FILM HIGHLIGHTS
MONDAY
CRAZY, STUPID, LOVE. (2011) TG4, 9.30pm
Steve Carell stars in this comedy as Cal Weaver, a staid fortysomething with a seemingly perfect life. He has a cushy job, a nice house and a great family with his high-school sweetheart. However, when Cal’s wife, Emily (Julianne Moore) cheats on him and demands a divorce, his world comes crashing down around him. Cal responds to his change in circumstance by drinking alone in a bar, until he is recruited by the impossibly handsome Jacob (Ryan Gosling) to be his wingman.
BLITZ (2011) 3e, 11pm
Jason Statham stars in this frenetic thriller set in London as Brant, a tough cop tasked with the unenviable job of tracking and taking down a serial killer who has been specifically targeting police officers. The killer, known as Blitz, constantly outsmarts and taunts Brant by picking off his colleagues one by one, leaving the detective in a deadly manhunt.
A MOST WANTED MAN (2014) Film4, 9pm
Philip Seymour Hoffman headlined this thoughtful and thoroughly engrossing adaptation of the John le Carre book as Gunther Bachmann, a German government official who heads a team that recruits local informants with ties to Islamic terrorist organisations. However, when a half-Chechen, half-Russian immigrant turns up in Hamburg, both German and US security agencies investigate to establish the man’s identity.
TUESDAY EXTRACTION (2015) Sky Cinema Premiere, 10.15pm
Proving that he’s still got it, Bruce Willis flexes his action movie muscles in this thrilling story of a terrorist group messing with the wrong family. Leonard Turner (Willis) is a retired CIA field operative who is taken prisoner by terrorists, prompting his son (Kellan Lutz) to step in, launching his own rescue operation. It’s a matter of life or death as the youngster takes a few pages out of his father’s book to save him. Gina Carano is among the cast.
AN EVERLASTING PIECE (2001) 3e, 11pm
Barry McEvoy and Brian F O’Byrne star as two prison barber friends who try to make a successful business out of selling hairpieces. Taking their whacky idea across the country, they encounter a rival in the form of Toupee or Not Toupee, and the race to outsell one another begins. However, religious beliefs and politics prove to be just two among many stumbling blocks along the way. Billy Connolly and Anna Friel are also among the cast.
WEDNESDAY TEARS OF THE SUN (2003) 3e, 10pm
Antoine Fuqua’s stylish war flick stars Bruce Willis as a veteran Navy SEAL Lt Waters who is sent into war-ravaged Central Africa to rescue American citizens. While there, Dr Lena Kendricks (Monica Bellucci) refuses to leave unless she can bring along 70 refugees, leaving Waters in a high-stakes ethical quandary.
THE TIME TRAVELER’S WIFE (2009) Channel 4, 1.15am
This romantic drama based on Audrey Niffenegger’s novel of the same name stars Eric Bana as Henry, a Chiacgo librarian who suffers from a rare genetic disorder that means he involuntarily travels through time. In spite of the deeply chaotic nature of his being, Henry attempts to build a life with a beautiful young woman (Rachel McAdams, right) whom he meets during one of his frequent zooms through the continuum.
ICE AGE 3: DAWN OF THE DINOSAURS (2009) E4, 8pm
Boasting a vocal cast that includes the unique skills of Ray Romano, John Leguizamo, Denis Leary and Queen Latifah, the third adventure for the ancient animated animals finds Ellie and Manny expecting their first child, Diego doubting his predatory nature and Sid “adopting” three seemingly abandoned eggs. As they start to hatch, and baby Tyrannosaurus come out, it isn’t long before their real mother comes looking for them, and trouble follows.
THURSDAY KILLERS (2010) 3e, 10pm
A woman’s perfect life is shattered when her husband reveals that he is an international super-spy, plunging the two into a dangerous world full of secrets and bullets. Ashton Kutcher and Katherine Heigl star.
THE BLUES BROTHERS (1980) Gold, 10.45pm
John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd star in John Landis’s timeless comedy as Jake and Elwood Blues, two brothers sent on a slapstick-filled odyssey by their former teacher to raise $5000 for an orphanage. Featuring cameos from a who’s who of blues and soul royalty, including James Brown, Aretha Franklin and Ray Charles – and one of the finest car chases ever committed to film.
LIFE OF PI (2012) Film4, 9pm
Based on the novel by Yann Martel, this Oscar-winning fantasy adventure tells the unbelievable story of a boy named Pi who finds himself washed overboard and stranded in the middle of the ocean, with only a savage Bengal tiger for company. Using groundbreaking special effects, director Ang Lee crafts a truly epic journey of discovery as the boy forms an unexpected connection with the tiger. Suraj Sharma stars.
FRIDAY IN THE HEART OF THE SEA (2015) Sky Cinema Premiere, 8pm
Chris Hemsworth heads the cast in Ron Howard’s megabudget interpretation of Herman Melville’s Moby Dick in which a New England whaling ship is confronted by a giant whale. Howard’s film recounts the famous tale of the ship’s sinking, portrays the aftermath as the ship’s surviving crew brave the harshest elements and confront the depths of despair to avenge their fallen comrades and take the great whale down. Brendan Gleeson, Cillian Murphy and Benjamin Walker also star.
JACK REACHER (2012) TV3, 9pm
Tom Cruise stars as the former military investigator, who is plunged into a deadly mission when he takes on a case involving an expertly-trained sniper shooting victims at random. Reacher teams up with a defence lawyer as he tracks the killer, and faces a lot of obstacles along the way, climaxing with an explosive do-or-die showdown.
KILLING THEM SOFTLY (2012) More4, 10pm
An all-star cast featuring Brad Pitt, James Gandolfini and Richard Jenkins and Ben Mendelsohn bring gravitas to Andrew Dominik’s visceral thriller. Pitt plays enforcer Jackie Cogan, hired to restore some semblance of order after three foolhardy men deem it a good idea to rob a card game run by the Mafia, which causes the local economy to collapse.
SATURDAY KUNG FU PANDA 2 (2011) RTE One, 6.35pm
Witty animated sequel featuring the voices of Jack Black, Angelina Jolie, Dustin Hoffman and Gary Oldman. Having embraced his destiny as the Dragon Warrior, panda Po and the Furious Five have ensured that the Valley of Peace has remained that way. However, vengeance-seeking peacock Shen returns to his homeland, looking to reclaim his throne, wielding a weapon that could bring China to its knees. It is up to Po to face this deadly foe and save the day, however, the kung-fu fighter’s past comes back to haunt him.
PAUL (2011) E4, 9pm
When comic book-loving geeks Graeme and Clive go on the ultimate American road trip of nerd hot spots, the last thing they expect to come across is an actual alien. His name is Paul. He’s loud, crude and is now a fugitive on the run from Area 51, but all he is looking for is a way to get home, and the two geeks feel it’s their calling to help him. Simon Pegg and Nick Frost star.
LIMITLESS (2011) Channel 4, 10pm
Bradley Cooper stars as struggling writer Eddie Morra, who is given a mysterious pill that he is told will help his focus. What he doesn’t know is that its secrets unlock the use of 100% of his brain, which he soon puts to good use, becoming a financial wizard. His success brings him to the attention of stock market veteran Carl Van Loon (Robert De Niro), and he finds himself playing a very dangerous game.
WARM BODIES (2013) TG4, 12.10am
Nicholas Hoult and Teresa Palmer both star in this heartwarming romantic comedy about what happens when the undead find love. R, a young man who became a zombie when a world-shifting outbreak swept the planet, finds himself shuffling his days away, looking for more from his undead existence. That all changes when he meets Julie, a living girl, and his heart begins to beat again. The two form an unusual relationship, unaware that it could change the way of their world forever.