Thursday May 16
Unfaithful [e.tv.20.30]
Friday May 17
Carnage [M-Net.03.30]
JERRY BRUCKHEIMER PRODUCED GLORY ROAD
Glory Road [SABC1.22.00]
Saturday May 18
The Three Stooges [M-Net.23.00]
Steel Magnolias [M-Net.01.05]
Joshua [e.tv.21.55]
Sunday May 19
The Three Stooges [M-Net.10.00]
JUDI, TOM AND BILL
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel [M-Net.20.05]
Conversations With Other Women [SABC1.20.00]
WILLING VILLAIN-JEREMY IRONS
Die Hard: With A Vengeance [e.tv.20.00]
The Karen Carpenter Story [e.tv.20.40 and 02.05]
Monday May 20
Men In Black 3 [M-Net.03.05]
Tuesday 21
RED [M-Net.09.30]
Wednesday May 22
Steel Magnolias [M-Net.09.30]
***
STEEL MAGNOLIAS 1989-SEEMS LIKE ONLY YESTERDAY, BUT IT REALLY WAS YEARS AND YEARS AGO
There really does seem as if there is something for almost everybody on the box this week. Let me start by saying that remakes can be ill advised and often pointless; at least from an artistic point of view; often they are financially very successful indeed.
STEEL MAGNOLIAS 2112
Sometimes, the exception can and does prove the rule. By way of example, the remake of Steel Magnolias [M-Net.Saturday.01.05 and Wednesday.09.30], made for TV in 2012, is both pleasing and prudent.
QUEEN LATIFAH LEADS THE PACK
The cast headed by Queen Latifah, quite brilliant in the pivotal part created by Sally Field. The story is, of course, a retelling of the award winning movie of the same name, made in 1989.The updated Steel Magnolias gives the original a few twists and shakes, but in the main, the moving story remains unchanged.
NOW AND THEN
The cast this time is African American cast, with the very talented Alfre Woodard as the curmudgeonly Ouiser, the character created by Shirley MacLaine. Jazz singer Jill Scott is as sumptuous as Dolly Parton once was, playing Truvy Jones; the stylist in whose salon a lot of the action occurs.
THE COSBY SHOW IS RERUNNING ON SABC1 AT THE MOMENT
Phylicia (Claire Huxtable) Rashad has aged very well since her Cosby days, is Clairee Belcher; played in 1989 by Olympia Dukakis. Rashad’s daughter Condola is cast as Shelby, the role that in 1989 catapulted Julia Roberts to fame.
PHYLICIA AND CONDOLA RASHAD
Lastly, Adepero Oduye plays the Daryl Hannah part. So, there is the lineup, pretty terrific all round, I wonder if Robert Harding, the original playwright enjoyed Steel Magnolias 2012 as much as everybody else did?
STEPHANIE AUDRAN RIGHT; HERE WITH MICHEL BOUQUET IN LA FEMME INFIDELE
Another remake is Unfaithful [e.tv.Thursday.20.30], based on La Femme Infidele, a film made by the late Claude Chabrol in 1968, starring his then wife Stephanie Audran in the Diane Lane role.
VANESSA REDGRAVE AND JANE FONDA IN JULIA. THE ADAPTED SCREENPLAY WON ALVIN SARGENT AN OSCAR
The English language version is more accessible than its French counterpart, thanks to an ideal performance from Lane and a brisk English translation by double academy award winner (for Julia and Ordinary People), Alvin Sargent.
DIANE LANE IN THE REMAKE. BEHIND HER IS OLIVER MARTINEZ
Lane tarries with hunky Oliver Martinez, in spite of deep feelings for husband, Richard Gere, here in a neatly balanced performance. Indeed, a romantic drama, tinged just lightly with erotic undertones. Nominated for an Academy Award in 2002, Lane lost to Nicole Kidman in The Hours.
JOSH BROLIN IN MEN IN BLACK 3
Diane Lane was, for quite a time, married to Hollywood bad boy Josh Brolin, a fine actor, with an unfortunate hair trigger temperament and a love of fermented barley juice. Brolin is darkly moody as the young Tommy Lee Jones in Men in Black 3 [M-Net.Monday.03.05], which I reviewed a few weeks back.
SAM AND BRUCE-PLENTY OF HAIR BACK THEN
Another three in a franchise is/was Die Hard: With A Vengeance [e.tv.Sunday.20.00], which I have never reviewed before. It stars Bruce Willis as John Mc Clane, augmented this time by the acting skills of Sam Jackson and Jeremy Irons. Die Hard: With A Vengeance was directed by John McTiernan, the man who steered the first Die Hard movie to success.
9/11 BEFORE 9/11
Die Hard: With A Vengeance is another hard hitter, eerily foreseeing a 9/11 situation. The movie was a huge grosser in 1995, its year of release, and just goes to show that three isn’t always an unlucky number.
SIR ANTHONY JOINS THE CAST FOR RED 2
The always busy Bruce Willis is busy wrapping up RED 2, with Catherine Zeta Jones, Anthony Hopkins and David Thewliss added to the able cast of RED, again on [M-Net.Tuesday.09.30].
A LAST HURRAH FOR ERNEST BORGNINE- IN RED HE SHAKES BRUCE WILLIS BY THE HAND
In RED 2, there is no Morgan Freeman whose character was terminally ill in the first movie or Ernest Borgnine, who died last year, aged 95.
BORGNINE ROMANCED BETSY BLAIR AND AN OSCAR
Borgnine had a career spanning 60 years, playing his fair share of heavies, yet won his Oscar for Marty in 1955, where he played a gentle butcher opposite Betsy Blair.
WIFE NUMBER THREE ETHEL MERMAN- THEY WERE TOGETHER FOR AN IMPRESSIVE 38 DAYS
Borgnine had a long and colourful life, which included five wives and a wry sense of humour. He said of his short union with Ethel Merman, ‘I thought I was marrying Rosemary Clooney’ and, outspoken to the end, he said of Brokeback Mountain ‘John Wayne would be rolling in his grave.’ That being said, his lugubrious craggy face will be missed.
STILL TOTING AFTER ALL THESE YEARS-DAME HELEN MADE HER DEBUT IN 1969-OPPOSITE JAMES MASON IN AGE OF CONSENT. SHE BECAME A DBE IN 2003
Happily, John Malkovich, Mary Louise Parker, Brian Cox and Dame Helen all in RED, will reprise their roles in RED 2.
DAME JUDI'S FIRST FILM WAS THE THIRD SECRET IN1964-WAY DOWN THE CAST LIST. SHE BECAME A DBE IN 1988
Dame Helen always reminds me of those other filming Dames, Maggie and Judi. Both Smith and Dench, who number three Oscars between them, as well as Bill Nighy, Tom Wilkinson and Dev Patel star in The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel [M-Net.Sunday.20.05]
WRITER DEBORAH MOGGACH
The film is based on the novel, These Foolish Things by Deborah Moggach. The movie is richly textured, highlighting the highs and lows of growing older.
THE ALLSTAR CAST ALL DRESSED UP
John Madden leads his characters through interlinking stories, ones so poignant and funny that tears flow amid the laughter. It is always a pleasure to watch true professionals at work.
PLAYWRIGHT YESMINA REZA
Carnage [M-Net.Friday.03.30], a four hander, in the tradition of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Wolf is based on God of Carnage (Le Dieu du carnage) by Yesmina Reza, with this English translation by Reza and the movie’s director, Roman Polanski.
WINSLET, FOSTER, REILLY AND WALTZ
Two couples meet to discuss the playground behaviour of their small sons; then, as the evening progresses, just as in Virginia Wolf, feelings and emotions are stripped bare.
THINGS BEGIN TO FALL APART
Carnage stays in essence a filmed play, but the direction of Polanski and the acting of Christoph Waltz, Kate Winslet, John Reilley and Jodie Foster give the action a verve and dynamic that is wholly cinematic.
CHRISTOPH WALTZ AND JODIE FOSTER-EACH HAS WON TWO OSCARS
Not really surprising, the principals in Carnage share five Oscars between them. For the record, fellow Oscar winner, Marcia Gay Hardin won a Tony for her performance in the Broadway production, playing the Jodie Foster part.
KEVIN'S BLIGHTED PARENTS-TILDA SWINTON AND JOHN REILLY
Problematic offspring is an ongoing plot theme; apart from being one of the fathers in Carnage, John Reilly plays father to Kevin in We Must Talk About Kevin. Poor man!
THE CLOCK IS TICKING FOR JOSHUA AND HIS FAMILY
Joshua [e.tv.Saturday.21.55] as played by Jacob Kogan, is a child in the Kevin mould, his ill-fated parents are played by Sam Rockwell and Vera Farmiga. This movie is not for the faint hearted, just think—what if it was your child who did terrible things to live butterfly wings?
ECKHART AND BONHAM CARTER IN CONVERSATIONS WITH OTHER WOMEN- THE ACTION REMINDED ME OF A KATHLEEN TURNER MOVIE FROM 1987 CALLED JULIA AND JULIA
Staying with strange for just a moment, Conversations With Other Women [SABC1.Sunday.20.00], uses flashback and split screen as it hovers between fantasy and reality for 90 odd minutes, without any real ending or valid conclusion. In its favour, there are finely polished performances from both Helena Bonham Carter and Aaron Eckhart.
AN EMOTIVE MOMENT FROM PEARL HARBOR
Back to reality; with the bang of the box office door. Jerry Bruckheimer has been a money making machine since he produced The Culpepper Cattle Co. way back in 1972. As of 2010, he has produced 40 movies, from Top Gun to Pearl Harbor to The Pirates of the Caribbean Franchise; his latest effort is The Lone Ranger, starring ‘Top Pirate’, Johnny Depp.
THE HEADLINE SAYS IT ALL
Glory Road [SABC1.Friday.22.00] dating from 2006 was a relatively minor outing for Mr. Box Office, a true story based on the memoirs of Don Haskins, an American Basketball coach, who coached the Texas Western Miners to an unexpected 1966 victory in the NCAA Men’s Division/ Basketball Tournament.
JOSH LUCAS PLAYS DON HASKINS
Josh Lucas plays Haskins in a part that was first offered to Ben Affleck. The story is All American Action, tinged with Pathos, but is great entertainment, co starring Jon Voight as a rival coach and with music by South African export Trevor Rabin.
WOODY AND ICE
Rampart [M-Net.Monday.22.30] is also based on a true story, Woody Harrelson is taunt and tight as a violent LAPD officer who learns the lesson ‘don’t get caught’ a little late. Ice Cube and Sigourney Weaver co star and the screenplay is by James ‘Demon Dog’ Ellroy. This one is a must for fans of Sweaty Street Sagas.
THE THREE STOOGES-IN VARIOUS GUISES- WERE POPULAR FOR DECADES
The movie The Three Stooges [M-Net.Saturday.23.00 and Sunday.10.00] directed by the Farrelly Brothers is based on the antics of Curley, Larry and Moe, known collectively as The Three Stooges, stars of many woefully bad short and full length features.
STOOGES IN 2012
The film is more of the same, in full colour this time; much nose punching and ear/ hair pulling, a real slapstick lover’s paradise.
KAREN CARPENTER-HER REAL STORY WAS TRAGIC
And, lastly, a made for TV movie,entitled The Karen Carpenter Story [e.tv.Sunday.22.40 and 02.05]. The movie is a watered down, washed out and flat biopic, about the sad life of Karen Carpenter, dating from 1989, which was co directed by her brother Richard. The movie stars Cynthia Gibb, who lip synced; close your eyes and just listen to Karen’s beautiful voice.
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MAGGIE SMITH HAS BEEN ENCHANTING AUDIENCES SINCE HER DEBUT IN NOWHERE TO GO; BACK IN 1958. SHE BECAME A DBE IN 1990
My pick is The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel [M-Net.Sunday.20.05]