Finnegan On Films: A Cartoon Favourite, A Notable Debut And A Forgotten Gem

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Our movie guy, James Finnegan, has a cartoon, a cult classic and a compelling drama for your viewing pleasure tonight…

When I was growing up, the Hanna Barbera cartoons were a staple offering – Yogi Bear, Huckleberry Hound, Scooby Doo, the Flintstones and especially Tom and Jerry.

There have been attempts to bring most of these characters to the modern big screen with varying degrees of success.

More mature readers may remember Tom and Jerry’s appearance in ‘Anchors Aweigh’ (1945) and the scene where Jerry danced with Gene Kelly.

In Tom and Jerry (Saturday 6.35pm RTE1), the legendary rivalry returns when Jerry Mouse moves into New York City’s finest hotel, the Royal Gate Hotel, on the eve of the wedding of the century, which forces the desperate event planner Kayla (Chloe Grace Moretz) to hire Tom Cat to get rid of him.

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As mayhem ensues, the escalating cat-and-mouse battle soon threatens to destroy her career, the wedding, and possibly the hotel itself.

This combination of live action and animation has its charms, notably the use of achieve audio of the late William Hanna to voice Tom and Jerry as far as possible.

There is the expected cartoon violence, but one cannot help but feel nostalgic for the old cartoons.

True Romance (Saturday 9.35pm TG4) ticks all the boxes for a true cult film.

A shy clerk, Clarence (Christian Slater) marries a hooker, Alabama (Patricia Arquette) kills her pimp and together they go on the run to Los Angeles with five million dollars of stolen Mob cocaine that they plan to sell.

Christopher Walken and Dennis Hopper share a scene in True Romance.

True Romance began life as an early script by Quentin Tarantino who sold the screenplay in order to finance his debut feature film ‘Reservoir Dogs’ (1992).

Directed by Tony Scott, you can see this is  regarded by proponents as a cross-fertilisation of Tarantino and Scott’s respective trademarks, including a Southern California setting, pop cultural references, and stylized violence punctuated by slow motion.

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With a cast including Dennis Hopper, Val Kilmer (as Elvis), Gary Oldman, Brad Pitt, Christopher Walken, Bronson Pinchot, Samuel L. Jackson, Saul Rubinek, Conchata Ferrell, and James Gandolfini, this is well worth a watch.

If I were to strongly recommend one film for you this weekend, it would be Can You Ever Forgive Me? (Saturday 11.35pm RTE1).

This film is inspired by the story of Lee Israel (Melissa McCarthy), who following the critical and commercial failure of her biography of Estee Lauder, suffers financial problems, writers block and alcoholism.

She discovers a method of making a lucrative sideline in selling literary forgeries with the assistance of a friend Jack Hock (Richard E Grant).

This film received multiple nominations, all of which were well deserved even if they did not always produce the awards.  Highly recommended, so enjoy!

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