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Our movie guy, James Finnegan, says there is is a fine and diverse selection of films on show today, so let’s get right down to it…
In Megamind (Saturday 12pm RTE2), Will Farrell lends his voice to this animated adventure about an evil Mastermind who finally gets rid of his superhero nemesis.
But what’s the point in being a Supervillan Mastermind if you don’t have anyone to try to foil your evil schemes?
First Knight (Saturday 2.20pm RTE1) is one of the more grounded films based on the legend of King Arthur – in other words, no Merlin and no Lady of the Lake – so is this perhaps a little underrated.
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Sean Connery was born to play Arthur and Julia Ormond is a suitably conflicted Guinevere torn between Arthur and Lancelot (Richard Gere).
Arthur and Camelot are under threat from Malagant , the villain of the piece, played by Ben Cross, and there is plenty of action to satisfy a Saturday afternoon audience.
Nativity Rocks (Saturday 8pm RTE1) is the fourth film in this long running festive comedy franchise. We return once again to see the staff and students of St Bernadette’s Primary School auditioning for a Rock Concert to help Coventry win the Christmas Town of the Year Award.
Starring Simon Lipkin (Jerry Poppy), Helen George (Miss Shelly) and other well known faces such as Anna Chancellor, Hugh Dennis, Celia Imrie and Craig Revel Horwood but as a character says in the film, “Wonderful things come in threes – musketeers, amigos, times a lady”.
The Snowman (Saturday 9.20pm RTE2) is a film that has nothing to do with Frozen or the famous song. It is, in fact, a crime thriller about a serial killer that’s set in Oslo, Norway, and based on a novel by Jo Nesbø. It’s very violent and gory, with lots of blood, dead bodies, severed limbs/heads, and more.
Starring Michael Fassbender as the unfortunately named detective Harry Hole, who is investigating the disappearance of a woman whose scarf was found draped around a sinister looking snowman. It also stars Rebecca Ferguson, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Val Kilmer and J.K. Simmons.
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Mrs Brown (Saturday 9.30pm TG4) is the story of the recently widowed Queen Victoria (Judi Dench) who has retreated from public life following the death of her husband.
An outspoken Scottish manservant, John Brown (Billy Connolly) helps bring the Queen out of her mourning, but his manner is considered disrespectful and far too influential on the Queen.
A truly underrated comedy, Clockwise (Saturday 11.35pm RTE2) stars John Cleese as an obsessively punctual headmaster, whose journey to a convention descends into a more and more frantic race against time after he catches the wrong train. This is brilliant and highly recommended.
Starring Robert de Niro, who is also making his directorial debut, A Bronx Tale (Saturday 11.30pm RTE1) is about a hard working, honest man who is watching helplessly as his teenage son is influenced by a smooth talking and sharp suited gangster, drawing the youngster deeper and deeper into the criminal underworld.
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