Thursday April 7 The Dream Team [SABC1.23.00]
Georgia Rule [e.tv.2030]
Friday April 8 Time Bandits [e.tv.14.30]
The Naked Gun:The Smell of Fear [e.tv.20.30]
Saturday April 9
Aladdin [M-Net.18.30]
The Lovely Bones [M-Net.21.00]
How High [SABC1.22.15]
Rory O’Shea Was Here aka Inside I’m Dancing [SABC3.21.30]
The Spy Who Loved Me [e.tv.13.30]
THE FLUSHED AWAY CAST IN CIVVIES
Flushed Away [e.tv.20.00]
Sunday April 10
Pocahontas [M-Net.10.00]
Valentine’s Day [M-Net.20.05]
Singles [SABC3.19.30]
Spider-Man 2 [e.tv.20.00 and 01.15]
Hamlet [e.tv.22.35]
EMMA THOMPSON HAS A SMALL PART IN AN EDUCATION
Monday April 11
An Education [M-Net.22.30]
Tuesday April 12
The Lovely Bones [M-Net.23.00]
Wednesday April 13
Our House aka Duplex [SABC1.22.00]
KATE AND HUGH -FLUSHED WITH SUCCESS
As the school holidays take hold, it is comforting to note that some thought and a little planning has gone into the preparation of the holiday fare on TV. Not all of it is good, but at least the movies on offer are not just a plethora of trashy American comedies.
NICK PARK WITH AARDMAN'S MOST FAMOUS CREATION
Flushed Away [e.tv.Saturday.20.00] may sound like an Adam Sandler/ Owen Wilson bathroom special but it is, in fact, the first CGI animated epic from the clay animation artists at Aardman studios; a compelling little tale of rat and mouse, with the voices of Hugh Jackman, Kate Winslet and Sir Ian McKellen.
TOO MUCH OF A GOOD THING
For old Monty Python addicts, there is an old Monty Python type movie, Time Bandits [e.tv.Friday.14.30], comprising of aimless dashing through time and gabbled one-liners, written by Michael Palin, directed by Terry Gilliam and starring among others, John Cleese as Robin Hood. The movie was tedious on release and hasn’t dated well. For die hard fans only.
CARLY SIMON-70S CHIC
Also on offer is one of the best Bond flicks, with Richard Kiel as the rangy, fangy villain and a theme song, Nobody Does It Better, composed by Marvin Hamlisch and sung by Carly Simon. The film is, of course, The Spy Who Loved Me [e.tv.Saturday.13.30].
A WHOLE NEW WORLD
In 1977, Nobody Does It Better was nominated for a Best Song Oscar, as was the theme from New York, New York; they lost out to You Light Up My Life!! Two animated films from Disney that did win Song Oscars were Aladdin (A Whole New World) [M-Net.Saturday.18.30.
POCAHONTAS AND HER MAN
and Pocahontas (Colours of the Wind) [M-Net.Sunday.10.00], both on show this week.
TIM RICE-LYRICIST AND AVID CRICKET FAN
These were the years when Alan Menken and various lyricist partners (Howard Ashman, Tim Rice and Stephen Schwartz) ruled supreme.
THE IDEA BEHIND POCAHONTAS
These movies were based on a combination of myth, truth and legend; mostly, they were very popular and diverting. I think the essence of animation is changing; Tangled, a Disney on circuit at the moment, may be the last in a grand tradition.
GIBSON AS THE GREAT DANE
The creative forces at Disney use only recognizable actors to voice their creations, you might identify the dulcet tones of Mel Gibson in Pocahontas; he was all the rage in 1995. He appears as Hamlet [e.tv.Sunday.22.35] in the Zeffirelli production of the Shakespearean classic. It seems to be rather than not to be the dream of every actor working in theatre to play the distressed Dane.
BATES AS A YOUNG MAN
I don’t know why; it is a difficult, demanding part and oh so easy to get horribly wrong. To give Gibson his due, I’ve seen worse. Glenn Close is uneasy as Gertrude, a frustrated Midwest Matron seems to be her reading of the pivotal part; the best thing about the film is a chance to see Alan Bates, who is magnificent as Claudius.
BRIDGET FONDA WITH HUSBAND DANNY ELFMAN-HE OFTEN WRITES MUSIC FOR THE MOVIES
Singles [SABC3.Sunday.19.30] is a story about young Americans, trying to cope with the stresses and strains of modern life; now why does that sound so familiar? Cameron Crowe directs the traffic, look out for Paul Giamatti in a small part, while Bridget Fonda is one of the many appealing stars; she is so much less strident than Auntie Jane.
HUFFMAN, FONDA AND LINDSAY LOHAN
Auntie Jane appears in Georgia Rule [e.tv.Thursday.20.30], directed by the seemingly inexhaustible Garry Marshall. The film also features Lindsay Lohan, who actually can act rather well. However, the story about generational squabbling is rather tired and the characters on the whole, unlikable. Felicity Huffman, as the mother in the middle, emerges fairly unscathed.
BRADLEY COOPER AND JULIA ROBERTS- TWO MEMBERS OF THE HUGE CAST
Valentine’s Day [M-Net. Sonday.20.05] is another Garry Marshall endeavour which stars everybody, except the pet dog. Guess what all the characters are celebrating? There’s nothing wrong with it, except it’s all been done before and better too.
HECTOR ELIZONDO
One of Marshall’s stock players is Hector Elizondo who is both Georgia Rule and Valentine’s Day, if you can’t quite place him; he’s the vaguely Latin American/Eastern European character who romances Julie Andrews in The Princess Diaries; another Marshall potboiler.
JESSE DYLAN- A STRICKING FAMILY LIKENESS
Versatile man, our Hector, he also appears in How High [SABC1.Saturday.22.15], a stoned movie for a stoned audience. This one was made by Jesse Dylan, whose dad was well known for smoking dope too.
CAREY MULLIGAN WITH HER SCREEN DAD ALFRED MOLINA
From the other side of the Atlantic comes An Education [M-Net.Monday.22.30], a coming of age film that covers familiar ground, but covers it in quite a unique way.
THE RATHER FABULOUS NICK HORNBY
Based on the memoir by Lynn Barber, with a screenplay by Nick Hornby, there are some wonderful performances from a brilliant, mainly British cast, including an awarding winning debut from Carey Mulligan; she has sparkling support from, among others, Alfred Molina and Rosamund Pike.
ALFIE AS VILLAIN
As predicted last week, Alfred Molina is also on show, as the villain, in the finely tuned Spider-Man 2 [e.tv.Sunday.20.00 and 01.15].
INSIDE I'M DANCING
James McAvoy stars in Rory o’ Shea Was Here, or to give the movie it’s more poignant British title Inside I’m Dancing [SABC3.Saturday.21.30]. Again, a thorny plotline, but one filmmakers love to tackle; a study of disabled people and how they cope. A small aside from personal experience, they cope because they have to. This one could have devolved into schmaltz but doesn’t, the movie is sensitively handled and beautifully acted, from start to finish.
PETER BOYLE FLANKED BY LLOYD AND KEATON
The Dream Team [SABC1.Thursday.23.00] also deals with disability, mental this time; the story is an old one; who is more certifiable, those inside the walls, or those outside them. Michael Keaton, Christopher Lloyd and especially the late Peter Boyle made sure that the movie isn’t as cringy as it could be but sensitivity to the real issues of mental health are not broached at all. Be Warned.
DAVID ZUCKER-RUNNING OUT OF IDEAS
Naked Gun: The Smell of Fear [e.tv.Friday.20.30] is more of the same from writer/ director David Zucker; only one snag, he used up all the best gags in the first one.
ALICE SEBOLD WROTE THE NOVEL
The novel, by Alice Sebold, The Lovely Bones [M-Net.Saturday.21.00] has, I guess, an original take on your average murder mystery; the victim hunts her killer from beyond the grave.
SAOIRSE RONAN
As a fan of the genre, I found that a hard one to swallow. The movie is well made and fairly faithful to the novel, plus there are some terrific performances from Mark Wahlberg, Rachel Weisz, Susan Sarandon, Stanley Tucci and Saoirse Ronan.
RAW EMOTION FROM RACHEL WEISZ
The direction by Peter Jackson, captures the ambiance of the 70s rather well; but I don’t know, to me the whole point of the whodunit is that the heroine (normally the second or third intended victim) gets to live, saved at the last moment or the crime is solved by ingenuity on the part of Jane Marple/ Hercule Poirot/ Sherlock Holmes.
STILLER AND BARRYMORE
I did a little sleuthing of my own and discovered that Our House [SABC1.Wednesday.22.00] is otherwise known as Duplex; I put that little nugget in for all the Ben Stiller and/ or Drew Barrymore fans that might be reading this.
A STUDY FROM THE 60S- BAG, HAIR AND NAILS
My pick is An Education [M-Net.Monday.22.30]- gripping, entrancing and well made.