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Our movie guy, James Finnegan, on some of the movies tonight on TV…
You will be delighted to see that there are a few cinematic treats to wind down between the Olympic coverage.
Abominable (Saturday 6.35pm RTE1) is not a comment on my sporting prowess, but rather a charming animated adventure where three young friends discover a fantastic creature that they believe to be a Yeti.
They set out to reunite him with his family, but there is also a financier and a zoologist also on his tale, and their aims are not so altruistic.
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Featuring the vocal talents of Chloe Bennet, Albert Tsai, Tenzig Norgay Trainor , Sarah Paulson and Eddie Izzard, this is a lovely family film from DreamWorks is written and directed by Jill Culton.
Thelma and Louise (Saturday 9.45pm TG4) is the story of two world-weary friends who flee their dull and dead end lives for a weekend road trip.
However, when they kill a would be rapist in self-defence, they go on the run, sparking a series of events that seem destined to end in disaster
Staring Geena Davies (Thelma), Susan Sarandon (Louise), Brad Pitt, Harvey Keitel and Michael Madsen, this was a first time screenplay by Callie Khouri which won the Best Screenplay Academy Award, Golden Globe and Writers Guild of America Awards.
Interestingly, Michelle Pfeiffer, Jodie Foster, Meryl Streep and Goldie Hawn were originally considered for the leads, and Ridley Scott was initially reluctant do take up directing duties, which only goes to show what alchemy needs to happen for a film to be successful.
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M Night Shyamalan’s fantasy thriller Glass (Saturday 10.30pm RTE2) completes the trilogy of “Unbreakable” and “Split” concerning an invulnerable vigilante who battles a murderer with multiple personalities.
However, they are captured, transferred to a psychiatric hospital and placed under the care of a sinister doctor who plans to take advantage of their unique abilities.
What they don’t realise is that they are sharing the facility with a third patient, a criminal mastermind who is manipulating everyone for his own nefarious plans.
Starring Bruce Willis, James McAvoy, Samuel L Jackson, Sarah Paulson (second time tonight) and Anna Taylor-Joy, this is an interesting and quirky anecdote to the usual superhero film story.
Perhaps appropriately, there is a showing of one of the greatest sporting films ever in Raging Bull (Sunday 12.10 am RTE One), Martin Scorsese’s hard hitting biopic of boxer Jake LaMotta.
This is quite an unflinching story of the middleweight champion who could not confine his aggression to the ring and stars Robert De Niro in one of his career defining and Oscar winning roles.
In fact, it is a story that does not hide LaMotta’s turbulent personal life, where his treatment of his wife and family was brutal and beset with rage and jealousy.
Also starring the great Joe Pesci in his film debut, this is not an easy watch, but you can’t take your eyes of it either. It’s not hard to appreciate why it also won the Academy Award for Best Editing. Enjoy!
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