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Our movie guy, James Finnegan, has some suggestions for your viewing pleasure this weekend…
It’s a pretty thin weekend for films on the TV this weekend because of more than the usual amount of sport.
Dora and the Lost City of Gold (Saturday 6.35pm RTE1) is a live action spin off from the very popular cartoon series for the young smallies.
Having spent most of her life exploring the jungle, nothing could prepare Dora for her most dangerous adventure yet — high school.
Accompanied by a ragtag group of teens and Boots the monkey, Dora embarks on a quest to save her parents while trying to solve the seemingly impossible mystery behind a lost Incan civilization.
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Starring Isabela Moner as Dora and supported by Michael Pena and Eva Longoria, this is perfect Saturday evening family entertainment.
In Rocketman (Saturday 9.30pm RTE1), Elton John (Taron Egerton) enters an addiction rehabilitation session and begins to recount his life in flashback, right from his days as the young Reginald Dwight growing up in 1950s Britain.
He takes piano lessons, makes his way into the Royal Academy of Music, honing his performance skills in local pubs on the road to becoming a global pop star.
Egerton gives a very impressive performance, doing all his own singing. Directed by Dexter Fletcher, this also stars Jamie Bell as John’s musical partner Bernie Taupin, Richard Madden as John’s Manager John Reid and Bryce Dallas Howard as John’s mother, Sheila.
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In Daddy’s Home (10.20pm Saturday RTE2) mild-mannered Brad Whitaker (Will Farrell) wants nothing more than for his stepchildren, Megan and Dylan, to view him as their father.
However, his dream of perfect family life is threatened by the return of their biological father – a motorbike-riding macho dude, Dusty Mayron (Mark Wahlberg).
Brad pulls out all the stops to prove to the children that he is just as cool as Dusty, which, of course he isn’t, but it is amusing to see him try. This also stars Linda Cardellini as Sarah.
In the second Bond film From Russia with Love (Sunday 12.35am RTE2), 007 (Sean Connery) is sent to assist in the defection of Soviet consulate clerk Tatiana Romanova (Daniela Bianchi) in Turkey, where SPECTRE plans to avenge Bond’s killing of Dr. No in the first film of the series.
This film is also memorable for the two villains of the piece Red Grant (Robert Shaw) and especially Lotte Lenya as Rosa Klebb.
Often named as one of the best of the whole series of Bond films, this is worth waiting up for, especially for the fight scene in the train.
Directed by Terrence Young brings in all what became the main touch stones of Bond films, namely Bernard Lee as “M”, Lois Maxwell as Moneypenny and introducing Desmond Llewelyn as Q.
The soundtrack is by the wonderful John Barry but the theme song, sung by Matt Monro, was written by Lionel Bart of “Oliver” fame. Enjoy!
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