Finnegan On Films: Plenty Laughs And Serious Drama On The Box

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Our movie guy, James Finnegan, picks a few flicks to watch on TV tonight…

As someone who is, regularly surrounded by babies, I have no problem in believing that they have more idea what is going on than I do.

The Boss Baby 2: Family Business (Saturday 7pm RTE1) is the animated sequel you didn’t know you wanted and is, frankly, great fun.

The plot follows the now-adult Templeton brothers, Ted (Alec Baldwin) and Tim (James Marsden), who are brought back together after Tim’s daughter Tina (Amy Sedaris) requests their help for Baby Corp to stop a professor from erasing childhoods worldwide.

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There is a splendid vocal cast including Ariana Greenblatt, Eva Longoria, Jimmy Kimmel, Lisa Kudrow and the unique talent that is Jeff Goldblum.

An Oscar winning Leonardo DiCaprio stars in Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu’s western The Revenant (Saturday 9.30pm RTE2), which also won the Best Picture Oscar. Leo plays Hugh Glass, who is leading frontiersmen through an 1820’s winter in South Dakota.

Unfortunately for Hugh, he is mauled by a bear and left for dead by the party, led by Andrew Henry (Dohmnall Gleeson) but in particular John S Fitzgerald (Tom Hardy) and Jim Bridger (Will Poulter), who also kill Hugh’s son to cover their disgrace.

However, Hugh is not quite as dead as they suspected, and revenge for his son inspires him to amazing feats of endurance and violence in extreme circumstances.  Amazingly, this is based, in parts, on a true story.

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Beautiful Boy (Saturday 9.35pm TG4) is a drama almost taken fresh from the news headlines.

Bill (Michael Sheen) and Kate (Maria Bello) are a struggling couple considering separation.  They are then faced with the devastating news that their son has committed a mass shooting at his university before turning the gun on himself.

They struggle with the consequences of the aftermath of the tragedy, as well as the intrusive media attention.

Now, two excellent films that ease gently into early Sunday morning that I would wish to bring to your attention.

The Mission (Sunday 12.20am RTE2) is a beautiful film that has a surprisingly strong Irish contingent in the cast.

Set in 18th Century Amazonian forest, this is the story of a clash between the Church and pro slavery Portuguese colonialists, with a small tribe under the protection of Jesuit Missionaries caught in the middle.

With a cast including Jeremy Irons, Liam Neeson, Aidan Quinn, Cherie Lunghi and Robert De Niro, directed by Roland Joffe and a screenplay written by Robert Bolt, this film experience is enhanced by a wonderful Ennio Morricone score including perhaps the finest piece of music composed for film in Gabriel’s Oboe.

Finally,  A Bump Along The Way (Sunday 12.55 am RTE1) is a warm and hearty comedy – drama starring Bronagh Gallagher as Pamela, a forty something single mum, who finds herself surprising pregnant after a one night stand, much to the horror and shame of her teenage daughter Allegra (Lola Petticrew).

Well worth staying up for, or recording, especially for the performance of both lead actresses. Enjoy!

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