Thursday June 2
Just Like Heaven [e.tv.20.30]
Friday June 3
Brooklyn’s Finest [M-Net.21.30]
Revolution [SABC3.22.30]
Saturday June 4
G-Force [M-Net.05.05]
Death At A Funeral [M-Net.20.05]
Analyze That [SABC1.22.15]
Wall-E [SABC3.19.30]
Hearts and Souls [SABC3.21.30]
Sunday June 5
Robin Hood [M-Net.20.05]
OSCAR WINNER IN 2000
Gladiator [SABC1.20.00]
A Bug’s Life [SABC3.19.30]
X-Men [e.tv.20.00]
THE LATE ROY SCHEIDER PLAYED BOB FOSSE
All That Jazz [22.10 and 02.25]
Monday June 6
Cheri [M-Net.22.30]
Best Friends [SABC2.22.00]
Tuesday June 7
Brick Lane [M-Net.09.00]
Death At A Funeral [M-Net.23.00]
The Emperor’s New Clothes [e.tv 22.30]
Wednesday June 8
Brooklyn’s Finest [M-Net.01.20]
ROBIN AND MARIAN THE 2010 EDITION
Robin Hood [M-Net.22.30]
WALL-E WITH A WELL KNOWN CUBE
It was with great pleasure that I noted the return of Waste Allocation Load Lifter Earth-Class, known to his many friends and fans as Wall-E [SABC3.Saturday.19.30] to our small screen. Pixar wiz kid Andrew Stanton and his team created this very human machine for which he and his fellow animators deservedly picked up the Best Animated Film of the year award in 2008.
WALL-E'S FAVOURITE MOVIE-HELLO DOLLY!
The original music by Thomas Newton is fabulous and the story tugs at the heart strings; such a satisfying change from the lavatorial humour and potty jokes, a plot situations that I whine about quite a bit.
THE VILLAINOUS HOPPER
Pixar and Stanton are also the creative drive behind A Bug’s Life [SABC3.Sunday.19.30], this time the hero is an ant named Flik.
RANDY NEWMAN AT THE BEGINING OF HIS CAREER
And the music is by Randy Newman; writing for the movies has certainly given Newman a perfect loom on which to weave his musical web; I have been a huge fan since he began his career as one of the most intelligent singer/songwriters of the early 70s.
HARD TO TELL THE DIFFERENCE REALLY!
Kevin Spacey as Hopper in A Bugs Life is one of many actors to have added animated overdub to their repertoire; both Penelope Cruz and Nicholas Cage appear in G-Force [M-Net.Saturday.05.05], a movie all about guinea pigs and saving the world.
THEY CALL HIM MR BLOCKBUSTER
I guess Pen has a husband and a new baby to feed and clothe. Seriously, if you enjoy the style of Jerry (Burning the Building Down) Bruckheimer, this one is for you. There are some natty 3D effects, which don’t work on the box and some punchy one- liners that do.
PENELOPE AND FRIEND
While jotting this lot done, I realized that Cage, Cruz and Spacey have all taken home an Oscar at some stage in some stage in their careers, so have countless others—let’s have a look, shall we?
SENDING HIMSELF UP SKYHIGH
There is a select group that have won what I call a Major and a Minor—a Main and a Supporting Award; Kevin Spacey being one of them. Another is Robert De Niro, who has been a powerful dramatic acting force since his movie debut in 1968.
HAVING FUN WITH BILLY CRYSTAL
He is also a dab hand at ironic comedy; in Analyze That [SABC1.Saturday.22.15], De Niro plays a mob boss having his head read on Billy Crystal’s psychiatrists couch. The dialogue has a rat- a- tat- tat ring to it and the two actors really snap and spark off each other.
JESSICA LANGE IN THE PALM OF KONG'S HAND
Another Major/Minor is Jessica Lange almost had her career stall, before it even started. She had the misfortune to debut as King Kong’s squeeze in the disastrous 1976 remake of the classic 30s movie.
JESSICA LANGE FINALLY WON A MAIN AWARD IN 1994
Before she went on to win acclaim in Tootsie, Frances and as Patsy Cline in Sweet Dreams, she briefly taunts Roy Scheider, as he dances up a storm in All That Jazz [e.tv.Sunday.22.10 and 02.25]; the movie that was directed and based on the life of legendary choreographer Bob Fosse.
BOB FOSSE IN ACTION
There is no doubt that Fosse was a genius; he was way ahead of his time, making both Sweet Charity and later, Cabaret. All That Jazz, despite its obvious expertise and flair, has a strange hard and uncomfortable edge and be warned; if you have a sensitive system, when you see an operating table, leave the room and take the dog for a turn about the garden.
SIR RIDLEY SCOTT
Fans can watch the teaming of actor Russell Crowe and director Ridley Scott twice this week, firstly, in Gladiator [SABC1.Sunday.20.00], which won Crowe his Oscar, in 2000. Secondly, in their more recent collaboration, Robin Hood [M-Net.Sunday.20.05 and Wednesday 22.30] released just last year.
MAX VON SYDOW-HE ONCE PLAYED A VERY NORDIC JESUS
When I initially read that a reboot Robin Hood was on the cards yet again, I thought, enough surely is as good as a feast, but somehow, Crowe, Cate Blanchett and especially Max Von Sydow provide new insight into the character of that fairest of men, who had the appealing habit of stealing from the rich and giving to the poor.
SEAN CONNERY AND AUDREY HEPBURN AS ROBIN AND MARIAN IN 1976
Did Robin Hood really exist? Certainly on celluloid, he is immortal. The cinema has shown Robin Hood at various ages and stages, ranging from the dashing virile Errol Flynn to paunchy, balding Sean Connery.
COWBOY ROBIN HOOD
That quintessential of English heroes has, also, over the decades, been sanitized by Disney, animated by the same, dressed up in tights, Americanized by Kevin Costner and even forced to drink bathtub gin when Frank Sinatra and the Rat Pack turned him into a good time gangster in Robin and the 7 Hoods.
THERE IS SCARY AND SERIOUSLY SCARY
As I’ve often said, Oscar winning can be an unpredictable pastime, sometimes awards being handed out for the most unlikely of performances. Kathy Bates is a fine actress, but nobody, not even she, was expecting to take home a statue for tormenting James Caan in the Stephen King creepy, Misery.
IN HARRY'S LAW
Since 1990, Bates has enhanced the proceedings of many a movie, as well as working in theatre and television.At the moment, she is livening up our screens in Harry's Law, which is a treat.
BATES AND PFEIFFER IN CHERI
But, she is somehow too American in her role in Cheri [M-Net.Monday.22.30]; where she plays Rupert Friend’s mother. Otherwise, the movie has definite feelings of deja vu, director Stephen Frears, writer Christopher Hampton and the very talented Michelle Pfeiffer, all veterans from Dangerous Liaisons, reunite to film an adaptation of two novels by Collette. Unfortunately, Cheri has neither the panache nor delicacy of the earlier film.
VALERIE CURTIN-ON SCREEN SHE MORPHED INTO GOLDIE HAWN
Best Friends [SABC2.Monday.22.00] was inspired by the relationship of creative duo Barry Levinson (he won an Oscar for directing Rain Man) and Valerie Curtin.
BARRY LEVINSON LIKEWISE TURNED INTO BURT REYNOLDS
Here they are played by Oscar winner (for Cactus Flower in 1969) Goldie Hawn and Burt Reynolds. Judging by the copious amounts of facial and other hair, the film appears more 70s than early 80s, when it was actually made.
NOT A LOT OF LAUGHS HERE
They can certainly start this ‘Revolution’ [SABC3.Friday.22.30.] without me. Despite the participation of both Al Pacino and Donald Sutherland, this chuck of American history, which mirrors our own (settler’s scrimmaging with colonial powers), is, dare I say, just as yawn inducing.
UNDER THE HAT; IT'S IAN HOLM
The Emperor’s New Clothes [e.tv.Tuesday.22.30] is a little ‘what if’ history, with Ian Holm as Napoleon, who for the sake of this saga, stages a return to France. This kind of whimsical historical rewriting, if done correctly can be fascinating; but is very difficult to do well. This slight comedy starts promisingly, but soon loses direction.
MOMENTS BEFORE THE SHOTS RANG OUT IN DALLAS
Everybody has their own favourite ‘what ifs’— mine are: what if Wallis Simpson had reconciled with her second husband and what if John Fitzgerald Kennedy had ridden through Dallas unscathed.
FRIENDS FROM HEAVEN
Please, pardon my mush, but I loved Robert Downey and all his heavenly protectors in Heart and Souls [SABC3.Saturday.21.30], fanciful, yes; but what a delightful idea.
MY FRANKIE'S NAMESAKE-HERE WITH SAMMY DAVIS AND DEAN MARTIN IN ROBIN AND THE 7 HOODS
Somehow, the way this week is panning out, I don’t think I’ll post this until Friday morning—for those who care, Frankie my Cat has a vet’s appointment; nothing too serious, the dog upstairs is a flea factory, and Francis Albert is allergic!
HOPE YOU CAUGHT IT
Anyway, here’s hoping that you catch Just Like Heaven [e.tv.Thursday.20.30], on Thursday night; froth, but so light and neatly handled that Reese Witherspoon and Mark Ruffalo are indeed a team worthy of Cary Grant and Grace Kelly.
CHRIS AND MARTIN
Death at a Funeral [M-Net.Saturday.20.05 and Tuesday.23.00], is a 2010 almost frame by frame remake, with Chris Rock and Martin Lawrence, of the British 2007 movie; presumably made for the extra box office and Americans that can’t understand an English accent.
TANNISHTHA CHATTERJEE
Brick Lane [M-Net.Tuesday.09.00] is not a Bollywood movie; rather it is a sensitive thought provoking and utterly engrossing look at cultural sleight of hand, clothed in religious claptrap that makes sure that women always come off second best. The cast is superb in this film, set in the UK, dealing with tentative awakening and gradual reevaluation.
GERE IS VERY GOOD INDEED
By the same token, Brooklyn’s Finest [M-Net. Friday.21.30 and Wednesday.01.20] is not a cop flick. This movie examines the dangerous, hard road that police officers choose to tread. Richard Gere is surprisingly good, as is Don Cheadle. In fact, the whole cast is pretty terrific and the pace never lets up for an instant.
BRICK LANE IS BASED ON A NOVEL BY MONICA ALI
My choice is Brick Lane [M-Net.Tuesday.09.00], a truly noteworthy piece of cinema.
LESSON ONE
By the way, if you are planning a trip to X-Men:First Class in the near future, X-Men [e.tv.Sunday.20.00] will provide a convenient refresher course.