HomeTime: Now You See Me, Bling Ring, Cosmic Psychos, Big Brother and the NRL

IT'S Friday night, and everyone's a winner - whether you're off to the movies or tucked up at home with Big Brother, the footy and our homemade kebabs.

PERSIAN-STYLE KEBABS WITH RICE AND LENTIL PILAF

BASICALLY, it's like this: you can't lose. A cracker of a night at home, with healthy kebabs (yes they exist), Big Brother, the footy, and other assorted gems ... or three cool movies to catch at the cinema.

WHAT TO WATCH THIS WEEKEND BY LEIGH PAATSCH

THE slick'n'slippery heist movie Now You See Me might get more ridiculously illogical by the minute, but there can be no denying it is serious escapist fun throughout. An A-team of maverick illusionists has been assembled for a magic show that takes Vegas by storm. Their signature trick? Robbing a bank live on stage, in full view of their audience. Huh? You have to see it to believe it. When the troupe is held responsible for millions missing from a Paris bank vault - without ever setting foot in France - the FBI and Interpol take a forensic interest in the workings of the act. Of course, the magicians refuse to reveal a single trade secret. Though continually in the spotlight and under the microscope, their stunts become all the more audacious and inexplicable. A well-cast ensemble including Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Michael Caine, Isla Fisher and Morgan Freeman are clearly having a grand time having a lend of us all. Allow yourself to be completely duped, and you are certain to be highly entertained. (General release)

THE BLING RING

THE Bling Ring is a hazy retelling of a true story about a teenage crime gang that briefly rose to notoriety in Los Angeles a few years back. These high-schoolers with a taste for high fashion broke into the homes of style-savvy celebrities such as Paris Hilton and ransacked their wardrobes. Writer-director Sofia Coppola (Lost in Translation) surveys the movements of the group from a safe, non-judgmental distance. There isn't a lot of substance to the tale - the kids simply did what they did because they could - but there is a faintly unsettling vibe in the air that remains with the viewer afterwards. Stars Emma Watson, Leslie Mann, Taissa Farmiga. (Limited release)

BLOKES YOU CAN TRUST

DON'T know of the legendary Australian band Cosmic Psychos? Doesn't matter. The surprisingly engrossing, blisteringly honest new doco Blokes You Can Trust will soon have you up to speed. Get set for one wild ride through one wild career on the far-flung fringes of rock. The Psychos have told it like it is, partied like there's no tomorrow and made one heck of a racket all over the planet. Widespread popularity may never come their way, but respect is surely overdue. These bloody-minded bludgeoners of the eardrum have experienced highs and lows that most music acts will never get near. While there is no shortage of names ready to pay tribute here - Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder remains a heartfelt fan - one voice stands out above the rest. The Psychos' longtime frontman (and part-time farmer) Ross Knight is a riveting raconteur of the old school. (Limited release)

WHAT TO WATCH TONIGHT BY DIANNE BUTLER

BIG BROTHER, CHANNEL 9, 7PM, 3 STARS

KIND of weird, deeply Orwellian, Big Brother has a dress all ready for Jade's birthday party tonight. Or not a party - more just dinner. She neeeeeeds it though, after the week she's had. The divorce and that. Obviously on one level this was an arranged marriage, but some of those last for 40 years. Forty years of misery ... but still. The main thing is Jade's allowed out of the halfway house, or the Bates Motel, as Sonia called it the other night, a reference lost on everyone in the house and the studio audience and everybody watching. Jade also gets to choose people to help her get ready. Two people. It's quite the birthday treat. Katie and Lucy count as one, remember. I don't know how much help she needs but that's not the point, getting out of all that deprivation is the point. People will be shoving food in their pockets like students at a wedding buffet, you can count on it. What's happened to the great old Big Brother days of borderline sexual harassment suits? That's what I want to know. And didn't we see this coming - Rohan's in the diary room complaining about feeling excludey. Why isn't he up for eviction on Monday night? I forget.

FRIDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL, CHANNEL 9, 7.#)PM, 3 AND A HALF STARS

HERE'S a picture of Greg Inglis for you. He's smiling because he's not in Melbourne tonight playing in the freezing wind and rain. And then losing. Probably. That's what the market says and it's never, ever wrong. Bookies aren't a charity, kids. Round 22 is a very bad time for the Rabbitohs to have a slump but did people think, seriously, they were going to win the flag or whatever it's called in rugby league? Yes. Yes they did. Not counting Russell Crowe. Melbourne Storm won it last year but that counts for nothing. Not really. Emotion counts for nothing either which is a shame because there is a tremendous amount of it with South Sydney. They've got more players than Greg Inglis out though. I hope it's still a hot game because the AFL tonight is potentially a slaughterhouse. Plus I don't like Melbourne Storm.

CAPRICORN ONE, FOX CLASSICS, 8.30PM AND BROADCHURCH, ABC1, 8.30PM, 4 STARS

GET a load of that photo. OJ Simpson as an astronaut. Capricorn One, sensational conspiracy movie from the 1970s on Fox Classics 8.30 tonight. Mainly I needed you to see that photo. The non-wife-murdering astronauts with him are Sam Waterston - Law and Order guy, or Jeff Daniels' boss on The Newsroom - and James Brolin. Elliott Gould is in it too, plays a journalist. It's hardcore and chock-full of government bullshit. But close to 900,000 of you are following Broadchurch. And why wouldn't you? Do you reckon those crime re-enactments work? In a small town where everyone knows everyone else? I don't know. The police get the son of one of the coppers in charge of the case to do one tonight - Tom Miller, Ellie's boy, goes down the street with his skateboard, pretending to be Danny, his dead friend. While the killer looks on probably. And actually Broadchurch isn't that small. Fifteen thousand. I realise it's a TV show but I thought we might see a larger clamouring mob outside Jack Marshall's the newsagent. They all think they've got a child molester on their hands. This was the point where I decided I knew who the killer was. See what you think.

WHAT TO COOK TONIGHT BY JANA FRAWLEY

PERSIAN-STYLE KEBABS WITH RICE AND LENTIL PILAF

HERE'S a novel idea. Rather than imbibing at a rapid rate early in the evening and knocking back a greasy doner kebab at midnight, start the night at home with a few quieter libations and head to the kitchen to make an authentic, healthy version of the fast food favourite.

Yes, we know it sounds all very grown up, but you'll be thanking us tomorrow when you smugly turn up for the 7am Crossfit class.

While you're at the supermarket getting your lamb and sumac, grab some hummus, marinated olives and flatbread, and should you feel inclined to add a salad to the mix, various salad ingredients - flat-leaf parsley and mint are vital - so that you can turn the meal into a Middle Eastern feast.

Preparation time: 30 minutes

Cooking time: 30 minutes

Skills: Intermediate

Ingredients

8 pre-soaked bamboo skewers.

3 brown onions

500g lamb mince

1/3 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves

1 tablespoon sumac

3 garlic cloves, crushed

10g butter

2 teaspoons olive oil

1 cup basmati rice

2 1/2 cups chicken stock

400g can lentils, drained, rinsed

Light olive oil cooking spray

2 Roma tomatoes, halved

Method

Coarsely grate 1 onion. Place in a large bowl. Add mince, parsley, sumac and 2/3 of the garlic. Season well with salt and pepper. Mix well. Divide mixture into 8 portions. Shape 1 portion into a 12cm long sausage. Press around 1 bamboo skewer. Place on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Repeat with remaining mince mixture portions and skewers. Cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 20 minutes or overnight, if time permits.

Halve and slice remaining onions. Heat butter and oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add onion. Cook, stirring often, for 15 minutes or until caramelised. Transfer to a heatproof bowl.

Add rice to pan. Stir to coat. Add stock. Bring to the boil. Cover. Cook for 15 minutes or until just tender. Stir in lentils and onion. Remove from heat. Stand, covered, for 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, spray a large non-stick frying pan with oil. Heat over medium-high heat. Cook kebabs, in batches, turning, for 8 minutes or until cooked through. Transfer to a plate. Cover to keep warm. Add tomato to pan. Cook for 1 minute each side or until softened. Roughly chop. Serve kebabs with pilaf and topped with tomato.

Recipe by Cathie Lonnie &Alison Adams from Super Food Ideas. Photography by Andrew Young

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