Tag Archives: Finnegan On Films

Finnegan On Films: Harrowing Drama, Wild Adventure And Romance On The Box

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Our movie guy, James Finnegan, on a mix of genres on TV tonight… 

The Call of the Wild (Saturday 6.35pm RTE1) is one of those wonderful doggie adventures in an awe inspiring landscape.

Set in the 1890’s Klondike Gold Rush, the story follows a beloved pet dog called Buck, a mix of Saint Bernard and Scotch Shepherd, as he is stolen from his California home and sent to the Yukon where his sturdy breed is valued for their strength.

A chance encounter with frontiersman John Thornton (Harrison Ford) has later ramifications for Buck, but in the meantime he has to work as part of a pack dragging a sled that delivers the mail across the Yukon.

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Buck’s life is hard and harsh, but his spirit and temperament is better than some of the humans he has to interact with, and you will not be surprised at the eventual conclusion.

Starring Terry Notary as Buck thanks to motion capture, Omar Sy, Dan Stevens, Karen Gillan and Bradley Whitford, this is a great Saturday Family Film.

Schindler’s List (Saturday 9.10pm RTE2) is Steve Spielberg’s moving Academy Award winning Holocaust drama, telling the true story of Oskar Schindler (Liam Neeson), a German businessman who saved the lives of many Jews during the Second World War.

Schindler’s life is changed when he witnesses the systematic liquidation of the Warsaw ghetto population.

With the assistance of his accountant Itzhak Stern (Ben Kingsley), they made a list of over a thousand Jews whom Schindler “bought” to work in his factories which saved them from the journey to Auschwitz and certain death.

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The acting in this film is flawless, with Ralph Fiennes as the sadistic Commandant Amon Goth, particularly horrifying and mesmerising at the same time.  John Williams’ score is suitable touching and poignant.

For those of you hopefully celebrating tonight’s Lotto win, It Could Happen to You (Saturday 9.45pm TG4) could either be a warning or an invitation.

Inspired by a true life story, a New York Cop, Charlie Lang (Nicolas Cage) is short of cash and is unable to give his waitress Yvonne (Bridget Fonda) a tip.  He does, however, have a lottery ticket.

He offers to pay her a double tip tomorrow or half-jokingly promises to share his winning should his numbers come up.  Guess what happens then!

Charlie is very generous to those he comes across, and Yvonne buys the diner.  However, Charlie’s wife Muriel (Rosie Perez) is not so impressed with how Charlie is dealing with his windfall.

Daniel Day – Lewis stars in Jim Sheridan’s drama The Boxer (Saturday 10.05pm RTE1) as a former IRA volunteer Danny Flynn who wants to leave his old life behind on his release from a fourteen year stint in prison at the age of thirty two.

As he opens a non-sectarian boxing gym for youngsters, his former colleagues continue to try and drag him back to his old life.

Then Maggie (Emily Watson), his first love and married to his friend also imprisoned for IRA activities, reconnects with Danny. Enjoy!

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Finnegan On Films: Rocky And Railway Children On The Box

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Our movie guy, James Finnegan, has some suggestions for your viewing pleasure tonight…

ONE of the great family films of my generation was “The Railway Children” which had a particular resonance with me as its Director, Lionel Jeffries, kindly invited me to its premiere back in 1970.

So a belated sequel The Railway Children Return (Saturday RTE1 6.35pm) is a welcome addition to the original story.

Set this time in 1944, the Watts children, Lily, Pattie and Ted, are evacuated from Manchester to the Yorkshire village of Oakwood, and the home of Annie Waterbury, a Headmistress whose husband is away at the war, and her son Thomas.

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There is a US Army base in the area, so when the children come across an African – American soldier, Abe, with a wounded leg claiming to be on a secret mission, their adventure begins.

Starring Sheridan Smith, Tom Courteney, John Bradley, Beau Gadsdon, Austin Hayes, Hugh Quarshie and the luminous Jenny Agutter reprising her role as Roberta, this is a touching story and production.

I Used To Live Here (Saturday 9.45pm TG4) started out as a social documentary about the effects of suicide on young people and the wider community.

This in turn was developed into this impressive drama through the use of workshops and non professional actors. Teenager Amy (Jordanne Jones) is grieving from the loss of her mother three years ago.

She lives with her father in Tallaght, but when a boy she is keen on commits suicide, it understandably raises issues for her.

Added to the arrival of a former girlfriend of her father, and a young boy that might be her half brother, Amy has a lot to take on.

In Mile 22 (Saturday 9.55 RTE1)  the latest collaboration between director Peter Berg and actor Mark Wahlberg, the latter plays CIA operative James Silva, who leads a small top secret team of intelligence officers on an urgent and dangerous mission (Is there any other kind in films?).

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There task is to smuggle a foreign intelligence officer from the American Embassy in Indonesia to an airfield for extraction twenty two miles away.

However, with the city’s military, police and street gangs standing in their way, this is not a straightforward task.

Also starring John Malkovich, Lauren Cohan, Ronda Rousey and Nikolai Nikolaeff, this is a classic film of unnuanced chases, plenty of shoot outs and nasty baddies.

I pity the fool who hasn’t seen Rocky III (Saturday 10.30 RTE2), but it is perhaps my favourite film in the series and is again written and directed by Sylvester Stallone.

Rocky has defended his title a number of times, but a more comfortable lifestyle has reduced his competitive focus, just as a rather dangerous contender, Clubber Lang, is rising through the ranks.

It turns out that Clubber lives up to his name, and challenges Rocky for a title fight.

Mr T stars as Clubber and the rest of the original cast return once again, but don’t blame me if “Eye of the Tiger” is this weekend’s earworm. Enjoy!

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Finnegan On Films: Drama, Thrills And Rocky Again On The Box

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James Finnegan has a curious mix of genres for your viewing pleasure on Saturday…

DEREK (Dwayne Johnson) is a minor league Hockey player with the nickname Tooth Fairy (Saturday 6.35pm RTE1) so called not for any cute reason, but for his habit of knocking opponents teeth out on the ice.

However, worse is to come when Derek casts doubt as to the existence of the “real” tooth fairy to a young fan.  This, of course, has the sternest ramifications, as any parent can tell you.

Derek is sentenced to one week’s hard labour to take on the duties and responsibilities of the Tooth Fairy – wings, magic wand, tutu and all.  But can Derek “handle the tooth”?   Suffice to say, it does not go well.

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Also starring Ashley Judd, Stephen Merchant, Seth Macfarlane and Julie Andrews, this is actually great fun with no shortage of corny “Tooth” one liners, as you have already read.

Liam Neeson stars in an all action thriller when his wife is kidnapped.  No, not that one, but The Commuter (Saturday 9.30pm RTE1).

Neeson plays Michael MacCauley, a former police officer now working in Insurance, is on his train commute home.  He is contacted by a mysterious stranger, and is forced to work out the identity of a hidden passenger.

As he works against the clock, he begins to realise that these are deeper waters and that he is now unwittingly caught up in a deadly conspiracy with life and death stakes for him and his fellow commuters.

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Also starring Vera Farmiga, Patrick Wilson, Jonathan Banks, Sam Neill and Elizabeth McGovern, this is quite the taut, ticking time bomb thriller with a strong cast taking it all very seriously.  At least someone is not sitting in their booked seat!

Awakenings (Saturday 9.45pm TG4) is a life affirming film and my film of the day.

Based on a true story, neurologist Dr Malcolm Sayer (Robin Williams) discovers the benefits of the drug L-DOPA in treating catatonic people suffering from encephalitis lethargic, literally sleeping sickness, for over thirty years.

As the patients come back into the world, they find that things have changed beyond words and there are readjustments that need to be made.  Also, there is a degree of professional interest and suspicion as to Dr Sayers methods and success.

Then, the treatments appear to have less effect as time goes on and old symptoms return.

Directed by Penny Marshall, this also starts Robert De Niro, John Heard, Julie Kavner, Penelope Ann Miller and Max Von Sydow.

Finally, after last week’s Rocky comes, with startling originality, Rocky II (Saturday 10pm RTE2). 

Boxer Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) quits the ring to marry his sweetheart and become a father.  However, he is flying through his money and is coaxed out of retirement for another shot at Apollo Creed’s heavyweight title in this solid sequel

Directed and written by Stallone, this also brings back the cast from the original film, namely Talia Shire, Bert Young, Carl Weathers and, of course, Burgess Meredith plus the wonderful Bill Conti theme. Enjoy!

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Finnegan On Films: Comedy, Drama And Thrilling Action On The Box

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Our movie guy, James Finnegan, says some great character actors feature in the movies today…

One of the first actors and roles I really took notice of was Burgess Meredith who played The Penguin in the 1960’s “Batman” television show.

Little did I know that this was the start of watching out for the character actors, not necessarily the stars.  Also, I later found out just what an acclaimed and award winning actor he was.

So imagine my delight when there are two Meredith films on this weekend. Grumpy Old Men (Saturday 3.50pm RTE1) – a category I find myself approaching ever closer – tells of two retirees, widowers and neighbours, John and Max, played with delicious glee by Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau.

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Their mutual teasing and one-upmanship takes a turn for the intense when they both fall for attractive widower Ariel (Ann-Margaret).

Also starring Daryl Hannah, Kevin Pollack and the aforementioned Meredith, the true joy is seeing the comic duo geniuses Lemmon and Matthau bouncing off each other again.

DC League of Super Pets (Saturday 6.35pm RTE1) is a different slant on the Super Hero genre as Superman’s pet Krypto and shelter dog Ace have to work with other animals to save captured heroes from the evil clutches of Lex Luthor.

Starring the vocal talents of Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Kate McKinnon, John Krasinski and Keanu Reeves, the sequel to this is due to be released imminently.

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Although the sequels became a bit silly, Rocky (Saturday 9pm RTE2) was a low budget drama that became the highest grossing movie of 1976 as well as launching a significant number of sequels.

Sylvester Stallone wrote himself the role of a lifetime as an unknown boxer who is given a shot at the heavyweight title when the current champion, Apollo Creed, decides to celebrate the American bicentennial.

Even though he was on his uppers, Stallone refused to sell his screenplay script to the studios unless he was given the role of Rocky.  The script went on to be nominated for the Best Original Screenplay at the year’s Academy Awards.

This is a really tight story, well directed by John G Avildsen, which won him the Best Director Oscar, and also starred Talia Shire, Burt Young, Carl Weathers and the afore mentioned Burgess Meredith as Rocky’s coach, Mickey.

While on the script theme, Tony Scott’s crime thriller True Romance (Saturday 9.15pm TG4) was an early Tarantino screenplay, that he sold to finance “Reservoir Dogs”.

It stars Christian Slater and Patricia Arquette as newlyweds who make a potentially fatal mistake as they steal a stash of drugs from the Mob to fund their new lifestyle.

Also starring Dennis Hopper, Val Kilmer, Gary Oldman, Brad Pitt and Christopher Walken, the film includes the Tarantino lodestones – a Southern Californian setting, pop cultural references and slow motion violence, although to be honest it does show its age a bit at times.  Enjoy!

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Finnegan On Films: Two Eastwood Gems Among Some Classics On The Box

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Our movie guy, James Finnegan, has some films on TV to distract you from the festival fun in Tralee tonight…

Somewhere between trying to fill that Olympic sized hole in our lives, and attempting to pick a winning Rose, comes a number of very entertaining films.

Where Eagles Dare (Saturday 2.50pm RTE1) is a staple of Saturday afternoon escapist cinema.  When an American general is held captive by the Nazis in a heavily defended fortress in the Alps, a crack team of British soldiers and an American Lieutenant are sent to rescue him.

However, it is apparent very soon that there is a traitor in their mist, and so begins a tale of double and triple cross with some pretty impressive action scenes and baddies who are, thankfully, terribly bad shots.

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Starring Richard Burton, Clint Eastwood, Patrick Wymark, Mary Ure, Robert Beatty and Ingrid Pitt, this Alastair MacLean script and book were outstanding commercial successes. Plus there is the famous stirring Ron Goodwin theme in which to wallow.

Jack Black excels in a role that was quite literally written for him in School of Rock (Saturday 6.35pm RTE1) 

Dewey Finn (Black) is an enthusiastic amateur rock musician who is fired from his band.  Posing as a supply teacher to make some money, he moulds his students into a rock band in an attempt to win the forthcoming Battle of the Bands.

This is a wonderfully entertaining film, where the children are all talented because director Richard Linklater insisted on the cast being able to play their instruments as well as sing.  The acting could be taught!

This also stars Joan Cusack, Sarah Silverman, Miranda Cosgrove and Mark White, and has gone on to spawn a very popular and successful Andrew Lloyd Webber musical.

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Saving Private Ryan (Saturday 9.20pm RTE2), directed by Steven Spielberg, is renowned for the battleground scenes set during the Normandy landings, although it is not in fact the opening scene as is often stated.

A group of American soldiers search the battlefields of France, looking for a missing infantryman who has been given compassionate leave to return home, as his brothers have already been killed in this conflict.

As you would expect, there are many spectacular scenes, and of course with a cast including Tom Hanks, Matt Damon, Edward Burns and Tom Sizemore among others, there is plenty of philosophy on the meaning of life and war which helped win Spielberg a Best Director Academy Award, although it perhaps surprisingly lost out on Best Picture to “Shakespeare in Love”

Play Misty for Me (Saturday 10.35pm TG4) is a superlative Clint Eastwood psychological thriller in which he stars and makes his directorial debut.

He plays DJ Dave Garver, who has what he considers to be a casual relationship with Evelyn (Jessica Walter).  However, Evelyn has a very different interpretation.  So when Dave takes up with an old flame Tobie (Donna Mills) you know it is not going to end well. Enjoy!

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Finnegan On Films: A Couple Of Great Comedies Are The Pick Of Movies Tonight

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Our movie guy James Finnegan says there’s no shortage of laughs and romance in today’s films…

In The Electric Horsemen (Saturday 3.30pm RTE1) Robert Redford and Jane Fonda take the reins (sorry, I couldn’t resist it!) in director Sydney Pollack’s comedy drama.

“Sonny” Steele (Redford) is a former rodeo champion with a drink problem.

He is hired as a Ranch breakfast cereal company’s spokesman but discovers that the champion horse he will be riding as the company trademark, has been drugged with tranquillizers.

Sonny decides to steal the horse and give it its freedom. However, Sonny finds himself charged with Horse stealing and finds himself working with his former wife and reporter Hallie (Fonda).

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In the third adaptation of the autobiographical novel of the same name Cheaper by the Dozen (Saturday 6.35pm RTE1), is a cheery mishmash of family life when a restaurant owner and his second wife raise the children from each other’s first marriage, their own offspring together and the continued involvement of their former spouses.

Starring Zach Braff as Paul Baker, the patriarch and owner of Baker’s Breakfast restaurant and Gabrielle Union as his wife, this film attempts to bring a more modern interpretation of a familiar story.

Jane Austin’s classic tale Emma (Saturday 9.45pm RTE1) is another film that has been adapted for the screen many times.

Set in Regency times in England, Emma (Anna Taylor-Joy) searches for a new companion after her governess marries.

She considers herself a matchmaker, but her well meaning interference in the romantic relationships of her friends causes misguided matches and mishaps that somehow lead her to find love that has been there all along.

Directed by Autumn de Wilde in her debut feature, this also stars Johnny Flynn, Josh O’Connor, Callum Turner, Mia Goth, Miranda Hart and Bill Nighy.

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Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (Saturday 10.30 RTE1) is the first and best of the series of the British sixties secret agent (no, not that one but similar) who is frozen in suspended animation when his arch nemesis escapes justice.

Thirty years later he is defrosted to do battle once again with Dr Evil, but finds the attitudes and morals of the sixties do not work quite the same in the modern world.

Written by Mike Myers, who also takes the dual role of Powers and Dr. Evil, and also starring Elizabeth Hurley, Robert Wagner, Seth Green, Will Farrell and Mimi Rogers, it is fun but not terribly subtle.

Clockwise (Saturday 12 Midnight RTE1) is a wonderful film starring John Cleese as Brian Stimpson, an English Headmaster who has a obsessive compulsive attitude towards timekeeping.

So when a series of events turns his trip to a Convention into a spiral of embarrassing mishaps, chaos reigns.

It also stars Penelope Wilton, Alison Steadman, Stephen Moore and the best of the British character acting talent and a script from the pen of Michael Frayn. Enjoy!

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Finnegan On Films: Love, Dark Comedy And Thrilling Action On The Box

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Our movie guy, James Finnegan, says there’s plenty to entertain on TV today and tonight…

The epic historical romantic drama Doctor Zhivago (Saturday 1.20pm RTE1) tells the story of a married Russian physician (Omar Sharif) who falls for another woman, Lara (Julie Christie).

Played against the backdrop of the First World War and the Bolshevik revolution, he is torn between his desires and his loyalty to his wife.

Directed by David Lean, with a screenplay by Robert Bolt, this also stars Geraldine Chaplin, Tom Courtney, Rod Steiger, Alec Guinness, Ralph Richardson, Siobhan McKenna and Rita Tushingham.

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The Croods 2: A New Age (Saturday 6.35pm RTE1) continues the animated story of the cave dwelling family, led by Nicolas Cage’s knuckle dragging father Grug, who stumble across the home of Stone Age hipsters Phil (Peter Dinklage) and Hope Betterman (Leslie Mann).

The Bettermans claim to be superior and more evolved, but both clans have to work together to defeat the Punch Monkeys

Also starring the vocal talents of Emma Stone, Ryan Reynolds and Cloris Leachman this is undemanding fun for all the family.

Liam Neeson launched a whole new phase in his career in the hit action thriller Taken (Saturday 9.25pm RTE1).

He plays former CIA agent Brian Mills, who must rely on his particular set of skills to rescue his teenage daughter and her friend who have been abducted by human traffickers while on a trip to Paris

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Also starring Maggie Grace, Famke Janssen, Holly Valance and Katie Cassidy, this must be the first time that a franchise has developed out of a single line of dialogue.

Cher won the Best Actress Academy Award for her role as Loretta in Moonstruck (Saturday 9.30pm TG4).  She is a widow who wants to remarry and decides to settle with a nice older man Johnny (Danny Aiello).

However, when she later meets Johnny’s passionate and moody brother Ronny (Nicolas Cage again), she finds herself torn between two brothers, feeling like a fool.

Also starring Olympia Dukakis, who won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar and John Mahoney among others, this was directed by Norman Jewison and written by John Patrick Shanley who also won the Best Original Screenplay Oscar.

The Invisible Man (Saturday 10.30pm RTE2) is an ingenious and imaginative thriller starring Elizabeth Moss as Cecilia who was very badly abused by her wealthy tech engineer ex-boyfriend , so there is a sort of relief when he is reported dead.

Despite being left five million dollars, she begins to experience strange incidents around the house and in her life.  Could her tech ex have developed a technique to become invisible?  The trouble is, who would believe her.

Heathers (Sunday 12.40am RTE2) is a bracingly dark teen comedy starring Winona Ryder and Christian Slater as a couple who murder a classmate and make it look like suicide.

However, their actions launch a wave of hysteria at their school. Enjoy!

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Finnegan On Films: A Couple Of Iconic Movies On The Box Tonight

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Our movie guy, James Finnegan, on some of the movies tonight on TV…

You will be delighted to see that there are a few cinematic treats to wind down between the Olympic coverage.

Abominable (Saturday 6.35pm RTE1) is not a comment on my sporting prowess, but rather a charming animated adventure where three young friends discover a fantastic creature that they believe to be a Yeti.

They set out to reunite him with his family, but there is also a financier and a zoologist also on his tale, and their aims are not so altruistic.

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Featuring the vocal talents of Chloe Bennet, Albert Tsai, Tenzig Norgay Trainor , Sarah Paulson and Eddie Izzard, this is a lovely family film from DreamWorks is written and directed by Jill Culton.

Thelma and Louise (Saturday 9.45pm TG4) is the story of two world-weary friends who flee their dull and dead end lives  for a weekend road trip.

However, when they kill a would be rapist in self-defence, they go on the run, sparking a series of events that seem destined to end in disaster

Staring Geena Davies (Thelma), Susan Sarandon (Louise), Brad Pitt, Harvey Keitel and Michael Madsen, this was a first time screenplay by Callie Khouri which won the Best Screenplay Academy Award, Golden Globe and Writers Guild of America Awards.

Interestingly, Michelle Pfeiffer, Jodie Foster, Meryl Streep and Goldie Hawn were originally considered for the leads, and Ridley Scott was initially reluctant do take up directing duties, which only goes to show what alchemy needs to happen for a film to be successful.

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M Night Shyamalan’s fantasy thriller Glass (Saturday 10.30pm RTE2) completes the trilogy of “Unbreakable” and “Split” concerning an invulnerable vigilante who battles a murderer with multiple personalities.

However, they are captured, transferred to a psychiatric hospital and placed under the care of a sinister doctor who plans to take advantage of their unique abilities.

What they don’t realise is that they are sharing the facility with a third patient, a criminal mastermind who is manipulating everyone for his own nefarious plans.

Starring Bruce Willis, James McAvoy, Samuel L Jackson, Sarah Paulson (second time tonight) and Anna Taylor-Joy, this is an interesting and quirky anecdote to the usual superhero film story.

Perhaps appropriately, there is a showing of one of the greatest sporting films ever in Raging Bull (Sunday 12.10 am RTE One), Martin Scorsese’s hard hitting biopic of boxer Jake LaMotta.

This is quite an unflinching story of the middleweight champion who could not confine his aggression to the ring and stars Robert De Niro in one of his career defining and Oscar winning roles.

In fact, it is a story that does not hide LaMotta’s turbulent personal life, where his treatment of his wife and family was brutal and beset with rage and jealousy.

Also starring the great Joe Pesci in his film debut, this is not an easy watch, but you can’t take your eyes of it either.  It’s not hard to appreciate why it also won the Academy Award for Best Editing. Enjoy!

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Finnegan On Films: Oscar Winners, Great Performances And Toe-Tapping Tunes

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Our movie guy, James Finnegan, recommends some great movies on TV tonight…

There are a lot of fact-based films on offer this weekend, but in true Hollywood tradition, they don’t always let the facts get in the way of the story.

The critics were indifferent when The Greatest Showman (Saturday 6.35pm RTE1) was released, but it became a word-of-mouth hit, and could now be considered as a modern feel good classic.

After losing his job as a shipping clerk, PT Barnum (Hugh Jackman), he becomes a worldwide sensation in Nineteenth Century show business.  His imagination and innovative ideas bring him in contact with the highest ranks in Society.

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However, the higher he goes, the more he leaves his family behind, and there is also a personal cost to his partners and travelling troupe

Also starring Zac Efron, Michelle Williams, Rebecca Ferguson and Zendaya, and with brilliant toe tapping original songs, this is an enthusiastic and inspiring a film as one could wish to see.

Mel Gibson’s stirring multi award winning epic Braveheart (Saturday 9pm RTE2) also plays fast and loose with the facts in this story of medieval Scottish hero William Wallace as it follows his fight to drive the English King, Edward I (Patrick McGoohan) and his army from his country.

This film was also directed by Gibson and won him the Best Director Academy Award as well as the Best Picture Oscar.  There is a very dramatic score by James Horner and the cast includes Catherine McCormack, Sophie Marceau, Brian Cox and Brendan Gleeson.

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Judd Apatow’s comedy The 40 Year-Old Virgin (Saturday 9.45pm TG4) stars Steve Carell as the inexperienced man of the title.  He is set up on a series of dates by his colleagues, only to fall for a woman who does not want a physical relationship.

Written by Carell and Apatow, the film also stars Catherine Keener, Paul Rudd, Seth Rogan, Elizabeth Banks, Leslie Mann and Jane Lynch.

The Courier (Saturday 11.05 BBC One) is another true story of a British businessman, Greville Wynne (Benedict Cumberbatch), who is unwittingly recruited to infiltrate Cold War Moscow.

Forming an unlikely partnership with a Soviet Officer Oleg Penkovsky (Merab Ninidze), they work together to provide crucial intelligence for both the CIA and MI6 at the height of the Cuban Missile Crisis.

This is about as far away from Bond, or even George Smiley, as possible, and their work has personal ramifications for both men, and their families.

The film also stars Rachel Brosnahan and Jessie Buckley, who gives yet another distinguished performance as Wynne’s wife Sheila.

Speaking of high quality acting, The Father (Sunday 9.30pm RTE1), an old man (Anthony Hopkins) gradually succumbs to dementia, living defiantly alone and rejecting the carers that his daughter Anne has arranged as she is soon moving away.

Directed by Florian Zeller, who also wrote the screenplay with Christopher Hampton, this also stars Olivia Coleman, Rufus Sewell, Olivia Williams and Imogen Poots.

Hopkins won the Best Actor Oscar for his performance, the oldest actor to achieve this award. Enjoy!

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Finnegan On Films: Oscar Winners Aplenty On The Box Today

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There’s plenty of Oscar-winning talent on show tonight on the box says James Finnegan…

Spartacus (Saturday 1.15 RTE1) is one of the all time classic films.  This historical drama was directed by Stanley Kubrick and stars Kirk Douglas in the title role, as a slave trained to fight as a gladiator who turns against his masters and leads an army of rebels in a fight for freedom against the Roman State.

However, as the rebellion gathers momentum, two senators do all they can to exploit the uprising for their own political ends

The film also stars Lawrence Olivier, Charles Laughton, Peter Ustinov (who picked up the Best Supporting Actor Oscar), Jean Simmons and Tony Curtis.

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The screenplay was written by Dalton Trumbo who was blacklisted at the time as one of the Hollywood Ten, for refusing to answer questions about their alleged involvement with the Communist Party and whose story was dramatised in the film “Trumbo” released in 2015.

In a modern take on the famous story, Mirror Mirror (Saturday 6.35pm RTE1) a princess, Snow White (Lily Collins)  is confined to the palace  after the death of her father, leaving her wicked stepmother, Clementina (Julia Roberts) to rule over the kingdom.

Snow decides to sneak out of the palace to explore, where she meets a visiting Prince (Armie Hammer) as well as sees the disastrous effects of her stepmothers reign.

Clementina also has her eyes on the Prince, but Snow meets up with a group of rebellious dwarfs who can hopefully help her reclaim her father’s throne.

Also starring the ever entertaining Nathan Lane, this film also has music by Alan Menken and is a fun watch for the family.

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The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (Saturday 9.30pm RTE1) was a surprise box office hit in 2011.  This comedy drama follows a group of British pensioners who, looking for a fresh start, are attracted to a hotel in the Indian city of Jaipur to enjoy their retirement.

Unfortunately, they arrive to find the actual building somewhat different to the advertisement promises.  However, they are won over by the enthusiasm and energy of the young hotel manager, and they each embark on their own adventures in the city.

The best of British acting talent is on show with Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Bill Nighy, Penelope Wilton, Tom Wilkinson, Ronald Pickup and Celia Imrie as the retirees and Dev Patel as Sonny Kapoor, manager of the hotel.

Julianne Moore gives a mesmerising Oscar winning performance in the title role in Still Alice (Saturday 10.15 TG4).

Shortly after her fiftieth birthday, the life of a renowned linguistics professor begins to crumble when she is eventually diagnosed with Early-Onset Alzheimer’s Disease.  As she loses her job, her family, played by Alec Baldwin, Kristen Stewart and Kate Bosworth, try their best to hold her together. Enjoy!

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Finnegan On Films: Wrestling, Bond And A Denzel Masterclass On The Box

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Our movie guy picks some of the best films on TV today and tonight…

We have decided to widen our scope for our Film Reviews especially as there is so much port on the television these weekends – and no harm in that either!

Ironically, my first selection has a sporting aspect.  Fighting with My Family (Saturday 9.30pm RTE1) is a really enjoyable, funny and uplifting story.

The daughter of a family of British wrestlers, Paige (Florence Pugh) gets the opportunity of a lifetime by being selected for training with the WWE.

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Unfortunately, this causes some difficulties at home as her brother Zodiac (Jack Lowden) cannot quite match his sister’s achievements.

Directed and written by Stephen Merchant, this also stars Nick Frost, Lena Headey, Vince Vaughan and Dwayne Johnson, John Cena and a number of WWE wrestlers as this, believe it or not, is based on a true story.

When Brendan Met Trudy (Saturday 9.40pm TG4) is a much underrated Irish comedy.  Brendan (Peter McDonald) is a shy teacher who takes his job very seriously.  He has only two outlets in his life – his local church choir and the movies.

After rehearsal, he meets Trudy (Flora Montgomery) whom he takes to be a Montessori teacher, and they begin a relationship.  What Brendan does not realise is that Trudy is actually a burglar!

When Trudy asks Brendan to prove his love by assisting her on one of her jobs, Brendan is torn between his love for Trudy and doing the right thing.  What he also realises is that there is more to life than classical music and films. Written by Roddy Doyle and Directed by Kieron J. Walsh, this is highly recommended.

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Denzel Washington won numerous awards, including the Best Actor Academy Award for Training Day (Saturday 10.30pm BBC One) 

A Los Angeles cop, Jake Hoyt (Ethan Hawke) is partnered with a more experienced officer, Alonzo (Washington), on his first day in narcotics.  Alonzo holds no truck with following the rules and resorts to extreme measures to crack a case.

Hoyt has to battle his conscience in a very dangerous situation, which is set in a twenty four hour period.  This also stars Scott Glenn, Cliff Curtis, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dog, Harris Yulin and Tom Berenger

You can’t go wrong on a Sunday afternoon with a James Bond film.  Roger Moore makes his 007 debut in Live and Let Die (Sunday 6.10pm RTE2) as he investigates the murder of three British agents leading him to a connection with a Caribbean dictator and a Harlem Drug Kingpin.

Jimbo has to stop a fiendish plot to flood America with free heroin, and he does so in his customary suave approach, even while indulging in speed boat chases around the Bayou, leaping across the backs of crocodiles and, of course, romancing Jane Seymour as Solitaire.

This also stars Yaphet Kotto, Geoffrey Holder, David Hedison and Madeline Smith, and a memorable theme song by Paul and Linda McCartney and Wings. Great fun, but some of the attitudes and comments have not aged well.  Enjoy!

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Finnegan On Films: Disaster Flick And A Biopic Among Movies On The Box

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Sport still dominates the home channels today, but there are some interesting film offerings on display says our movie guy, James Finnegan…

Two years on from capsizing an ocean liner in ‘The Poseidon Adventure’, Producer Irwin Allen gathered another group of well know acting talent in The Towering Inferno (Saturday 1.40pm RTE1) and literally lights a match under them.

Why base a film on one novel, when you can use two, specifically “The Tower” by Richard Martin Stern and “The Glass Inferno” by Thomas N. Scortia and Frank M Robertson.  The film includes characters and situations from both.

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Doug Roberts (Paul Newman), an architect has designed the world’s tallest building.  However, he is concerned that his wiring specifications may not have been fully followed to save money.  Then fire breaks out in the building……oh oh!

Intrepid Fire Chief Mike O’Halloran (Steve McQueen) and his men do their utmost against desperate odds to fight the fire way higher than their equipment can hope to reach.  Indeed the film is dedicated to fire fighters everywhere.

Meanwhile, famous faces William Holden, Faye Dunaway, Susan Blakely, Richard Chamberlain, Robert Vaughan, Robert Wagner and Fred Astaire demonstrate the best and worst of human characters in a desperate fight for survival.

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Toby Jones heads the cast of Zoo (Saturday 6.35pm RTE One), a truly heart warming family drama set amidst the 1941 German air raids on Belfast.

Based on a true story of a larger than life friendship, twelve year old Tom (Art Parkinson) is the son of the Belfast Zoo veterinarian.

As the Belfast Blitz rains down on the city, a lonely widow, Tom and his band of misfit friends take an elephant called Buster from the city zoo, and hide it in the widows terraced house back yard.

Written and Directed by Colin McIvor, the film also stars Penelope Wilton, Ian McElhinney and Amy Huberman.

Liesi Tommy’s Biopic Respect (Saturday 9.30pm RTE1) charts the rise of Aretha Franklin’s career from a child singing in the church choir to her international fame.

After facing various setbacks in her singing career, the rise to success is gradual, and not helped as she is pulled towards alcoholism as well as suffering harrowing sexual abuse.

Franklin chose Jennifer Hudson to play her in the film, and it proved to be an inspired choice as Hudson gives a powerful performance.  R-E-S-P-E-C-T indeed!

Finally, a romantic comedy drama rounds off the evening with Hello, My Name is Doris (Saturday 9.45 TG4).  It stars Sally Field as Doris, a lonely sixty year old officer worker, who takes a self help seminar following the death of her mother.

Doris is inspired to be more open, and she is inspired to romantically pursue a decades-younger co – worker John (Max Greenfield). Enjoy!

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Finnegan On Films: Some Movies Celebrating Their Anniversary Release In June

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Our movie guy, James Finnegan, takes a look at some movies which celebrate their anniversary releases in June…

Thanks to GAA and the European Soccer Championship there are very few films on RTE this weekend, so I am going to look at June releases through the years.

Would you believe it is ten years since Edge of Tomorrow was released?  This rather ingenious concept, a cross between “Saving Private Ryan” and “Groundhog Day”, starred Tom Cruise, Emily Blunt, Bill Paxton and Brendan Gleeson.

The film takes place in a future where most of Europe has been occupied by an alien race.  Major William Cage (Cruise), a public relations officer with limited combat experience, is forced to the front line, only to find himself experiencing a time loop as he tries to find a way to defeat the aliens.

This is a rather gripping story with taut, fast paced action that required nine different companies to handle the special effects.   There have been ongoing rumours of a sequel, but nothing has appeared so far.

 

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The Terminal was released in 2004, inspired by the true story of Mehran Karim Nasseri, an Iranian national who spent eighteen years living in Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris.

Viktor (Tom Hanks) who hails from Krakozhia, lands at John F Kennedy Airport only to find that his passport is revoked by the airport authorities, but unable to return home because of a military coup.  He finds himself stateless and stranded at the airport with only his luggage and a can of peanuts.

Directed by Stephen Spielberg, this also stars Stanley Tucci and Catherine Zita-Jones and a fine soundtrack by John Williams

The most popular characters played in film are Dracula, Sherlock Holmes and Tarzan, the Disney version of which came out twenty five years ago in 1999.

The story follows the traditional route.  Tarzan, an orphan raised by mountain gorillas, rescues a woman explorer, Jane.  After realising that he is a human, Tarzan must choose between civilization and the jungle life.

Starring the vocal talents of Tony Goldwyn (Tarzan), Minnie Driver (Jane), Brian Blessed, Lance Henriksen, Glenn Close, Rosie O’Donnell and Nigel Hawthorne, it also won the Academy Award for Best Original Song for “You’ll be in my Heart” by Phil Collins and has led to many derivations including a Broadway musical adaptation, a television series, two direct-to-video follow-ups.

Fifty years ago we received one of Jack Nicholson’s most famous roles in Chinatown.  Inspired by the Californian water wars, this features many elements of film noir, in a story that is part mystery and part psychological drama.

It also stared Faye Dunaway, John Hillerman, Burt Young and John Huston and was nominated for eleven Academy Awards winning Best Original Screenplay for Robert Towne.

Finally, seventy five years ago this month saw the release of one of the best of the Ealing comedies Kind Hearts and Coronets.

After the death of his mother, disowned by her aristocratic family, Louis D’Ascoyne Mazzini (Denis Price) attempts to murder every family member (all played by Alec Guinness) who stands between himself and the family fortune.

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Finnegan On Films: Cult War Movie And Scorcese Classic On The Box

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Our movie guy, James Finnegan, has a couple of good recommendations for you viewing pleasure on the box today…

Kelly’s Heroes (Saturday 3pm RTE1) is in a rather limited genre, that of comedy war film.

A rag bag collection of World War Two American soldiers decide to rob a bank holding significant deposits of gold bars, sixteen million dollars worth in fact, in a village deep inside German occupied France.

The tone of the film is more sixties and there is a fine cast of Clint Eastwood, Telly Savalas, Don Rickles, Carroll O’Connor and Donald Sutherland, the latter in full hippie mode.

Eastwood’s experience on this film was so disappointing that from then on he would take more control on his future projects, producing most of his following films and directing many of them.

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Also, when you see the true reality of war every day on the news, it is not easy to watch a comedy version.

My granddaughters loves horses so their evening will be made with Spirit Untamed (Saturday 6.35pm RTE1).

Young Lucky Prescott moves to a sleepy little town from the city, where she befriends a wild mustang, the aforementioned Spirit, who shares her rebellious nature.

When a heartless wrangler plans to capture Spirit and his herd, Lucky and her new friends must rescue them, thereby embark on the adventure of a lifetime in this animated adventure starring the vocal talents of Jake Gyllenhall, Marsai Martin and Isabela Merced

A significant change in tone comes with The Delinquent Season (Saturday 9.40pm RTE1).  

Academy Award Winner Cillian Murphy, Andrew Scott, Catherine Walker and Eva Birthistle are all terrific in this tense drama set in suburban Dublin.

Two couples appear to be living in seemingly perfect marriages, until cracks start to appear in them, as each individual is fighting a different battle that no one else can see.

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Taxi Driver (Saturday 10pm TG4) is, frankly, the must see film of the weekend, in this Martin Scorsese’s iconic and hugely influential classic drama.

Vietnam veteran Travis Bickle (Robert De Niro) observers the squalid side of life on the New York streets from his taxi, but he sees potential redemption when he notices teenage prostitute Iris (Jodie Foster.

His chronic insomnia fuels his paranoia and he becomes increasingly disturbed and ultimately driven to a brutal act of violence.

Noted for the iconic improvisation scene when De Niro imagines a confrontation in a mirror, but Scorsese really excels at showing Bickle as crazy, yet with an almost understandable reason from his warped perspective.

Rialto (Saturday 11.45pm RTE1) stars Tom Vaughan-Lawlor as Colm, a forty something husband and father of two, grieving the death of his father

His life takes a further downward hit when he is made redundant from his managerial job at the docks.

When Colm experiences his first homosexual experience with a young sex worker, his family life comes under increasing strain.

A difficult story but handled sensitively by Director Peter Mackie Burns and Writer Mark O’Halloran as well as the central performance of Tom Vaughan-Lawlor. Enjoy!

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Finnegan On Films: Classic Musical, War Epic And True-Life Drama On The Box

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Our movie guy, James Finnegan, has a classic musical and true life drama among his choices for your viewing pleasure today…

A true cinematic classic My Fair Lady (Saturday 2.35pm RTE1) is the glossy musical version of George Bernard Shaw’s play Pygmalion.

It won eight Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director (George Cukor) and Best Actor for Rex Harrison who reprised his role from the original stage musical.

Harrison plays Professor Higgins, a phonetics expert who makes a wager with his friend Colonel Pickering (Wilfred Hyde-White) that he can train a cockney flower girl, Eliza Doolittle (Audrey Hepburn) to pass herself off as a lady of High Society.

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With spectacular performances all round, including Stanley Holloway (Alfred Doolittle), Gladys Cooper and Jeremy Brett, the real stars are the Lerner and Loewe songs including “I Could Have Danced All Night”, “Wouldn’t It Be Loverly” “With a Little Bit of Luck” and “The Rain in Spain” amongst others.

I feel a special acknowledgment for the talents of Marni Nixon, who dubbed Audrey Hepburn’s signing, as she did for so often and for so many actresses in musicals, without receiving the credit for so doing at the time.

A different type of musical is Trolls World Tours (Saturday 7pm RTE1) where Poppy and Branch discover that there are different toll tribes scattered over six different lands, each devoted to a different kind of music.

When rockers Queen Barb and King Thrash try to destroy the other music, our heroes must unite the tribes and save the diverse melodies from becoming extinct.

This animated adventure uses the vocal talents of Anna Kendrick, Justin Timberlake, Rachel Bloom and Mary J Blige among others.

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In a total change of pace and tone, Some Mother’s Son (Saturday 9.20pm TG4), Kathleen Quigley’s (Helen Mirren) only son, Gerard (Aidan Gillen), is shot, captured and charged with the murder of a British soldier

Gerard shares a cell with Bobby Sands (John Lynch), the leader of the protests by the H-Block prisoners.  Gerard also goes on hunger strike and Kathleen finds herself used as a political pawn by the various sides.

Written by Terry George and Jim Sheridan, and directed by Terry George, this also stars Fionnula Flanagan, Tom Hollander, Ciaran Hinds and Gerard McSorley, this is a very gritty and realistic story well told.

Ironically in the week of the D-Day Eightieth Anniversary, Dunkirk (Saturday 9.50pm RTE1) Director Christopher Nolan brings to life the astonishing true story of the evacuation of Allied soldiers during the Second World War.

This is not done with the usual “stiff upper lip” stance but the very human story of struggle to stay alive and get home physically and dealing with the war mental trauma.

With spectacular cinematography, Hans Zimmer’s atmospheric score and excellent performances from Cillian Murphy, Tom Hardy, Kenneth Branagh and Mark Rylance in particular, this is a must watch.

Denzel Washington is impressive as Malcolm X (Saturday 10.30pm RTE2), the controversial militant activist who led the fight for civil rights in 1960’s America.

Director Spike Lee’s epic political biographical drama also stars Angela Bassett. Enjoy!

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Finnegan On Films: Period Dramas, Unrequited Love And…Tom And Jerry?!

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Our movie guy, James Finnegan, on some of the films on TV today to keep you entertained…

It’s always interesting to see a Bank Holiday selection, and to be fair, there are some fine films on offer today.

Ryan’s Daughter (Saturday 2.15pm RTE1) has a particular Kerry resonance and setting.

David Lean’s Oscar winning drama stars Sarah Miles as Rosy, a woman married to a much older schoolmaster, Charles Shaughnessy (Robert Mitchum) in an isolated village on the Dingle Peninsula during the First World War.

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Her marriage is thrown into disarray by her controversial affair with a British Army Officer, Major Doryan (Christopher Jones), a decorated war hero but suffering from leg wounds and shell shock.

When the locals uncover their romance, Rosy is falsely accused of informing on local Republican activities which has serious consequences for many.

Also starring John Mills, Trevor Howard, Leo McKern, with a screenplay by Robert Bolt and a score by Maurice Jarre, this was received harshly by the critics but won two Academy Awards for Mills and Freddie Young’s cinematography.

Set in a world populated by human and cartoon animals Tom and Jerry (Saturday 6.35pm RTE1) a chaotic battle ensues along traditional lines when Jerry Mouse takes refuge in the swanky Royal Gate Hotel which is about to host a high profile wedding.

Kayla (Chloe Grace Moretz) is the young inexperienced wedding planner of the hotel, hires Tom Cat to get rid of Jerry.  Tom also clashes with Butch, a typical brutish American Bulldog.

This brings back happy memories of childhood series keeps the classic slapstick, while thankfully avoiding the modern retreat to toilet humour, in this attempted re-launch.

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Not quite as good as the original cartoons, which probably could not be made now due to modern sensitivities.

The Remains Of The Day (Saturday 9.25pm TG4) is a sumptuous period drama acting class of how to portray repressed love and roads not taken.  It is perhaps best described as a more formal and serious Downton Abbey.

Directed by James Ivory, it stars Anthony Hopkins as James Stevens, a butler working for a 1930’s aristocratic household who dedicates himself to serving his aristocratic master and Nazi sympathiser.

Duty comes before everything, even repressing his love for housekeeper, Sally Kenton, played by Emma Thompson, who also happens to be in love with him.

Also starring James Fox, Christopher Reeve, Peter Vaughan, Lena Headey and Hugh Grant among others, this was heavily nominated for awards and in a different year would have won far more.  It is therefore highly recommended

In Just Mercy (Saturday 9.30 RTE1) real life Civil Rights Defence Attorney Bryan Stevenson (Michael B Jordan) represents poor people, notably African Americans, on Death Row who have not been properly represented, or wrongly condemned, in the Southern United States.

One of his first cases is that of Walter McMillan (Jamie Foxx), sentenced to death in 1987 for the murder of an eighteen year old woman, despite evidence that proves his innocence. Enjoy the Bank Holiday weekend!

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Finnegan On Films: From Cartoons To Romance, Here’s What’s On The Box

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Our movie guy, James Finnegan, looks at some of the movies on RTE and TG4 tonight…

Scooby-Doo, Shaggy, Fred, Daphne and Velma make up the Mystery Incorporated team in Scoob! (Saturday 6.35pm RTE1) in this latest incarnation of the old Hanna-Barbera cartoon.

The team are facing their most challenging mystery with a plot to set loose the legendary Hell Dog Cerberus in ghostly form upon the world.

There also appears to be a greater connection between the two dogs, as well as a link with another famous cartoon character Dick Dastardly – admittedly one of my childhood favourites.

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Starring the vocal talents of Will Forte, Mark Wahlberg, Jason Isaacs, Zac Effron, Henry Winkler, Christina Hendricks and Amanda Seyfried, this is fun enough for the younger audience, somewhat like the original cartoons.

The People vs. Larry Flynt (Saturday 9.45pm TG4) is director Milos Forman’s drama starring Woody Harrelson as the real life US strip club owner who moved into pornography publishing.

Flynt found himself charged and tried in a major obscenity trial, during which he was shot, ended up paralysed from the waist down and turned him into an unlikely champion of free speech and expression.

Also starring Courtney Love, Edward Norton, James Cromwell and Brett Harrelson, there is also a quirky cameo by the real life Larry Flynt as Judge Morrissey.

In the fourth version of A Star is Born (Saturday 9.50pm RTE1), Bradley Cooper co-wrote and directed this Oscar winning romantic drama while also playing fading music star Jackson Maine.

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He happens upon Ally, a nightclub singer songwriter (Lady Gaga), and there is an instant connection, and he wants to help Ally launch her career.

Unfortunately, Jackson has his own demons, and this tempestuous relationship suffers as his career goes downhill as quickly as Ally’s soars.

When this came out we did not know that Cooper could sing, nor that Lady Gaga could act, but they both can and their on-screen chemistry radiates off the screen. Sam Elliott also gives a very consummate performance as Jack’s older brother and manager.

It was nominated and won multiple film and music awards, with Gaga becoming the first woman to win an Academy Award, Grammy Award, BAFTA Award and Golden Globe Award in one year.

Enigma (Saturday 11pm RTE2) is set in 1943 when the British code breakers discover that the Nazis have changed their famous cipher code placing Allied ships and sailors in grave danger.

A young genius, Tom Jericho (Dougray Scott) has been enlisted to help break the new codes.  However, there are suspicions that there is a spy within the code breaking team, and there is a mystery surrounding Tom’s love, Claire (Saffron Burrows) who has disappeared.

Tom enlists Claire’s housemate Hester (Kate Winslet) to help find what has happened to her.

This is a highly fictionalised story based on some true events, and the mix of truth and fiction does not always work, but it is well worth a watch.

It also features the last soundtrack composed by the great John Barry before his passing. Enjoy!

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Finnegan On Films: Family Troubles And Strife To The Fore On The Box Today

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Our movie guy, James Finnegan, points out that there’s a theme of family trouble and strife to the forefront of today’s films…

The Vikings (Saturday 3.40pm RTE1) is one of those fun Hollywood historical adventures that that actually helped get me interested in history.

Einar (Kirk Douglas), a warrior, and Eric (Tony Curtis), a former slave are half brothers, with a claim on the Throne of Northumbria.

Just to add a little spice to the mix, both of them fall for Morgana (Janet Leigh, also Mrs Curtis), a captured Welsh Princess intended to be used as a hostage.

Suffice to say, the course of love does not run true, and the brothers, in ignorance of their shared heritage give each other no quarter in a conflict that costs them both dearly.

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Directed by Richard Fleischer, it also stars Ernest Borgnine, James Donald and Orson Wells delivers the narration in suitably dramatic tones.

There has been a disturbing lack of doggie stories especially emphasising family, relationships and life lessons recently, but The Art of Racing in the Rain (Saturday 6.35pm RTE1) makes a welcome return for this genre.

Golden retriever Enzo (voiced by Kevin Costner) is named after Enzo Ferrari.  His owner is Denny (Milo Ventimiglia) a racing driver who meets and falls for Eve (Amanda Seyfried).

The story shows how all their relationships intertwine and develop over the years.  The film also stars Kathy Baker and Garry Cole and is directed by Simon Curtis, and you are advised to keep the tissues within easy reach.

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Will Smith stars alongside his son Jaden in The Pursuit of Happyness (Saturday 9.50pm TG4).

A determined salesman, Chris Gardner (Smith Senior), is a single father to Christopher Junior. His wife has left him, but he secures the opportunity of an unpaid internship with a major stock broking firm.

The key word is unpaid, because the lack of income leads to losing their home and a daily fight to support themselves.  However, Chris is determined and focused to a better future for him and his son.

Based on a true story, this could have been a corny tale of triumph over misfortune, but it just stays the right side of the line in its depiction of the American Dream.

Based on N. Richard Nash’s novel, Cry Macho (Saturday 10.05pm RTE1) sees Clint Eastwood on familiar grounds with this modern Western.

A former rodeo star and horse breeder, Mike Milo (Eastwood) agrees to bring his old boss’s young son back home and away from his alcoholic mother.  On the journey back, teaching the boy life lessons brings redemption to the elder man.

In Greta (Saturday 10.50pm RTE2), a waitress gets more than she bargained for after returning a lost handbag to its owner.

This psychological thriller directed by Neil Jordan stars Isabella Huppert, in the title role as an obsessive piano teacher, Chloe Grace Moretz as the waitress Frances, and Stephen Rae as Brian Cody, a private Investigator (not a former county hurling manager). Enjoy!

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Finnegan On Films: High-Flying Thrills, Hard-Hitting Drama And More

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Our movie guy, James Finnegan, has some flicks to distract you from the Eurovision…

It is very pleasant to find a new twist on an oft reviewed and personal favourite film The Secret Life of Pets (Saturday 12.55pm TG4). 

It is a very funny animated adventure, which was the first film I took my eldest granddaughter Amy to see in the cinema.

Two Bickering hounds rivalry end up with them being cast adrift on the streets of New York and the adventures they get up to, plus the characters they get involved with is a very inventive and enjoyable romp.  However, the twist is that this is now dubbed “as Gaelige”.  Well Done TG4!

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The Blue Max (Saturday 2.55pm RTE1) is a war story from a slightly different perspective.  A World War I German ace fighter pilot, Lieutenant Bruno Stache (George Peppard) has his sights set on the Blue Max, a significant medal of honour, and he does not care how he gets it.

He likes to live dangerously, so having an affair with the wife of his commanding officer (Ursula Andress) is no surprise, as if fighting on the Western Front was not dangerous enough.

It is also the story of how the relativities of modern warfare took over from the semblance of chivalry in previous campaigns.

In America (Saturday 9.50pm TG4) is based on director/producer/writer Jim Sheridan’s own life coming to America as a flat broke immigrant.

Paddy Considine plays Johnny, an Irish actor who sneaks his wife and family over the border from Canada into the United States with the intention of putting their tragic past behind them and making a fresh start in New York.

Also starring Samantha Morton as Sarah, real life sisters Sarah and Emma Bolger, as their daughters Naomi and Kirstin, and Djimon Hounsou as their tenement neighbour Mateo, this is a touching and emotional story as seen through the eyes of the young girls.

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It wouldn’t be Saturday night without a rom-com, so we have Along Came Polly (Saturday 11pm RTE2).

Ruben Feffer (Ben Stiller) finds his life taking an unexpected turn when he meets up with, and falls for, former classmate Polly (Jennifer Anniston) who throws his well ordered routine into chaos.

However the real star of this film is the wonderful Philip Seymour Hoffman, who did not do many screen comedies, but who steals every scene as Ruben’s friend, Sandy Lyle.

The humour can get very basic and toilet fixated which is a pity as there is a fine cast including Debra Messing, Hank Azaria and Alec Baldwin.

Sorry We Missed You (Saturday 11.50pm RTE1)  is Ken Loach’s hard hitting drama that focuses on a debt ridden man whose efforts to improve his family’s finances by becoming a self employed delivery driver only leads to more debt and difficulties.

A fine cast of Kris Hitchen, Debbie Underwood and Rhys McGowan are very good, but there are not too many light moments in this story. Enjoy!

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Finnegan On Films: No Shortage Of Drama And Action Flicks On TV

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Our movie guy, James Finnegan has the pick of the movies on TV today…

The films start today with a sequel (the hint is in the title) is The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part (Saturday 6.35pm RTE1) is an animated adventure set five years after the first film.

Teenager Finn has rebuilt Bricksburg into a post-apocalyptic wasteland.  When Emmet (voiced by Chris Pratt) is disturbed by a vision of impending doom, he and Lucy (Elizabeth Banks) must fight to protect their home city from invaders.

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The Green Mile (Saturday 9pm RTE2) reunites the “Shawshank” team of the Steven King novel with the screenwriting, directing and producing talents of Frank Darabont.

Michael Clarke Duncan, in a career best performance, plays John Coffey, a giant of a man on death row.

However, his sensitivity, gentle nature and amazing healing powers makes the Chief Warden Paul Edgecomb (Tom Hanks) begin to doubt that he could be capable of murder.

Also starring David Morse, James Cromwell, Bonnie Hunt, Sam Rockwell, Harry Dean Staunton and Patricia Clarkson in a uniformly brilliant cast, this is highly recommended.

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The End of the Affair (Saturday 9.45 TG4) is Neil Jordan’s period drama starring Ralph Fiennes and Julianne Moore, adapted from the novel by Graham Greene.

Set in 1946, a chance encounter between a man and his former lover’s husband set a tragic string of events in train.  Why did the lovers split up?  The recounting of their affair lends to long buried feelings being unearthed.  Again, great performances and a visual treat.

Liam Neeson has established himself in recent years as a more mature everyman action hero.  In Cold Pursuit (Saturday 9.55pm RTE1), he plays Nels Coxman, hard working snowplough driver.

He abandons his quiet mountain life when his son is murdered by a power drug lord.  In this film, Nels has a very specific set of skills, which these times are of the hunting variety, which is bad news for the baddies.

His actions also set up a turf war between two rival gang bosses so there is no shortage of action scenes.

The traditional Bank Holiday Clint Eastwood film is Pale Rider (Sunday 12.05am RTE1) where a mysterious preacher with lethal gunfighting skills helps a mining community fight a ruthless landowner. Enjoy!

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Finnegan On Films: A Day For The Rom-Com Lovers

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Our movie guy, James Finnegan, on some of the films on the box today…

It almost seems like Valentines Weekend with all the romance in today’s film offerings – apart from the first one!

Battle of Britain (Saturday 3.20pm RTE1) is the story of the RAF pilots defending Britain against the might of the Luftwaffe.

Directed by Guy Hamilton, this is as historically accurate as possible, and stars all the heavyweight acting talent of the time including Laurence Olivier, Harry Andrews, Trevor Howard, Curt Jurgens, Kenneth More, Robert Shaw and Susannah York among many others

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Cinderella (Saturday 6.35pm RTE1) is a delightful modern take on the traditional story as our heroine, played  by Camila Cabello, has big dreams and wants to establish her own shop “Dresses by Ella”.

She catches the eye of Prince Robert (Nicolas Galitzine) who disguises himself as a commoner and invites Ella to an upcoming ball.  I won’t spoil the surprises that follow this.

Directed and written by Kit Cannon, this has a catchy soundtrack involving pop and rock hits as well as original songs.

It also stars Idina Menzel, Minnie Driver and Pierce Brosnan as well as the voices of James Corden, James Acaster and Romesh Ranganathan.

The 100 Year Old Man who Climbed out the Window and Disappeared (Saturday 9.45pm TG4) is a Forrest Gump style Swedish comedy drama that is every bit as offbeat and inventive as the title suggests.

Robert Gustafsson stars as Allan, an explosives expert escapes from his retirement home on his hundredth birthday and undergoes a series of adventures. There is a timely Oppenheimer reference, and this is a unique production.

Drew Barrymore and Adam Sandler star in the likable romantic comedy 50 First Dates (Saturday 10.15pm RTE1).  He plays Henry, a vet, while she plays Lucy, the woman he loves.

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However, Lucy has a short term memory loss that means he has to woo her from scratch every day.

Also starring, Dan Ackroyd, Rob Schneider and Sean Austin, it should be noted that this is very much a film of its time and some of the male attitudes have not dated well.

Just as the latest instalment is announced, here is a chance to see the original big screen treatment of Helen Fielding’s novel Bridget Jones’s Diary (Saturday 10.15pm RTE1).

Starring Renee Zellweger, who is brilliant as the titular singleton, trying to live up to her New Year Resolutions to find true love, quit smoking and advance her career but who is torn between her womanising boss Daniel (Hugh Grant) and an uptight lawyer Colin Firth (Mark).

Melissa McCarthy is brilliant as real life writer Lee Israel in Can You Ever Forgive Me? (Sunday 12.05am RTE1).  Her latest book is turned down by her publishers, so she decides to make ends meet by forging and selling letters by dead celebrities.

It also stars the equally wonderful Richard E Grant, as her only friend Jack, who helps her sell her forgeries.

The chemistry between the two leads is palpable and was rightly acknowledged by the award ceremonies at the time.  Well worth watching.  Enjoy!

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Finnegan On Films: Biopics And More On The TV Today To Enjoy

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Our movie guy, James Finnegan, on some films to enjoy on RTE and TG4 this Saturday…

Let’s start with a typical Saturday afternoon tale of daring do with The Guns of Navarone (Saturday 2.50pm RTE1).

In 1943, a small commando team is sent to destroy huge German guns on the Greek Island of Navarone in order to rescue Allied troops trapped on Kheros.

Led by British Major Franklin (Anthony Quayle), the team includes American Mallory (Gregory Peck), Greek resistance fighter Stavros (Anthony Quinn) and reluctant explosives expert Miller (David Niven).

Facing the usual impossible odds of this genre, the group have to battle stormy seas, daunting cliffs, personal enmities and the potential of internal betrayal.

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One of my favourite cinematic biographies is Richard Attenborough’s multi-Oscar winning film (eight out of eleven nominations) and surprisingly historically accurate Gandhi (Saturday 3.35pm TG4).

Starring, and introducing to the big screen, Ben Kingsley as Mohandas K. Gandhi, it shows his rise from small town lawyer in South Africa to his role as a leader of India’s fight for independence and ambassador for non resistance peaceful protest.

Also starring Candice Bergen, Edward Fox, John Gielgud, Trevor Howard, John Mills and Martin Sheen, this is a very long film, as it has to be to fit everything in, but is well worth the time and effort .

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Saturday 7pm RTE1) is the Tim Burton version of Roald Dahl’s children’s story starring Freddie Highmore as Charlie Bucket, who finds a golden ticket in a chocolate bar, winning a once in a lifetime tour of eccentric Willy Wonka’s  (Johnny Depp) magical factory.

This is a lot closer to the macabre tone of the book rather than the Gene Wilder version, and Deep Roy has great fun playing all the Oompa Loompas, and a chilling reminder of what happens to misbehaving children.

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I wonder do any readers remember the night Johnny Cash, June Carter and Kris Kristofferson gave a concert in the Brandon Hotel in 1996.  It is certainly one of my favourite memories.

Walk The Line (Saturday 9.50pm TG4) stars Joaquin Phoenix as Cash, focusing on the Man in Black’s rise from a sad and traumatic upbringing, to touring with Elvis and Jerry Lee Lewis and his troubled descent into drink and drug addiction.

Reese Witherspoon gives an Oscar winning performance as June Carter, who helped and supported Cash to overcome his troubles.

Directed by James Mangold, who has vast experience across a range of genres, this is a superior film that is an honest and raw depiction aided by two supreme central performances who learnt to play the instruments as well as sing the songs themselves.

Racked with guilt over his involvement in the murder of a protestant police officer, Cal (Saturday 11.25 RTE2) ,played by John Lynch, is a young republican who turns his back on violence.

However, when he falls for an older widow, Marcella (Helen Mirren), life gets more complex when Cal realises she had been married to the policeman.  Enjoy!

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Finnegan On Films: Diverse Selection Of Movies On The Box Today

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From a dearth of choice last week, today sees a cinematic smorgasbord of treats and classics says our movie guy, James Finnegan…

First up is the original, and best, Ghostbusters (Saturday 1pm RTE2).

Bill Murray, Dan Ackroyd and Harold Ramis star as three rather eccentric but gifted scientists use their unique skills and knowledge of the paranormal as freelance ghost catchers.

Directed by Ivan Reitman and also staring Sigouney Weaver and Rick Moranis, the addition of some very stylish gadgets and gizmos, and an iconic movie car, this is great fun.

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Lawrence of Arabia (Saturday 3pm TG4) is, frankly, one of the greatest films ever made.  Directed by David Lean, it a gloriously epic biopic of British Army officer T.E.Lawrence that turned Peter O’Toole into a major star.

The story follows Lawrence’s efforts to unite the Arab nations during the First World War, a move that brought him into conflict with his superiors.  It also stars Omar Sharif and Anthony Quinn.  Don’t miss it.

In Romancing the Stone (Saturday 3.25pm RTE1), Kathleen Turner and Michael Douglas have sizzling on screen chemistry in this comedy adventure.

She is a novelist who travels to South America to save her kidnapped sister.  He is a fortune hunter who helps her, and they end up on a quest seeking lost treasure together.  Do they fall for each other? What do you think?

Also starring the vastly under rated Danny De Vito, this is another fun film with echoes of the screwball comedies of previous decades.

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In Despicable Me 3 (Saturday 7pm RTE1) the continuing adventures of Gru (starring the vocal talents of Steve Carell) sees him dismissed from the Anti-Villain League after a botched mission.

Gru decides to reconnect with his long lost twin brother – plus there are Minions!!! What’s not to enjoy!

A Few Good Men (Saturday 9pm RTE2) sees two US marines based in Cuba accused of murdering a fellow marine.

Three Navy lawyers who are assigned to defend them find evidence that they may have been acting under orders, which leads all the way to one of the most senior Marine officer in the Corp.

Acting masterclasses all around with Tom Cruise, Demi Moore, Kevin Pollack, Kiefer Sutherland and the incomparable Jack Nicolson stealing every scene, especially in the court room.  It was written by Aaron Sorkin from his original stage show and directed by Rob Reiner.

Enough Said (Saturday 9.45pm TG4) was one of the last performances by James Gandolfini who plays Albert.  He embarks on a new romance with Eve (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), a masseuse who is anxious about her daughter leaving home.

She befriends a bitter divorced client, whose ex begins to sound vaguely familiar.  This is an undiscovered gem that is worth catching.

One last historical biopic is Radioactive (Saturday 11.30pm RTE2) where Pole, Marie Sklodowska (Rosamund Pike), emigrates to France, meets and marries fellow scientist Pierre Curie, where their work wins a Nobel Prize – but at a terrible cost.  However, Marie is determined to continue the research.  Enjoy!

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Finnegan On Films: How ‘The Bodyguard’ Made It To The Big Screen

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Our movie guy, James Finnegan, looks at how one of tonight’s films on TV, ‘The Bodyguard’ came to the big screen…

When you consider all the components and stages that go to making a film, from the blank page right at the start, all the way to the final production that is released to the public, it is amazing that they happen at all.

So this week I am going to do a deep dive on one film.  The Bodyguard (Saturday TG4 9.45pm) is a 1992 romantic thriller, starring Whitney Houston as Rachel Marron, a famous singer and actress who is receiving death threats from an obsessive fan.

Frank Farmer (Kevin Costner) is a former US Secret Service agent who is hired to protect her. This is one of those films that was hated by critics and loved by audiences.

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However, you may be surprised to find out that the first draft of the script was written way back in 1975 by Lawrence Kasdan, a copywriter trying to break into the movies, and the film was to star Diana Ross and Steve McQueen.

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The script was taken on, ignored and rejected by various studios well over 60 times.  Ryan O’Neal, who was dating Diana Ross, replaced McQueen, and then Ross left the project.

Meanwhile Kasdan was gaining a reputation as a writer/director who could update old genres and give them a modern twist, especially with snappy dialogue.

He worked on the original Star Wars trilogy, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Body Heat and Silverado, whose cast included the rising star that was Kevin Costner, who became interested in the Bodyguard script.

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After the Academy Award winning, and more importantly, box office success of Dances With Wolves in 1990, Costner had the clout to green light other projects, so the dust was blown off The Bodyguard folder.

Kasdan had always seen Rachel as being played by a singer and Costner agreed that it would give added authenticity to the film.

Whitney Houston was a very popular singer with multiple number one albums and singles, but her singing career had levelled off.  She had acting ambitions, but had wanted to start off with smaller roles to develop her skills.

It was Costner who finally persuaded her to take the role.  She already had the real experience of being in the public eye.  Costner promised that he would guide her, as long as she did not take acting lessons!

Of course, an added bonus to having this talent to hand was what became the record breaking soundtrack, including Houston’s cover version of Dolly Parton’s “I Will Always Love You” which almost didn’t make the final cut!

The original main title song was to be ‘What Becomes of the Broken Hearted’ but that had just been used in Fried Green Tomatoes… so a new search was made, and it was Costner who insisted on the “a capella” opening.

There was talk of a sequel, with Princess Diana playing the protectee with a very similar plot to the original, and a remake staring Tessa Thompson and Chris Hemsworth but as the original showed, these things can take time.   Enjoy!

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Finnegan On Films: An Easter Parade Of Movies On The Box

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Our movie guy, James Finnegan, says Saturday throws up some fine films on the box…

There was a time when there was traditional Bank Holiday classics rolled out, but we appear to be surprisingly light this weekend.

Swallows and Amazons (Saturday 1.15pm RTE2) is a rather old fashioned story of children getting up to a series of escapades while boating in the Lake District in the way we would have made our own entertainment during summer holidays.

It is very much a “jolly hockey sticks/Famous Five” style of story, involving adventures in dinghies named Swallow and Amazon, and stars Virginia McKenna, who is fondly remembered from films such as’A Town like Alice’ and ‘Born Free’ and Ronald Fraser.

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There is, however, some recognition of the Easter Weekend with King of Kings (Saturday 2.40pm RTE1) a biblical epic telling the story of the birth, life and crucifixion of Christ.

It stars Jeffrey Hunter as Christ, chosen ahead of Peter Cushing, Christopher Plummer and Max von Sydow apparently because of his striking eyes, and Siobhan McKenna as Mary.  Other famous face cameos include Robert Ryan as John the Baptist and Rip Torn as Judas

Jumanji:The Next Level (Saturday 6.35pm RTE1) sees the previous players of Jumanji, played by Dwayne Johnson, Karen Gillan, Kevin Hart and Jack Black, return once more to try to rescue of their own.

They will have to deal with all sorts of dangers, in arid deserts and snow filled mountains, to escape this most dangerous game for at least the fourth time with another sequel in production.

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A rather more gritty change of pace comes next with The Informer (Saturday 9.50 RTE2) in which ex-con Pete Koslow (Joel Kinnaman) is working undercover for FBI agents Montgomery and Wilcox (Clive Owen and Rosamund Pike) to bring down a Polish drug lord known as the General.

Things get even more complex when Koslow’s life is saved by the General, and he is forced to break parole to get back in prison and get back to providing the inmates with drugs.  Nor is there is any guarantee that he can trust his FBI handlers!

Emilio Estevez, Judd Nelson and Molly Ringwald star in The Breakfast Club (Saturday 11.05 TG4) a much loved John Hughes drama.

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Five teenagers from different sections of the social strata are thrown together for a Saturday morning detention, supposedly to write a 1000 word essay.

Instead they indulge in listening to music, smoking marijuana and finding out how much they have in common together after all.

That’s not quite how detention worked in my day – not that I ever was in detention – but this is a real memory blast for those who yearn for the Eighties.

So, not a classic weekend for films, but feel free to break into the Easter Eggs early and Enjoy!

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Finnegan On Films: Three To Watch On The Box Tonight

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Our movie guy, James Finnegan, picks three movies to watch on TV tonight…

In amongst the multitude of rugby and soccer fixtures, there are still a few films that are well worth viewing on Saturday.

Paddington (Saturday 7pm RTE1) tastefully updates the traditional story of this long time children’s favourite.

A bear (voiced by Ben Whishaw) from darkest Peru, with a taste for marmalade, arrives in London following an earthquake.  However, the reality is somewhat different from the stories he had been told of life in England.

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He is taken in by the Brown family, and named Paddington after the train station in which he was found.

Little do they realise, that evil taxidermist Millicent Clyde (Nicole Kidman) also has her eyes on Paddington as a potential exhibit for the Natural History Museum.

Written and directed by Paul King and staring Hugh Bonneville, Sally Hawkins, Julie Walters, Jim Broadbent and Peter Capaldi, this film is a total joy from start to finish and is the very definition of perfect family viewing.

The American President (Saturday 9.40pm TG4) was written by Aaron Sorkin, and the themes, styles and even front of camera talent can be seen as early drafts of his later work on the “West Wing” television series.

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Directed by Rob Reiner, widowed US President Andrew Shepherd (Michael Douglas) begins a relationship with an environmental lobbyist, Sydney Allen Wade (Annette Bening).

This gives his opposition opponents the opportunity to attack the President’s moral and political leadership at a time when he is trying to pass gun control legislation and run for re-election.

Also starring Michael J. Fox, Martin Sheen, John Mahony and Samantha Mathis, this is a rather idealised version of American politics but is none the worse for that, especially in the US election year.

Continuing the patriotic theme, comes, well, The Patriot (Saturday 9.50pm RTE2) where retired solider Benjamin Martin (Mel Gibson) has turned his back on military life to become a farmer in South Carolina.

When his son is murdered by British soldiers during the American War of Independence, he takes up arms once again on a mission of vengeance and revenge, which brings him up against a sadistic Officer Colonel Tavington (Jason Isaacs)

The film also stars Joely Richardson, Heath Ledger, Tom Wilkinson and Chris Cooper and is directed by Roland Emmerich who is no stranger to action sequences. Enjoy!

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Finnegan On Films: Comedy, Drama And Action On The Box

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Our movie guy, James Finnegan, says there are lots of literary adaptations on the box today…

At the end of a week where we had one of the most enjoyable Oscar ceremonies of recent times —  particularly notable for the multiple Irish successes and achievements — it was also the culmination for all the Oppenheimer’s hopes and aspirations.

Robert Downey Jr got some rather tasteless jibes at his well recorded missteps in a long career from the host, and frankly Dolittle (Saturday 6.35pm RTE1) does get caught between a number of styles that don’t quite gel, but still has the charm of a story about a man who can talk to the animals.

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Dr John Dolittle (Downey Jr) is a Welsh vet with the aforementioned talent.  When his wife dies tragically at sea, he retreats from society to tend to the animals rather than deal with humans.  However, he gets drawn into a mission to save the life of Queen Victoria.

Also starring Michael Sheen and Antonio Banderras in live action roles, and Emma Thompson, Rami Malek, Octavia Spenser, Ralph Fiennes among the vocal talent giving voice to a wide variety of animals, it is a decent alternative to the rugby.

Hugh Grant stars in About A Boy (Saturday 9.30pm TG4).  He plays a wealthy, self centred womaniser who pretends to be a single dad to meet women.

However, his life is changed when he is forcibly befriended by a lonely youngster played by Nicholas Hoult (bearing in mind that this is a 2002 film).

This adaptation of Nick Hornby’s novel also stars Toni Collette, Rachel Weisz and Victoria Smurfit.

Gerard Butler returns for the action thriller Angel Has Fallen (Saturday 10.30pm RTE2) as US Secret Service Agent Mike Banning.

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This time Banning is on the run himself, trying to clear his name after he is framed for an assignation attempt on the President.

He is being hunted down by his own agency and the FBI, while trying to uncover the real threat that has set their sights on attacking Air Force One.

This also stars Morgan Freeman as President Trumbull, Jada Pinkett Smith, Lance Reddick, Tim Blake Nelson, Nick Nolte, Danny Huston and Piper Perabo, all of whom are suitably earnest.

Based on the short stories of Kevin Barry, Dark Lies the Island (Sunday 12.10am RTE1) is a wonderfully dark comedy set in a familiar small North West Irish town setting over the course of an eventful week.

Daddy Mannion (Pat Shortt) is boss of Dromord town, owner of everything from the corner shop to the undertakers.  He is married to Sarah (Charlie Murphy), the former girlfriend of his son, Doggy (Peter Coonan) who is also sought after by his other son, Martin (Moe Dunford)

Throw in a cursed lake, and a very strange outsider who buys the chip shop, played with remarkable stillness by Tommy Tiernan, and you have a weird cocktail of dark atmosphere and characters that is almost Shakespearian in tone. Enjoy!

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Finnegan On Film: Strong Irish Representation In Today’s Movies On TV

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Our movie guy, James Finnegan, observes that a number of Irish actors feature in films on TV this Saturday…

In Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway (Saturday 7pm RTE1) Thomas (Domhnall Gleeson) and Bea (Rose Byrne) are now married, while Peter (voiced by James Cordon) and his rabbit family are living in their garden.

However, Peter is bored and decides to try his luck in the big city. Unfortunately, he meets up with some unsavoury characters which lead to, surprise, surprise, some chaotic adventures for him and the rabbits.

This is loosely based on the Beatrix Potter stories and is a charming combination of live action and CGI, staring David Oyelowo and the vocal talents of Elizabeth Debicki, Lennie James and Margot Robbie.

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Ben Foster (Lance Armstrong) and Chris O’Dowd (David Walsh) head the cast of Stephen Frears’ drama The Program (Saturday 9.15pm RTE2)

At a time when Lance Armstrong was dominating world professional cycling, even after beating cancer, one lone voice asked the question, how this could happen.

Irish journalist Walsh suspected the use of performance enhancing drugs, but proof was hard to obtain against an omarta of silence and effective prevarication

A fascinating story, based on Walsh’s book “Seven Deadly Sins” that obviously has to truncate the time line to fit into one hundred minutes.

Learning to Drive (Saturday 9.30pm TG4) is the very relatable comedy drama story of a successful New York Book critic, Wendy (Patricia Clarkson) whose marriage breaks up.  She has to learn to drive and takes lessons from Darwan (Ben Kingsley).

As their lessons go on, they develop a friendly, platonic relationship where they find themselves helping to solve their respective personal difficulties.

Joey (Lewis MacDougall), a teenager with a huge debt, bonds with a troubled alcoholic Ronald (Pat Shortt) who is also down on his luck as he tries to sell Chinese teddy bears to raise much needed cash in The Belly of the Whale (Saturday 11.10pm RTE2)

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They make a plan to rob a local amusement arcade to solve their money woes, but run up against a corrupt politician Gilts, played by Michael Smiley.  A film in which the grim mood is suitably portrayed by the performances and cinematography.

One of the best ever Westerns is the multi Oscar-winning Unforgiven (Saturday 12 midnight RTE1).

Clint Eastwood directs and stars as William Munny, a former gunfighter who comes out of retirement to help a bounty hunter track down those responsible for a savage attack on a prostitute.

Also starring Morgan Freeman, Gene Hackman, Richard Harris and Frances Fisher, this is a story that is almost biblical in its themes and scope.

Speaking about Oscars, I am more confident that Cillian Murphy will get his hands on the Best Actor Oscar following his win last week in the SAG awards.

The eleven nominations, the highest ever for an Irish Film, for ‘Poor Things’ including  producers Andrew Lowe and Ed Guiney of Element Pictures, Robbie Ryan for Best Cinematography, and a personal good wish for director Yorgos Lanthimous who filmed ‘The Lobster’ here in Kerry ten years ago, ensure a strong Irish interest. Enjoy!

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Finnegan On Films: Spider Stories And A Web Of Intrigue On The Box

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Our movie guy, James Finnegan, has the pick of the films on RTE/TG4 on Saturday…

A resourceful orphan Madeline (Saturday 1.20pm RTE2), played by Hattie Jones, is the star of this utterly charming story based on the children’s books based in Paris and the film cleverly shows its literary origins.

Hattie overhears a plan to sell her beloved school, and manages to get caught up in a kidnapping plot and schemes of an international aspect.  There is also a bad boy to boo and hiss.

With an extremely strong supporting cast including Nigel Hawthorn as the severe Lord Covington, Stephane Audran as his benevolent wife and most especially  Frances McDormand as the stern headmistress with a heart of gold Miss Clave, this is a perfect film, particularly for your own adventurous little girls.

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Next up is Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (Saturday 6.35pm RTE1) which is an excellent addition to, well, the Spider-Man saga.

In this animated version, Miles Morales, voiced by Shameik Moore, has, like his counterpart Peter Parker, been bitten by another radioactive spider, gaining the usual arachnid abilities.

However, when a super collider device opens a gateway to other dimensions, Miles joins up with five other versions of himself to evil and wrong doers across the various realms and save the universe as we know it.

Back to a more grounded reality with Bridge of Spies (Saturday 9.30pm TG4) based on a true story when James Donovan (Tom Hanks), a lawyer in 1950’s New York, is hired to represent Rudolf Abel played by Mark Rylance, in Oscar-winning form.

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Abel is being charged in a showcase trial meant to show the fairness of the American Justice System, especially fraught as there is a strong death penalty sentence possibility.

Donovan’s stance, much against the prevailing public opinion, leads to his involvement in a Cold War exchange of prisoners in East Germany some years later.

Directed by Stephen Spielberg, this is an absolutely engrossing story with a significant screenwriting contribution by Ethan and Joel Coen.

Back to the arachnid themes with The Girl in the Spider’s Web (Saturday 9.50pm RTE2) based on the characters of the Millennium book series by Stieg Larsson.

Swedish hacker expert Lisabeth Salander (Claire Foy) is hired to retrieve Firefall, a computer programme that can access all the nuclear codes from across the world.

Naturally, there are a lot of nasties and heavies who would also like to get their paws on this, so it’s not a surprise to see Lisabeth fighting off the deadly intentions of a series of mercenaries.

Extra Ordinary (Saturday 11.55pm RTE2) is an Irish horror-comedy starring Maeve Higgins as a lonely driving instructor with supernatural talents.

It is great fun, especially with Will Forte’s washed up satanic rocker adding to the adventure.  Enjoy!

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Finnegan On Films: ‘Oirish’ Fun, A Rob Reiner Classic And More On The Box

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Our movie guy (and recent Tralee Municipal District Award recipient), James Finnegan, on some movies on the box today…

Sure ‘tis a fine soft day as I write these lines which brings me into the whimsical mode for Finian’s Rainbow (Saturday 2.15pm TG4).

Directed by Francis Ford Coppola, this musical tells the tale of lovable rouge Finian McLonergan (Fred Astaire) who has stolen a crock of gold from Og the leprechaun (Tommy Steele chewing the scenery).

He intends to bury it near Fort Knox in the belief it will increase its value. Astaire was 70 years old when this was filmed but he was still the master of dance, and Petula Clark, playing Finian’s daughter Sharon is in fine voice, and puts in an utterly charming performance.

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In this weekend’s animated family film The Addams Family 2 (Saturday 6.35pm RTE1), Gomez is concerned that the children are growing away from him.  He and Morticia decide to take the family on a road trip adventure in a suitably hideous camper.  What could possibly go wrong?

With a voice cast including Oscar Issac, Charlize Theron, Chloe Grace Moretz, Snoop Dogg, Bette Midler and Wallace Shaw, I have always enjoyed the adventures of these characters based on the wonderfully dark cartoons of Charles Adams.

The Big Short (Saturday 9.05pm RTE2) tells a rather complex story is a very inventive and creative manner.  The sad thing is that it is a true story that had dreadful ramifications for so many in the inevitable financial crisis that followed.

Based on Michael Lewis’ best-selling novel, a small group of individuals spotted a flaw in the housing bubble, particularly involving the sub-prime market.  They bet a vast amount of money on the expectation that the bubble would burst.

Starring Steve Carell (never better as the incredulity increases), Christian Bale, Ryan Gosling, Brad Pitt and a host of cameo stars to explain the mechanics of the technical issues by breaking the forth wall and speaking directly to the audience.

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Directed by Rob Reiner, Misery (Saturday 9.30pm TG4) is one of the best big screen adaptations of a Stephen King novel.

Acclaimed novelist Paul Sheldon (James Cann) is in a near fatal car crash.  Fortunately he is found and rescued by a Nurse, Annie Wilkes (Kathy Bates in Oscar winning form) who also happens to be a major fan.

Unfortunately, when Annie finds out that Paul has killed of her favourite character, her psychopathic tendencies come to the fore as she seeks to persuade Paul of the error of his ways in particularly unpleasant and painful ways.

Looking back at the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, Thirteen Days (Saturday 11.25pm RTE2) views the nuclear standoff between the US and Russia from the White House, where President Kennedy (Bruce Greenwood) has to deal with the tensions not only with the Soviets, but also internally with the hawks of the American military.

The film also stars Steven Culp (Robert Kennedy) and Kevin Costner as Kenny O’Donnell, the Kennedy aide on whose book the film is based. Enjoy!

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