TV Films
A Guide to the Week’s Viewing
Ryan Holder
SATURDAY FEBRUARY 11
The Notebook (Sky Movies Valentine Pop-up 035, 8.00pm). It’s almost February 14, so you know the usual line-up of romcoms and chick flicks is nearly upon us. Sky’s got Chocolat and Hitch on Valentine’s Day and there’s even one on TVNZ 2 called Valentine’s Day, which airs at 8.40pm today. And then there’s The Notebook, the alltime favourite love story about Noah Calhoun (Ryan Gosling) and Allie Hamilton (Rachel McAdams). It won Best Kiss at the MTV Movie Awards and the Movie Chemistry award at the Teen Choice Awards – all this despite the fact the two stars didn’t get along at all on set, according to director Nick Cassavetes. (2004)
The Theory of Everything (TV3, 8.55pm). As one of the most anti-science administrations of the modern era takes over the reins of US government, there’s no better time to watch a celebration of the life and achievements of an extraordinary scientist. Stephen Hawking made his name as a theoretical physicist with his bold theory of Hawking radiation and exploding primordial black holes, and he has since also moved into the role of a public intellectual. And while his scientific accomplishments are somewhat downplayed in favour of his love life in The Theory of Everything (the film was adapted in part from his ex-wife’s memoir), Eddie Redmayne’s physical performance of Hawking’s disease – and the insatiable scientific curiosity that helped him overcome it – is simply triumphant. (2014)
Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead (Maori, 9.05pm). The last feature film of prolific director Sidney Lumet ( 12 Angry Men, Network, Serpico) before his death is a devastating crime drama centring on the fallout of a botched heist by two brothers (Ethan Hawke and Philip Seymour Hoffman). Just when you think it can’t get any worse, it does. (2007)
12 Years a Slave (TVNZ 1, 10.40pm). Almost 160 years after Solomon Northup told the story of his kidnapping and enslavement at a plantation in Louisiana, director Steve McQueen became the first black person to win an Academy Award for Best Picture (plus Best Adapted Screenplay for John Ridley and Best Supporting Actress for Lupita Nyong’o). The film is chockfull of stars: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Fassbender, Sarah Paulson, Paul Dano, Benedict Cumberbatch, Brad Pitt, Alfre Woodard and Michael K Williams. (2013)
SUNDAY FEBRUARY 12
The Handmaid’s Tale (Maori, 8.30pm). Based on Margaret Atwood’s dystopian novel of the same name, The Handmaid’s Tale sees a reactionary
Christian movement overthrow the Government of the United States, suspend the constitution under the guise of restoring law and order, and strip away women’s rights in one swoop. Did I mention it was fiction? The main character, Offred (Natasha Richardson) – “of Fred” – is captured while trying to cross the border into Canada and forced to become a Handmaid, an underclass of concubines to the rulers of the Republic of Gilead – in Offred’s case for the Commander (Robert Duvall) – used solely for their functional ovaries in an age of mass infertility. (1990)
Pineapple Express (Sky Movies Greats 033, 8.30pm). Pineapple Express is a high-grade stoner comedy starring the suitably musty process server Dale Denton (Seth Rogen) and typical drug dealer Saul Silver (James Franco) as they evade a murderous drug lord (Gary Cole) and his incompetent cronies (Kevin Corrigan and Craig Robinson). Pineapple Express hilariously debunks a theory that many of us who have never been in a car chase believe: that if you just slam on the brakes, the other car would go flying past and you’re away scot-free. (2008)
MONDAY FEBRUARY 13
The Incredible Hulk (TVNZ Duke, 8.30pm). Attempts to make a “super soldier” don’t go very well at all and Dr Bruce Banner (Edward Norton) transforms into the monster and legend that is the Incredible Hulk.
His temporary transitions into hulk state occur when his heart rate rises above 200bpm. But the truly incredible change happens between the two films The Incredible Hulk and The Avengers, when Banner changes actors completely by morphing into Mark Ruffalo. Bonus: Comic-book writer and Hulk co-creator Stan Lee cameos as the old guy who drinks the hulk-contaminated soda, and Michael K Williams briefly appears as Omar because Norton’s a big fan of The Wire. (2008)
TUESDAY FEBRUARY 14
Murderball (Maori, 8.30pm) Wheelchair rugby was first called Murderball, a contact sport played by tetra-, quadriand paraplegics strapped into reinforced wheelchairs. So it comes as a bit of a surprise to hear these “men of steel” say things like, “My injury has led me to opportunities … and friendships I would never have had before … it has taught me about myself.” This is the beauty of the documentary. While most of the physical action takes place on the court, as rivalry builds between the US and Canadian teams prior to the 2004 Paralympics, the heart of the film is off-court with the players. As critic Roger Ebert says, “It’s not really a sports film; it’s a film that uses sport as a way to see into [their] lives, hopes and fears.” Bonus: the New Zealand Wheel Blacks make an appearance performing a haka. (2005)
THURSDAY FEBRUARY 16
Men in Black II (TVNZ 2, 7.30pm). A predictably lousy sequel, albeit with plenty of action. The original pug that “played” Frank in Men in Black was seven years older by the second film, so Frank had to have his little greying nose painted over with makeup. (2012)
Jim: The James Foley Story (Rialto, 039, 8.30pm). Before war correspondent James Foley was killed at the hands of the Islamic State, he worked in most of the world’s deadliest conflict zones, from Iraq to Afghanistan, Libya and Syria. He was once captured in Libya by Gaddafi’s forces, interrogated and upon his release said, “We were in a general Libyan population, immediately embraced by Libyan political prisoners. They saw us as trying to tell their story.” At a time when journalists and the people of Muslim-majority countries have been maligned by the leader of the free world, this documentary will come as a painful but necessary reminder of the value of the work – and the high cost to journalists, families and friends – of reporting real-life stories from nations oppressed by tyrants, terrorists and war. (2016)