABC1 23:30 The Package
Starring: Gene Hackman, Joanna Cassidy, Tommy Lee Jones, John Heard
Director: Andrew Davis
Gene Hackman (a sergeant) is sent with a prisoner from Germany. The prisoner escapes in the men's room at National Airport and Hackman begins his search for his man. Enlisting the help of his ex wife and various old friends he finds that the prisoner is part of a plot by senior military figures on both sides to kill the Soviet premier in order to sabotage arms control talks.
SABC3 22:30 Femme Fatale (***)
Starring: Rebecca Romijn, Antonio Banderas, Peter Coyote
Director: Brian De Palma
This is really not that bad of a movie – it has a decent script/storyline with a few twists which will defs keep you interested right until the end. International con artist/thief Laure Ash helps pull off a diamond robbery in Cannes during the annual film festival. She double-crosses her partners-in-crime and makes off with the diamonds to Paris where she accidently assumes the identity of a distraught woman who commits suicide and then leaves the country. Seven years later, Laure (now called Lily Watts) re-surfaces as the wife of the new American ambassador to France where a certain Nicolas Barto, a Spanish photographer, takes her picture which sets the stage for a motion of events as the evil Laure resorts to low, underhanded means to protect her former identity by emotionally and financially destroying Nicolas while evading her former partners-in-crime still looking for her to reclaim the stolen diamonds.
e-tv 20:00 I spy
Starring: Eddie Murphy, Owen Wilson, Famke Janssen
Director: Betty Thomas
When the Switchblade, the most sophisticated prototype stealth fighter created yet, is stolen from the U.S. government, one of the United States' top spies, Alex Scott, is called to action. What he doesn't expect is to get teamed up with a cocky civilian, World Class Boxing Champion Kelly Robinson, on a dangerous top secret espionage mission. Their assignment: using equal parts skill and humor, catch Arnold Gundars, one of the world's most successful illegal arms dealers, and foil his treacherous plans for the plane.
e-tv 22:15 Love and Bullet
Starring: Anthony 'Treach' Criss, Kent Masters, King Charles Guardino,
Shireen Crutchfield
Directors:Kantz and Ben Ramsey
While staking out his next assignment--the innocent girlfriend of his notorious boss--contract killer Malik reflects on the dark path he's chosen but cannot escape. Torn between his sense of duty and his newfound sense of humanity, he finds that the only way out is a perilous showdown with men who are every bit as cold-blooded as he is.
M-Net 20:30 The Grudge II
Starring: Amber Tamblyn, Arielle Kebbel, Jennifer Beals, Edison Chen
Director: Takashi Shimizu
Set within two years after the first film and between two countries. Karen's sister, Audrey, been affected by the supernatural curse, and trying to find the origin of it in order to find a way to free herself. But what has this quest got to do with the families who are living in Chicago, a photojournalist from Hong Kong, and the three schoolgirls from Tokyo's International High School?
My Pick for Today: Femme Fatale
SATURDAY, 26 JANUARY 2008
SABC1 21:00 Runaway Jury (****)
Starring: John Cusack, Gene Hackman, Dustin Hoffman, Rachel Weisz
Director: Gary Fleder
If there’s only one movie that you watch this weekend it should be this one - the suspense is almost unbearable at times, but not only that it boasts of a cast second to none with some of Hollywood’s best. It has a great storyline/script and tension that would have your nerves gone by the end. The much anticipated washroom scene between Fitch and Rohr was not in the original script. It was written while the rest of the movie was being filmed, and was finally shot on a single day at the very end, weeks after both Hackman and Hoffman had finished their other work. It was the first time that Hackman and Hoffman had ever interacted on screen even though they had been friends since 1956. Wendell Rohr is a torts lawyer taking on the gun lobby. Rankin Fitch is the jury consultant for the Defendants and between them the battle is for the hearts and minds of the jury. But there is someone on the inside. Nicholas Easter is a juror with a girlfriend, Marlee, on the outside. they have a past ..... and their own agenda.
SABC1 23:00 Ruby’s Bucket of Blood
Starring: Angela Bassett Kevin Anderson Brian Stokes Mitchell Jurnee Smollett
Director: Peter Werner
A Louisiana juke joint owner loses her star entertainer and hires a white singer to fill in.
SABC2 21:00 Man without a Face (***)
Starring: Mel Gibson Nick Stahl Fay Masterson Gaby Hoffmann
Director: Mel Gibson
This is a good, heartwarming movie that were done way before all of Mel’s shenanigans, but even with his “kop wat uitgehak het” he still is a great actor and I still admire his unbelievable talent (in front and behind the camera). This movie will defs pull at your heartstrings (keep the Kleenex near) and many people might be able to identify with being made fun of because they were/are different. It is a good story with plenty of drama. Mel Gibson cast himself in the role of McLeod only after he was unable to find any other satisfactory actor willing to take the part. Justin McLeod has been living the life of a reculse for seven years, ever since his face was horribly disfigured. Known as "Hamburger Head" to the locals, he's the subject of many rumors and wild stories. Chuck is a young boy determined to get into the same military as his father, despite his mother's protests and his halfsisters' mocking, even if it means studying all through the summer. Desperate for a tutor, Chuck encounters the reclusive McLeod, and together they begin to help each other deal with a world that has shunned them both.
SABC2 23:00 Lava
Starring: Joe Tucker James Holmes Nicola Stapleton Grahame Fox
Director: Joe Tucker
Two unlikely friends set out on a mission of revenge.
SABC3 20:00 There was a Little Boy
Starring: Cybill Shepherd John Heard Scott Bairstow Teri Ivens
Director: Mimi Leder
Sorry couldn't find any info on the web regarding this movie - if you know what it's all about please do tell.
SABC3 21:45 Turtle Beach
Starring: Greta Scacchi Joan Chen Jack Thompson Art Malik
Director: Stephen Wallace
Reporter Judith Wilkes leaves her husband and two sons in Sydney and goes to Malaysia to cover the story of the Vietnamese boat people. She becomes romantically involved with Kanan, and strikes up a friendship with Lady Minou Hobday, who keeps a regular vigil at "Turtle Beach" where the refugees try to land secretly in the hope that one day her own children will arrive. Accompanying Minou one night, Judith witnesses a brutal massacre by the Malaysians which spurs her on to expose the horrors of the internment camps at Bidong.
e-tv 20:00 Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams
Starring: Antonio Banderas, Carla Gugino, Alexa Vega, Daryl Sabara
Director: Robert Rodriguez
Exploring the further adventures of Carmen and Juni Cortez, who have now joined the family spy business as Level 2 OSS agents. Their new mission is to save the world from a mad scientist living on a volcanic island populated by an imaginative menagerie of creatures. On this bizarre island, none of the Cortez's gadgets work and they must rely on their wits--and each other--to survive and save the day.
e-tv 22:00 Raising Cain
Starring: John Lithgow Lolita Davidovich Steven Bauer Frances Sternhagen
Director: Brian De Palma
Jenny Nix, wife of eminent child psychologist Carter Nix, becomes increasingly concerned about her husband's seemingly obsessive concern over the upbringing of their daughter. Her own adulterous affair with an old flame, however, causes her to neglect her motherly duties until a spate of local kidnappings forces her to accept the possibility that he may be trying to recreate the twisted mind-control experiments of his discredited psychologist father.
M-Net 20:00 Eragon (***)
Starring: Edward Speleers, Jeremy Irons, Sienna Guillory, John Malkovich, Rachel Weisz (voice of Saphira)
Director: Stefen Fangmeier
I can’t believe that the critics trashed this film so much – I’m still looking for what made them hate it so much. I loved it so much I even bought the DVD. It’s a beautiful fantasy with some amazing special effects and a decent storyline plus they have some pretty good actors JI and JM for one. I haven’t read the books, but apparently the movie is not true to them and leaves out quite a few important plots, but it’s with every movie – take the Harry Potter movies for instance – not everything that’s in the books is the movie – if that should be the case you’ll be watching a four to six hour movie instead of a two hour one. I can’t wait for the second and third installment – but that might just be me. If you want to be lost in a world of fantasy then this movie is defs worth watching. Orphaned farm boy Eragon destiny is sealed forever when a mystic stone chooses him for its keeper, this is no ordinary stone, this is the last surviving egg of the dragon race. Eragon is now the new Dragon Rider, the boy who will be savior to the repressed peoples of the Kingdom ruled by the wicked King Galbatorix and his evil wizard Durza. Running, hiding and battling across the lands with his mentor Brom and the gracious dragon Saphira, together, with the beautiful Princess Arya, this Band of Brothers learn more about themselves, their responsibilities and their destinies. Who shall succeed toward the end? Shall good overcome evil? Or will all be lost to the dark forces forever? Fly with the adventure.
M-Net 21:50 National Treasure (****)
Starring: Nicolas Cage, Diane Kruger, Justin Bartha, Jon Voight, Sean Bean,
Harvey Keitel
Director: Jon Turteltaub
Oooooeee a double whammy – I loved National Treasure and saw the second one last weekend (which is as good as the first if not better). I love movies where you have to work out clues and stuff to get to the bottom line, plus the suspense might just kill you – my nails were finished. I’d highly recommend watching this one – it has enough action, suspense, drama, comedy and romance for everyone. Ben, Patrick, and John Gates were all named after founding fathers (Benjamin Franklin, Patrick Henry, and John Adams). Abigail Chase is a combination of Abigail Adams, wife of John Adams, and Samuel Chase, a signer of the Declaration of Independence and later an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court. Benjamin Franklin Gates descends from a family of treasure-seekers who've all hunted for the same thing: a war chest hidden by the Founding Fathers after the Revolutionary War. Ben's close to discovering its whereabouts, as is his competition, but the FBI is also hip to the hunt.
My Picks for Today: Man Without a Face, National Treasure, Eragon and Runaway Jury
SUNDAY, 27 JANUARY 2008
e-tv 20:00 XXX (***)
Starring: Vin Diesel, Asia Argento, Marton Csokas, Samuel L. Jackson
Director: Rob Cohen
To me the cream of secret agents will always be 007 – I prefer the smooth, sexy, suave Bond to the American version. Don’t get me wrong I quite liked XXX, but I did expect a bit more – for one I thought that the car was introduced way too late in the movie, but the gadgets are cool enough. There are some truly spectacular stunts and non-stop action combined with a little bit of romance – the men would defs like it especially the adrenaline junkies. Many of the action sequences were shot with a 20mm Panavision anamorphic lens, of which there were only two in existence. XXX's car is a 1967 Pontiac GTO. The original color was faded green. The motorcycle that Xander is riding after the Corvette base jump is a 1999 MV Agusta Serie ORO (Gold Series). It's one of only 300 produced worldwide. Its a 750cc, in-line 4-cylinder engine which produces 125 hp and a top speed +175 mph. Vin Diesel plays Xander Cage. He's your standard adrenaline junkie with no fear and a lousy attitude. When the US Government "recruits" him to go on a mission, he's not exactly thrilled. His mission: to gather information on an organization that may just be planning the destruction of the world, led by the nihilistic Yorgi.
M-Net 20:00 Borat
Starring: Sacha Baron Cohen, Ken Davitian, Luenell
Director: Larry Charles
I’m soooo looking forward to this movie as I’ve been dying to watch it since it showed on circuit. I’ve heard that it’s really hilarious and the little bit I saw confirmed that – so guess what’s on my schedule to watch this weekend. Kazakhstani TV personality Borat is dispatched to the United States to report on the "greatest country in the world." With a documentary crew in tow, Borat becomes more interested in locating and marrying Pamela Anderson than on his assignment.
My Picks for Today: XXX and Borat