Film Planner
Big movies on the small screen
Saturday July 20 ★★★★ The Natural (1984) 1.10pm RTÉ One
Barry Levinson’s all American drama stars Robert Redford as a middle-aged baseball player deciding to make a comeback to the big leagues using the bat he fashioned from a tree which was struck by lightning. It’s all hokum of course, but Redford is always worth a watch.
★★★★ T2: Trainspotting (2016) 9.30pm Channel 4
As Danny Boyle’s sequel opens, Renton (Ewan McGregor) arrives in the Granite City to find Begbie in jail, Spud in a mess and Sick Boy involved with nefarious escort agencies. Any thoughts of a joyous reunion are shattered when Begbie escapes from prison and has Renton in his sights.
★★★★ Philomena (2013) 10.20pm BBC One
Steve Coogan delivers the finest performance of his career in the role of the slightly cynical hack called upon to assist an Irish nurse in her search for the son that was taken away from her by nuns almost 50 years previously. Judi Dench co-stars.
Sunday July 21 ★★★ Twister (1996) 2.55pm ITV2 Two
Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton take the lead roles in this blockbuster yarn about a pair of scientists who risk life and limb chasing down tornadoes in order to learn more of their origins. Both stars play second fiddle to the Oscar-winning special effects on show.
★★★ Pony Express (1953) 4.50pm TG4
In this routine horse opera, Buffalo Bill and Wild Bill Hickok join forces to maintain the safety of a mail route linking California to the rest of the United States. What elevates it above the norm is the casting of Charlton Heston and Forrest Tucker, and scene-stealing Rhonda Fleming in support.
★★★ Dad’s Army (2016) 9.30pm RTÉ One
Thirty years on from the popular BBC series, the Wilmington-on-Sea Home Guard returned to our screens. The new story has our geriatric heroes (Michael Gambon, Bill Nighy) preparing for a Nazi invasion while dealing with the distracting presence of journalist, Catherine Zeta-Jones.
Monday July 22 ★★★ Con Air (1997) 9.00pm Sky One
Producer Jerry Bruckheimer’s follow-up to his mega-hit The Rock was an equally incendiary yarn, again starring Nicolas Cage, about a group of hardened convicts being transported to a new prison by air. It’s all a bit cheesy, but Cage is good fun and John Malkovich chews the scenery.
★★★★ Edge of Tomorrow (2014) 10.00pm Sky Cinema Action
Say what you like about Tom Cruise but the guy knows how to topline a blockbuster action movie. In this case, it’s a cracking sci-fi yarn about an inexperienced fighter thrown head-first into a war against the aliens: over and over again. Emily Blunt and Brendan Gleeson provide terrific support.
★★★★ Unforgiven (1992) 11.00pm TCM
A chance to see Clint Eastwood’s terrific, revisionist western in which Oscar-winning Gene Hackman, plus Morgan Freeman, Richard Harris and Clint himself, do justice to David Webb Peoples’ excellent script. “It’s a hell of a thing killing a man. You take away all he’s got and all he’s ever gonna have.”
Tuesday July 23 ★★★★ Duck Soup (1933) 8.35am TCM
No harps, pianos, or dubious love interest for Zeppo; just wave after wave of glorious Marx Brothers mayhem as President Groucho plunges his country into war and woos widow Margaret Dumont in his own inimitable fashion: “Will you marry me? Did he leave you any money? Answer the second question first.”
★★★ Pretty Woman (1989) 5.55pm Sky Cinema Comedy
This smash-hit rom-com made a star out of Julia Roberts and didn’t do Richard Gere’s career too much harm, either. He’s the lawyer with the wandering eye, she’s the hooker with the heart of gold. Laura San Giacomo shines in a scene-stealing supporting turn.
★★★★ Arrival (2017) 9.00pm Film 4
Denis Villeneuve’s sci-fi drama unfolds through the eyes of Amy Adams’ character, a linguistic expert grieving the loss of her young daughter. These raw emotions help her to forge a bond with creatures from another planet when they suddenly hove into view.
Wednesday July 24 ★★★★ The Little Stranger (2018) 6.00pm Sky Cinema Premiere
Lenny Abrahamson teams up with Domhnall Gleeson for this adaptation of Sarah Waters’ best-selling yarn. Set in the immediate aftermath of WWII, the story follows a buttoned-up doctor (Gleeson) whose duties take him to the local Big House he once frequented as a child. There he nds memories, secrets and lies.
★★★ Mask (1994) 9.00pm, Comedy Central
Jim Carrey and Cameron Diaz star in this frenetic comedy suspense about a bank clerk who comes across a mask that transforms him into a wisecracking greenfaced trickster. The lm is all about Carrey’s unmatched physical comedy, bouncing from one cartoonish act of revenge to the next.
★★★★ Handsome Devil (2017) 9.35pm RTÉ One
John Butler’s story of acceptance and tolerance set in the macho atmosphere of a rugby-centric boarding school. The story revolves around two pupils (played by Nicholas Galitzine and Fionn O’Shea), but the strong ensemble includes Andrew Scott, Ardal O’Hanlon and Moe Dunford.
Thurday July 25 ★★★★ An Inspector Calls (1947) 11.45am TCM
There have been many screen adaptations of JB Priestley’s legendary play about a police inspector investigating the death of a young girl, but none holds a candle to this one, because nobody could possibly be better cast in the title role than the great Alastair Sim.
★★★★ First Man (2017) 8.00pm Sky Cinema Premiere
No better time to screen Damien Chazelle’s ne drama with Ryan Gosling in top form as Neil Armstrong and Claire Foy equally impressive as his wife, Janet. If there’s one grievance, it’s that much more screen time is devoted to Gemini 8 than Apollo XI, but that’s a small gripe for such a good yarn.
★★★★ August: Osage County (2013) 1.50am Channel 4
Meryl Streep excels as the pill-popping, domineering matriarch of a dysfunctional Oklahoma family in this ne adaptation of Tracy Letts’ Pulitzer Prize-winning play. Julia Roberts, Juliette Lewis and Chris Cooper co-star.
Friday July 26 ★★★★ The Martian (2015) 9.00pm Film 4
Astronaut and botanist Matt Damon nds himself stranded on the Red Planet when his fellow crew members are convinced he has perished. With no mission due to arrive for another four years and only a nite amount of food available, Matt is “gonna have to science the shit out of this situation”.
★★★★ The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas (2008) 11.05pm BBC Two
This strong adaptation of John Boyne’s best-selling and thought-provoking novel chronicles the unlikely friendship that develops between two children in a concentration camp. James Horner’s score is terri c and the performances of Asa Butter eld and David Thewlis are strong.
★★★★ Postcards from the Edge (1990) 11.25pm RTÉ One
Based on Carrie Fisher’s confessional, this brilliantly written movie takes an inside look at the problems facing an actress (Meryl Streep, superb) whose life becomes de ned by the amount of pills and booze she consumes. Shirley MacLaine, Annette Bening and Richard Dreyfuss co-star.