TV Films Fiona Rae
A Guide to the Week’s Viewing
SATURDAY OCTOBER 29
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (TVNZ 2, 7.00pm). Oh, we see now. We’re being softened up for the new iteration of the Harry Potter universe, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, in cinemas soon. The second Harry Potter is cluttered and narratively messy, even if Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson have had a few acting lessons since The Philosopher’s Stone. Chris Columbus redeems things somewhat with the basilisk battle at the end and the great and good of British acting are here again to shore up any weaknesses: Kenneth Branagh, Richard Griffiths, Maggie Smith, Julie Walters, and Richard Harris in his final appearance as Dumbledore. (2002)
Children of Heaven (Maori, 8.30pm). In a poor Tehran suburb, a boy loses his sister’s shoes. This calamity sets off a failed shoe-sharing scheme and a series of adventures culminating in a running race whose third prize is pair of shoes. Majid Majidi’s beautifully observed film contrasts life in the poorest neighbourhood with the wealthiest, and his young, guileless stars, Amir Farrokh Hashemian and Bahare Seddiqi, are charming. The film was nominated for an
Oscar in 1998. (1997)
Carol (Rialto, Sky 039, 8.30pm). Another tale of forbidden love from Todd Haynes ( Far from Heaven), who takes Patricia Highsmith’s 1952 novel The Price of Salt and blows it up into a gorgeous Brief Encounter- infused experience. Cate Blanchett seems to exist on another acting plane these days and she is again extraordinary here as Carol, who falls in love with young shop assistant Therese (Rooney Mara, an exactly right mix of innocence and intelligence). However, it is for this “immoral conduct” that she may lose her daughter during divorce proceedings with her confused husband (Kyle Chandler). (2015)
Training Day (TVNZ 2, 9.55pm). It’s not exactly Henry Fonda in Once Upon a Time in the
West, but making America’s sweetheart Denzel Washington the bad guy gives a fairly standard cop-movie story an extra dimension. Washington certainly seems to relish the challenge, and Antoine Fuqua obtained an Oscar-winning performance from his leading man and, to everyone’s surprise, an Oscar nomination for supporting actor Ethan Hawke. Washington plays a debauched, corrupt LA cop who scares the pants off rookie Hawke.
It’s plenty violent, which is kind of Fuqua’s thing (he has just rebooted The Magnificent Seven). (2001)
A Perfect Murder (TVNZ 2, 12.10am Sunday). A remake of Dial M for Murder that is like a hangover from the 80s. Michael Douglas is the smooth amoral currency trader whose portfolio is in crisis; Gwyneth Paltrow is the trophy wife having an affair with artist Viggo Mortensen. Unlike the 1954 Hitchcock movie, it’s all about the money rather than the emotion, and the slick, dark art direction gives it a Wall Street vibe. (1998)
Eyes Wide Shut (TV2, 2.20am Sunday). Laboured and boring, like watching a slow car crash, which is almost the case: it was the movie that did for Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise’s marriage. To be fair, it would have taken a very strong relationship to survive the Guinness World Record 400-day film shoot. Stanley Kubrick’s final film (he died four days after showing his final cut to the studio) is based on Arthur Schnitzler’s 1926 novella Dream Story, an exploration of sexuality within a marriage. Haunting and precisely filmed, but cold, very cold. (1999)
SUNDAY OCTOBER 30
The Lunchbox (Maori, 8.30pm). The second movie of the week to reference Brief Encounter, albeit with tiffins. The wrong lunchbox is delivered to office drone Saajan (Irrfan Khan) and a chaste relationship begins with Ila (Nimrat Kaur), an unhappy wife trying to tempt her indifferent husband. Wry and funny, and a lovely slice of Mumbai life. (2013)
Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens (Sky Premiere, Sky 030, 8.30pm). Director and co-writer JJ Abrams manages the trick of making Star Wars both new and familiar. It’s basically the same plot as The Return of the Jedi, down to a droid (BB-8) carrying important information and a Death Star that needs to be destroyed (when will the Empire learn?). But the movie works on every level, thanks to a canny infusion of new faces (Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac and Adam Driver), old faces (Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher and, ah, Chewbacca) and a sprightly script from Lawrence Kasdan ( The Empire Strikes Back) and Michael Arndt ( Little Miss Sunshine and Toy
Story 3). (2015)
FRIDAY NOVEMBER 4
The 40 Year-Old Virgin (Bravo, 8.30pm). Judd Apatow’s first directing gig is also one of his best films. It’s funny and rude in equal measure and you’ll be, ah, rooting for Steve Carell as the titular virgin, especially when he meets lovely single mum Catherine Keener. Carell’s work buddies Paul Rudd, Seth Rogen and Romany Malco yuck it up with terrible sex advice – and if you want to see Rudd and Rogen trying not to laugh for real, wait for the waxing scene, which was done for real. (2005)