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Our movie guy, James Finnegan, recommends some films on the box tonight…
Danny McBride, Maya Rudolph and Olivia Coleman lend their voices to the animated adventure The Mitchells Vs The Machines (Saturday 6.35pm RTE1). Relax, this is not the Hollywood version of “Eastenders” although it does involve a dysfunctional Mitchell family.
The Mitchells are on a road trip and find themselves in the middle of a global robot uprising. Even more concerning is that they become humanity’s last great hope of survival!
This is a rather fun combination of visual gags and a timely message about our over reliance on technology and AI.
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Denzel Washington stars as Robert McCall in The Equalizer (Saturday 9.10pm RTE2), the first in the big screen franchise based on the 1980’s TV series .
McCall is a retired secret agent who comes to the assistance of an abused sex worker who is beaten by her pimp.
McCall has many skills, mostly as a sword of swift and deadly justice to baddies, which he gets plenty of opportunities to dispense when his intervention means he is dragged into a battle with a Russian crime syndicate.
Trust me, you will never walk through a hardware shop the same way again.
As Good As It Gets (Saturday 10pm TG4) is a film of outstanding performances, a sharp script and winner of multiple awards.
Jack Nicholson plays a bigoted, obsessive-compulsive writer Melvin, who is rude to everyone he meets.
He is forced to look after a gay neighbour’s dog (watch out for a wonderful cameo by Cuba Gooding Jr) and despite his best efforts develops feelings for the pet.
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This encourages him to peruse an unlikely relationship with Carol (Helen Hunt) one of the few people who puts up with his behaviour.
Directed by James L. Brooks, who also co wrote the screenplay, this won Best Actor (Nicholson) and Best Actress (Hunt) Oscars, and also stars Greg Kinnear as Simon, the neighbour, Shirley Knight and Harold Ramis.
As Cillian Murphy is the middle of featuring in the major film award ceremonies, it’s good to look back at one of his first film roles in Breakfast on Pluto (Saturday 11.30pm RTE2).
In the 1970s, a young trans woman leaves her small town in Ireland to go to London to find her mother and because the town does not understand her gender identity, and in the process falls foul of the IRA.
Directed and written by Neil Jordan based on the 1998 novel of the same name by Patrick McCabe, this also stars Stephen Rea, Brendan Gleeson, Liam Neeson, Ruth Negga, Eva Birthistle and Charlene McKenna
Gosford Park (Saturday 11.50pm RTE1) is Robert Altman’s wonderful period drama featuring an Oscar winning script by Julian Fellows, creator of Downton Abbey.
An all-star cast, including Maggie Smith (who gets all the great lines), Kelly McDonald, Clive Owen, Michael Gabon, Kristin Scott Thomas, Helen Mirren, play the Upstairs (Aristocrats) Downstairs (Servants) at a weekend shooting party at a country estate that become embroiled in murder. Enjoy!
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