Flicks
Your guide to the best free- to- air movies this week
The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King
GO!, Friday, 8.30pm, M ( 2003) Picking up from The Two Towers, Peter Jackson’s The Return of the King sees the original Fellowship still fractured, with Frodo ( Elijah Wood), Sam ( Sean Astin) and duplicitous Gollum ( Andy Serkis) making their way to Mount Doom. A magnificent conclusion to a cinematic saga that will probably never be topped.
Inter view With The Vampire
WIN, Saturday, 11.30pm, AV15+ ( 1994) Vampire Brad Pitt reminisces his last 200 years and his relationship with his mentor Lestat ( Tom Cruise) who initiated him and later tried to kill him and the young girl vampire ( Kirsten Dunst) they both spawned. Director Neil Jordan ( The Cr ying Game) presents a gorgeously shot, violent and bloody homoerotic feast of fun that exceeds expectations with excellent characters.
Mystery Road
ABC, Sunday, 10.30pm, M ( 2013) Sometimes the best thing you can do with a film is go into it without knowing a thing. All you might want to note about this Aussie thriller is who displays their fine acting chops. Starring Hugo Weaving ( The Matrix), Ryan Kwanten ( True Blood), Jack Thompson ( Australia), Aaron Pedersen ( The Circuit) and Tasma Walton, the psychological thriller is set in the Queensland hinterland. It’s a slow- build, tense drama that entices with its deliberate silences and moody cinematography.
The Rocket
SBS TWO, Monday, 8.30pm, M ( 2013) Ten- year- old Ahlo ( Sitthiphon Disamoe) is believed to bring bad luck. It’s a curse he’s been carr ying since bir th and when his family is forced to move, the blame is pinned squarely on his slight shoulders. To tr y to win back his father’s trust and prove he’s not a bad omen, Ahlo sets about entering a rocket into a dangerous but lucrative competition.
The Craft
ELEVEN, Tuesday, 9.30pm, M ( 1996) The new girl at school ( Robin Tunney) is lured into the witchcraft practices of three snotty classmates ( Fairuza Balk, Neve Campbell, Rachel True) and events spiral out of control when one of them gets Carrie- d away with the dark side of the force. If you can handle the bored and pouting looks of Balk and Campbell, there’s inventive and witty fun to be had.
The Perfect Storm
GO!, Wednesday, 8.30pm, M ( 2000) Director Wolfgang Petersen takes a fairly straight angle with the true stor y of the Andrea Gail, a small fishing craft whose crew found themselves in the middle of a oncein- a- lifetime weather pattern, where three storms converged into one. George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg and John C. Reilly slot easily into their windbeaten characters and the climactic special effects have to be seen to be believed.