The big movies on the small screen this week
Saturday May 22 ★★★ Anthropoid (2016) 9.15pm RTÉ2
This powerful drama tells the true and chilling tale of two brave Czech soldiers who attempt to assassinate one of the chief architects of the Holocaust, Reinhard Heydrich, in Nazi-occupied Prague. Cillian Murphy and Jamie Dornan play the men charged with carrying out the task.
★★★★ Papillon (1973) 11.25pm RTÉ2
Franklin J Schaffner’s powerful adaptation of Henri Charrière’s autobiography, stars Steve Mcqueen as the petty thief who is transported to Devil’s Island, but is determined to escape. Dustin Hoffman co-stars as a white-collar criminal who teams up with Mcqueen to help him.
★★★★ The Commitments (1991) 11.50pm RTÉ One
They’re back and they’re proud! Dublin’s greatest soul band take to the stage once again in Alan Parker’s hugely enjoyable musical. A first-rate cast, toe-tapping tunes and Roddy Doyle’s sparkling dialogue: deadly!
Sunday May 23 ★★★★ Frozen (2013) 2.50pm BBC One
Just when you thought it was safe to walk into the living room without having to hear that song again, it’s time for the most popular film among little princesses (in blue dresses) to get another airing. Resistance is futile.
★★★ True Lies (1994) 9.00pm E4
Arnie out-does Bond in James Cameron’s hugely exciting action film, which stars the Austrian Oak as a computer retailer by day, who turns into a crack secret agent by night, unbeknownst to his wife, Jamie Lee Curtis. Tom Arnold and Bill Paxton provide strong support.
★★★ Starred Up (2013) 11.35pm Film 4
This powerful story of a violent young offender (Jack O’connell) who finds himself in an adult prison (hence the title) covers familiar ground, but O’connell delivers a star-is-born performance as the most aggressive young offender since Ray Winstone filled a sock with pool balls in Scum (1977).
Monday May 24 ★★★ Crocodile Dundee (1986) 7.05pm Film 4
“That’s not a knife: that’s a knife”. Hard to believe that it’s 35 years since Paul Hogan’s comic creation became a boxoffice smash. The fish-out-of-water trope has dated a tad, but Hogan is good value and many of the gags still hold up well.
★★★ Hanna (2008) 9.30pm TG4
In Joe Wright’s action yarn, Saoirse Ronan is a young gal with serious skills and a serious mission on which to deploy them: the elimination of a ruthless intelligence agent played by a steely-eyed and sharply stilettoed Cate Blanchett. Eric Bana co-stars.
★★★★ Behind The Candelabra (2013) 9.45pm Sky Cinema Drama
Stephen Soderbegh’s multi-awardwinning drama is an entertaining take on the life of Liberace. It features glittering performances from Michael Douglas and Matt Damon, but also offers eye-popping cameos from the likes of Rob Lowe and Debbie Reynolds.
Tuesday May 25 ★★★ To Hell and Back (1955) 1.05pm Film 4
Audie Murphy takes the lead role in this rare example of Hollywood constructing a drama based on an actor’s life. Before he became an actor, Murphy was famed as the most honoured American soldier of WWII, the Medal of Honor taking pride of place among his 27 decorations.
★★★★ Ben-hur (1959) 1.30pm TCM
Everyone remembers this multi-oscarwinning epic for the remarkable chariot race, but there’s much more to admire here; notably the performances of Charlton Heston, Hugh Griffith and Stephen Boyd; and that stirring Miklós Rózsa score.
★★★ Marley & Me (2008) 7.00pm Sky Cinema Comedy
If you have tears and you’re a dog lover, prepare to shed them as handsome couple, Jennifer Aniston and Owen Wilson, build their lives around their beloved pooch. The top-notch cast also includes Alan Alda, Kathleen Turner, Clark Peters and Ann Dowd.
Wednesday May 26 ★★★★ The Roads Not Taken (2020) 6.30pm Sky Cinema Premiere
Javier Bardem is terri c as a middleaged writer living alone in New York, for whom the fog of dementia has descended rapidly. While his daughter (Elle Fanning) struggles to cope with her father’s present condition, his mind is ashing back to Mexico.
★★★ Going in Style (2017) 9.35pm RTÉ One
Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman and Alan Arkin are three lifelong friends who decide to rob a bank when their pensions are summarily frozen. Though it’s fairly predictable, the chemistry between the cast is terri c with enough decent gags to keep it all ticking along.
★★★★ The Founder (2016) 9.10pm Sky Cinema Drama
Michael Keaton shines in this fascinating true-life drama about the irresistible rise of Mcdonald’s, driven by Machiavellian businessman, Ray Kroc. We rst meet Kroc (Keaton) in 1954 as a Willy Lomanlike travelling salesman, hawking his milk-shake machines around the US.
Thursday May 27 ★★★ The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956) 3.45pm Film 4
Hitchcock remakes his own 1934 thriller with James Stewart typically superb as the Everyman caught up in a kidnap saga on holiday, while Doris Day croons the Oscar-winning ballad, Que Sera Sera.
★★★★ Ad Astra (2019) 8.00pm Sky Cinema Sci-fi
Brad Pitt is terri c as the career-oriented astronaut who is sent on a top secret mission to investigate cosmic bursts emanating from Neptune, which may be linked to Pitt’s missing father (Tommy Lee Jones), a legendary space explorer who has not been heard of for years.
★★★★ Man on Wire (2008) 12.35am Sky Documentaries
The story of Frenchman Philippe Petit’s gobsmacking 1974 aerial walk between the twin towers of the World Trade Center is a remarkable one. James Marsh’s Oscar-winning documentary follows Petit (and his small band of followers) as he realises his dream.
Friday May 28 ★★★★ Bullitt (1968) 5.10pm TCM
In Peter Yates’ classic detective movie, Steve Mcqueen is assigned the task of protecting the leading witness in a Ma a case. Robert Vaughn, Robert Duvall and Jacqueline Bisset co-star, but it’s hard to top Mcqueen’s car chase around San Francisco’s undulating streetscape.
★★★ The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012) 9.00pm Film 4
For the rst instalment of Peter Jackson’s second trilogy, it takes a long time to get Bilbo and the dwarves out of the Shire and o on Gandalf’s mission, but fans of Lord of the Rings are happy to bide their time and go along for the ride.
★★★ Apache (1954) 9.50pm TG4
Burt Lancaster is in top form as Massai, the Apache warrior who refused to yield to the white man, even after Geronimo’s surrender. Such a role is tailor-made for Burt’s athletic style of acting and, typically, the big man performed all of his own stunts in this entertaining action yarn from Robert Aldrich.