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Our movie guy, James Finnegan, on some films to watch on TV today…
On a day where there is already plenty of sport, the theme is continued in a number of today’s films.
The Champ (Saturday 3.25pm RTE1) is a touching remake of the 1931 Oscar winner of the same name.
A washed up boxer, Billy Flynn (Jon Voight), learns that his ex-wife, Annie, played by Faye Dunaway, wants custody of their son T.J, played by Ricky Schroder.
In a desperate attempt to support and win the affection of his son, as well as reconcile with Annie, Billy returns to the ring one last time.
Directed by Franco Zeffirelli, this is a pure tear jerker so don’t blame me if there is some ugly crying by the end.
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In Despicable Me 3 (Saturday 6.35pm RTE1), Gru (Steve Carell) is dismissed from the Anti-Villain League after botching a mission.
He sets off to meet his long-lost, charming and more successful twin brother, Dru (also voiced by Carell), and they team up for one final criminal mission – to stop Balthazar Bratt (Trey Parker) a former child star supervillan destroying Hollywood when his show is cancelled.
Also starring the voices of Kristen Wiig, Steve Coogan, Jenny Slate and Julie Andrews, and, of course, the magnificent Minions, the sequel called, guess what, “Despicable Me 4” and is due for release next year.
In Magnolia (Saturday 9.30pm TG4), written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, the lives of nine residents of Los Angeles, each facing their own problems and issues, begin to intersect over the course of one day.
Starring Tom Cruise, Philip Seymour Hoffman, William H Macy, Julianne Moore and John C Reilly among others, this is not a story that can be easily described in a few lines, but is well worth a watch.
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It is sometimes hard to tell the difference between bravery and bravado. A Private War (Saturday 9.45 RTE1) tells the story of celebrated Sunday Times war correspondent Marie Colvin (Rosamund Pike) who is as at home mixing with high society as she is fleeing gunfire and staring down warlords.
She is committed to show the world the horrors of conflict from the frontline. In 2012, she, and photographer Paul Conroy (Jamie Dornan) are in the city of Homs, where they find 28,000 Syrian men, women and children caught in the crossfire between opposing forces.
Also starring Tom Hollander and Stanley Tucci and directed by Matthew Heinman, the central performance of Rosamund Pike is exceptional, and in another year would have brought her a bagful of well deserved awards.
Just in case there is not enough rugby being shown for you, this is a timely outing for Clint Eastwood’s drama Invictus (Saturday 10.30 RTE2).
It stars Morgan Freeman being Master of his Fate, as the newly elected South African President Nelson Mandela, who hopes that the 1995 Rugby World Cup can bring his racially and financially divided nation together.
He enlists the help of Captain Francois Pienaar (Matt Damon) in making his team an inspiration for all South Africans. Enjoy!
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