Our movie guy, James Finnegan, has some fine films for you to enjoy over the coming days on RTE and TG4…
Another Bank Holiday, so soon after the last, means more film goodies for the family to enjoy…and thankfully, there is a fine selection!
The outstanding stars of the Despicable Me series were Gru’s colourful gang. They now get their own film, called, perhaps obviously Minions (Saturday RTE One 6.35pm). Frankly the sight of them is enough to get me laughing, let alone when they start chatting.
Suffice to say, Minions have been around since the dawn of time. Unfortunately, while full of good intentions, their interventions do not go well, and they are unloved, unmotivated and without purpose.
Continued below…
Minions Kevin, Stuart and Bob are tasked with finding someone who can lead them, but unfortunately, their inspiration comes from the wrong side of the law. Great fun for all the family.
Another type of crime heist film comes later that evening with Oceans 8 (Saturday RTE One 9.40pm). In this all female spin off/continuation of the Oceans franchise, Debbie Ocean (Sandra Bullock), sister of Danny Ocean, gathers a team to pull off a robbery at the annual Met Gala at the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art.
The gang include Lou Miller (Cate Blanchett), Daphne Kruger (Anne Hathaway) Tammy (Sarah Paulson) and Rose (Helena Bonham Carter) among others. There are also plenty of well known faces in cameo roles.
Speaking of all-star casts, one of the great originals of this genre is The Great Race (Sunday RTE One 2.25pm). There is a land race set up in the early years of the Twentieth Century, inspired by the actual 1908 New York to Paris Race.
Among the competitors are The Great Leslie (Tony Curtis), a literally whiter than white hero, and his evil nemesis Professor Fate (Jack Lemmon), twirling his moustache while cackling an evil laugh. The love interest Maggie DuBois, a photojournalist and suffragette, is played by Natalie Wood.
This is just great fun, and also has the best ever pie fight in the history of cinema. Yes, it really has that kind of slapstick subtlety. Not a Some like It Hot but a great Bank Holiday favourite.
Another charming family film is Stuart Little (Bank Holiday Monday RTE Two 11.35am). The Eleanor and Frederick Little (Gena Davies and Hugh Laurie) intend to adopt, but when they go to the Orphanage, they choose Stuart, a mouse.
This goes down badly with their older son George, and worse with the family cat Snowbell, who has a mouse as a Master. However, as you can imagine, this is only the start of the adventures for the Little family.
Finally, Invictus (Bank Holiday Monday TG4 9.30pm) is the true life story of how South African President Nelson Mandela (Morgan Freeman) uses the home nation Rugby team to try and unite a divided nation in the aftermath of the apartheid system.
Directed by Clint Eastwood, and also staring Matt Damon as South African Captain Francois Pienaar, this is a fascinating story of inspiring leadership. Enjoy and Stay Safe!