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Our movie guy, James Finnegan, says there is something for everyone in today’s line-up of films on TV…
I could not help but be enthused when I saw the films on show today, as they cover many of my favourite personal categories – comedy, biographies, great character actors doing their stuff and, of course, the incomparable Clint Eastwood.
When the identities of all the undercover MI7 field agents are revealed by a cyber attack, the older inactive agents have to be recalled to duty in Johnny English Strikes Again (Saturday 6.35pm RTE1).
Unfortunately, Johnny (Rowan Atkinson) manages to incapacitate all the other agents, and so, sets off, together with his sidekick Bough (Ben Miller), to defend Queen and country with nothing but explosive jelly babies against baddie Jason Volta (Jake Lacy).
Also starring Emma Thompson, Olga Kurylenko and a number of fine cameos as the fellow agents, this is just great fun.
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Ali (Saturday 9.05pm TG4) is the story of Cassius Clay/Muhammad Ali, perhaps the greatest sportsman ever.
The film wisely concentrates on a period of his life, from his 1964 fight with Sonny Liston to the even more famous “Rumble in the Jungle” with George Foreman ten years later.
This decade saw him convert to Islam, change his name, become friends with Malcolm X and refuse to be drafted into the Vietnam War.
Will Smith is very good as Ali, both inside (please feel free to include your own Oscar Slap joke here!) and outside the ring, and there is a very strong supportive cast in Jamie Foxx, Mario Van Peebles and Jon Voight, himself no stranger to boxing films (‘The Champ’).
Liam Neeson was born to play Michael Collins (Saturday 9.30pm RTE2) in this wonderful epic written and directed by Neil Jordan.
The story is, naturally, more from Collin’s viewpoint, as the solider forced to negotiate with the British over independence, but finds the terms rejected by some colleagues on his return, plunging Ireland into Civil War.
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Also starring Alan Rickman (Eamon de Valera), Aidan Quinn, Stephen Rae, and Julia Roberts, as well as a host of familiar Irish talent, this is as powerful a biopic as one would wish to watch especially with a particular Irish context.
Look who’s back in Magnum Force (Saturday 12.00pm RTE2). No, nothing to do with ice creams but none other than Dirty Harry Callaghan (Clint Eastwood)
Harry has competition in the “vigilante dispensing justice” role, unaware that some of his fellow cops are executing those San Francisco’s criminals cleared on legal technicalities.
Also starring a number of Seventies Cop Show veterans such as Hal Holbrook, Tim Matheson, Robert Urich and the late David Soul, this is very much a film of its time.
Tracy Chevalier’s bestselling novel Girl With A Pearl Earring (Saturday 12pm RTE1) is brought vividly to life by director Peter Webber.
It’s a fictional account of seventeenth century Dutch artist Vermeer’s creation of the painting of the same name.
He is played by Colin Firth with Scarlett Johansson as his muse. It also stars Cillian Murphy, Judy Parfitt and the late, great Tom Wilkinson. Enjoy!
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