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Our movie guy, James Finnegan, on superhero and superstar singer films on the box tonight…
What a great combination of action thrills and biography there is to enjoy on today’s films on RTE1, RTE2 and TG4
In Spider-Man: Homecoming (6.35pm Saturday RTE1), Tom Holland swings into action as Peter Parker, who tries balances life as an ordinary high school student with his responsibilities as his superhero alter-ego, the friendly neighbourhood Spider Man.
Peter feels he is ready for bigger world-saving challenges, and in an attempt to prove this to his mentor Iron Man (Robert Downey Jnr), he investigates a series of crimes obviously committed with advanced weaponry.
This brings him up against a ruthless winged enemy, played with a rare understandable baddie motive by the ever excellent Michael Keaton, who is also after the technology, left behind in the aftermath of Avengers battles with invading aliens.
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Also starring Zendaya, Jon Favreau, Gwyneth Paltrow and Marisa Tomei, this is a great fun action adventure.
Just in case you are trying to get your breath back, the fourth of the film series, Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol (8.50pm Saturday RTE2) continues the adventures of Super Secret Agent Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and his IMF team.
After being implicated in a bombing at the Kremlin, the American President is forced to close down the program and declare them fugitives.
The only way for our heroes to clear their name is to chase down and capture the real terrorist culprit, which, as the wont of these films, involves a chase around the globe.
However, can Hunt trust all his team mates? Also starring Jeremy Renner, Simon Pegg, Paula Patton and Lea Seydoux and directed by Brad Bird, this is the usual mix of double double crosses and nail biting stunts by the aforementioned Mr Cruise.
Bohemian Rhapsody (9.40pm Saturday RTE1) tells the story of how Freddie Mercury and Queen go from playing small venues to evolving into one of the biggest rock bands in the world by concentrating on Freddie’s story, from the formation of the band in 1970 up to their iconic 1985 appearance in Band Aid.
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Freddie, played in Oscar winning fashion by Rami Malek, is coming to terms with his sexuality while the band face outside pressures that threaten to break them up.
Yes, like many of these types of stories, there is no great depiction of the darker elements of the story, but there is an obvious affection for those involved which will please the fans of the band.
Another true story biopic is The Flying Scotsman (11.00pm Saturday TG4) about Scottish cyclist Graeme Obree, played by Jonny Lee Miller, a Scottish amateur cyclist who broke the World Hour Record for distance covered in 1994.
What makes it more remarkable is that he did it on an experimental bicycle made by himself out of recycled (sorry!) washing machine parts.
Also starring Laura Fraser as Anne Obree, Billy Boyd, and Brian Cox and directed by Douglas Mackinnon, this is a film with great charm and heart. Enjoy!
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