Finnegan On Films: All Human Life And Drama On Display

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Our movie guy, James Finnegan, on a diverse range of movies on the box over the next week…

We are now approaching the conclusion of the series with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 (Saturday 6.35pm RTE1). 

Harry, Ron and Hermione are in hiding after the dark lord Voldemort has taken over the Ministry of Magic.  Our heroes are seeking the Horcruxes, Voldermort’s secret to immortality and perhaps the secret to destroy him, a task given to them by Dumbledore himself.

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While we are on the franchise trail, Daniel Craig’s second Bond Quantum of Solace (Saturday 8.30pm RTE2) is a direct sequel to Casino Royale.

Continued below…

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007 is on a personal mission of revenge following the death of Vesper Lynd. This puts him on the trail of wealthy businessman Dominic Greene (Mathieu Amalric), a member of the secret criminal organisation Quantum.

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Greene is plotting a coup d’état in Bolivia by taking control of its water supply.  Meanwhile Greene is also the target of Camille Montes (Olga Kurylenko) who also has a personal revenge mission in mind.

Brothers (Saturday 9.45pm TG4) is directed by Jim Sheridan and has resonances of Homer’s Odyssey as well as current events.  Sam Cahill (Tobey Maguire) is a US marine, presumed killed in action during a tour of duty in Afghanistan.

Back home, his brother Tommy (Jake Gyllenhaal) is an ex-convict, in conflict with his family and leading a directionless life.  However, he resolves to take care of his brother’s wife Grace (Natalie Portman) and her two daughters.

Sometime later, Sam is found by American forces in a Taliban base and returns home.  However, his experiences there, the effect they have had on him as well as his resentfulness of Tommy’s closeness with his wife and daughters has a pronounced effect on Sam.

Of Mice and Men (Sunday 4.35pm TG4) is set in the post-Great  Depression.  Therefore the attitudes, expressions and language are of that time, and needs to be recognised as such.

Directed, produced and starring Gary Sinise as George and John Malkovich as Lenny, it tells the story of two drifters.  George looks after Lenny who finds the world a very confusing and challenging place.

What this is, in fact, is one of the best film adaptations of a classic book that I have seen. The acting is exemplary throughout , a human drama without special effects or gratuitous rewriting, adapting or updating.  If you can’t watch it live, record it for a quiet undisturbed viewing.

Back to Bond with Goldfinger (Sunday 6.00 pm RTE1) definitely Sean Connery’s best and it could be argued as perhaps the series best.

This is the film that has all those classic touches, notably that Aston Martin with the ejector seat, Shirley Eaton covered in Gold, the Best Villain (Gert Frobe), Best Henchman in Oddjob (Harold Sakata), Honor Blackman, Best Theme Song, written by John Barry, sung by  Shirley Bassey and a plot that improves on the book.

Oh yes, and a countdown to a nuclear bomb explosion! Enjoy and stay safe!

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