Mega free-to-air weekend movie guide
There’s a blockbuster line-up of movies to pick from on free-to-air TV on Saturday and Sunday night. Make the most of your lockdown nights in on the couch with our mega weekend movie guide.
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SATURDAY
THE SOUND OF MUSIC
*****
SAT 7:00PM 7FLIX
Hum a few bars from any song in this delightful biopic of the Von Trapp family singers and the whole movie will immediately come to mind with crystal clarity. A family picture of the old school that will continue to stand the test of time. Julie Andrews leads the way with her usual endearing aplomb.
THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI
****1/2
SAT 10:40PM 7FLIX
Funny, sad, wildly unpredictable and shrewdly insightful, this gripping drama is a movie that defiantly marches to the beat of its own drum. Nevertheless, the performances are so emphatically strong – and the writing is so searingly sublime – that you will fall into line with its unusual rhythm without even realising it. Frances McDormand (a deserved Best Actress Oscar winner for her work here) plays Mildred Hayes, an angry and determined woman frustrated by local police’s handling of the investigation of her daughter’s recent death. Taking matters into her hands, Mildred erects a trio of billboards taunting the cops to get off their butts and get busy. The radical gesture opens up cracks in Mildred’s tight-knit rural community that anyone could have seen coming, especially the beleaguered police chief Willoughby (Woody Harrelson) and his redneck deputy Dixon (Sam Rockwell). The mercurial, unpredictable nature of the film is actually its secret weapon. You will be leaning forward intently to catch what’s coming next. Highly recommended.
SKYSCRAPER
**1/2
SAT 7.30pm CH. 9
Yet again, the indefatigably likeable Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson finds a way to make the seemingly mediocre somehow watchable. The setting of this wonky Die Hard knock-off is a high-priced Hong Kong high-rise, where enigmatically-accented foreign terrorists start a fire on the 95th floor. A little ways above are the only current residents: the wife and children of Will (Johnson). Once the movie gets on a roll – unleashing a new life-or-death situation every few minutes – both the laws of physics and the fundamentals of all human logic are shredded to a pulp. And because it is The Rock continually crumpling common sense into a tiny ball, you may not be able to wipe a big, dopey smile off your face.
TOWER HEIST
***
SAT 9:30PM CH. 9
Those in the market for think-nothing pulp should be putting Tower Heist at the top of their to-gawp-at list. The set-up could pass muster as an Ocean’s Eleven caper. Though a majority of the crooks are rank amateurs, the high-stakes burglary they plan – and also, their motivation for doing so – churns up plenty of pro-level thrills. Ben Stiller and Eddie Murphy (both in solid form here) spearhead a team of first-time crimes looking to get square with the crooked tycoon that ripped them all off. The particulars of the smash’n’grab are so ridiculous – just how do you swipe a priceless car from a 50th floor apartment? – you just have to keep watching to see how they are going to pull it off. Co-stars Gabourey Sidibe, Alan Alda.
MINIONS
***
SAT 7:00PM GO!
Like the Penguins of Madagascar, the Minions of Despicable Me had to wait to get a feature-length chunk of film to call their very own. Unlike the Penguins, the Minions made the absolute most of the opportunity. This stand-alone adventure starts out as an origin story of sorts, amusingly recalling the Minions’ many associations with history’s great villains. Then we move to Swinging London of 1968, where these mischievous little devils get on the wrong side of the reigning supervillain of the era (voiced by Sandra Bullock) while also accidentally taking over Buckingham Palace. Fast, frenetic, gleefully silly fun is the order of the day here, it delivers it all by the truckload. Even pre-schoolers will get where the whole thing is coming from, and love where it’s going.
JURASSIC WORLD
***
SAT 8:45PM GO!
From 2015, a reactivation of the all-conquering destructo-dinosaur franchise Jurassic Park for a new generation. Special-effects technology is now at the point where all that stomping and chomping looks mighty convincing. The new storyline and characters? Could have used some more work. The chaos breaks out with the escape of the Indominus Rex, a cloned super-’saur turning a theme park into an all-the-humans-he-can-eat restaurant. Worse still, this stealthy beast is built like a skyscraper, and can run like Usain Bolt. Delivers best as a purely pulpy spectacle. Stars Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard.
I LOVE YOU TOO
**1/2
SAT 10:00PM 10 PEACH
A rare Australian entry in the romantic comedy stakes, and you’d have to give its makers top marks for even trying. However, the film itself warrants only a pass mark. Not so much for being in any way unfunny. It’s just there is not a big, broad belly laugh to be had for the entire running time. In an effort to play it safe and please everybody, it feels as if all spark, edge and unpredictability have been tossed aside. Main plotline of a commitment-phobe (Brendan Cowell) trying to win back his doubting ex (Yvonne Strahovski) feels too familiar. More of support player Peter Dinklage might have been a better way to go. Co-stars Peter Helliar, Megan Gale.
SPOTLIGHT
****1/2
SAT 8:30PM SBS
Both a cry from the heart for victims of sexual abuse and a vivid reminder of the fading art of investigative journalism. Superbly acted and scripted, this powerful factual drama tells the true story of The Boston Globe’s 2002 Pulitzer Prize- winning expose of systematic molestation of the young by Catholic priests. The end result was a series of revelations which shocked America, and also changed the public perception of the Catholic Church. Many of the Globe’s key findings have since been echoed in disturbingly similar scenarios all over the world, including right here in Australia. One of the key factors that raises Spotlight to such a rare level is that director Tom McCarthy never lets us forget who the real heroes are here. It is not the Globe journalists. It is those victims who kept telling their stories repeatedly for many years, in the hope that someone one day might listen, believe and act upon their words. Stars Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams, Mark Ruffalo.
DON’T TELL
**1/2
SAT 10:50PM SBS
A middling courtroom drama based on a highly contentious (and lastingly significant) sexual abuse case heard in Queensland in 2001. Over a decade earlier, a 12-year-old student at a prestigious Toowoomba boarding school was molested by a predatory housemaster. With her adult life in ruins, Lyndal (a powerful performance from Sara West) goes looking for answers from an Anglican Church hierarchy unwilling to acknowledge there is even a question. As her legal team (serviceable contributions from Aden Young and Jack Thompson) ramp up the pressure on the protectors of her tormentor, Lyndal’s secret memories come back to haunt and hurt her with painful precision. Comparisons to the 2016 Best Picture Oscar winner Spotlight (see above) rarely extend beyond the purely thematic here.
THE DEBT
**1/2
SAT 8:30PM WORLD MOVIES
A balloon-ish thriller puffed up by much hot air. Nevertheless, for all its indulgences, this remake of the Israeli box-office hit Ha-Hov is still capable of winding you up without working you over. The film scurries about two distinct timeframes, always trying to look busier than actually is. In 1997, three former Mossad agents are still the toast of Israel for their daring Nazi-hunting exploits in East Germany in the 1960s. Once we journey to the time in question, it turns out there was more to their adventures than first met the eye. The flashback section of the picture works best, albeit in a Lives of Others-lite kind of way. Stars Helen Mirren, Jessica Chastain, Sam Worthington.
A DANGEROUS METHOD
***
SAT 10:35PM WORLD MOVIES
An undeniably fascinating, though achingly formal period drama. Set in the early 1900s, the film’s chief concern is depicting the ideological split between the foremost founding fathers of modern psychoanalysis, Carl Jung (Michael Fassbender) and Sigmund Freud (Viggo Mortensen). Hovering nervously in the background awaiting future developments is a jittery Russian patient (Keira Knightley) dealing with a terrible past. The film steps purposefully through the tale it has to tell as all big-deal biopics should. The vibe here is confident, committed, and – let’s not beat about the long black couch here – just that little bit boring. Just like Jung and Freud themselves, never known as excitement machines in their prime.
INDEPENDENCE DAY
***1/2
SAT 7:00PM 7MATE
Upon its original release, ID4 (as it was then known) signalled a new breed of blockbuster – the event movie. Although this pyrotechnic pantomime (pitching mankind versus aliens) has dated somewhat, it still exudes an hilariously gung-ho bravado that always sucks you in. Especially when US President Bill Pullman gives a 4th-of-July speech so rabble-rousingly bizarre – yet absolutely stirring – it makes Donald Trump look like a rank amateur.
PREDATOR
***
SAT 9:50PM 7MATE
The Arnold Schwarzenegger original from 1987, thank heavens.
SUNDAY
THE DRESSMAKER
****
SUN 8:30PM 7FLIX
Seductive fashion is a destructive weapon in the proudly unconventional, yet very entertaining new Australian film set in the early 1950. Kate Winslet and a strong local ensemble cast work wonders with a defiantly odd story of a seamstress whose beautiful designer outfits take down an ugly town. Based on the 2000 novel by Rosalie Ham, a frenetic combo of light comedy and manic drama connects and pleases with deceptively dexterous ease. Winslet stars as Tilly Dunnage, an Australian woman who leaves behind a career in couture in Europe to exact an elaborate revenge upon the small-minded bush community that banished her as a child. Standout co-stars Judy Davis (as Tilly’s mad mum) and Hugo Weaving (a sympathetic local cop) steal any scene they please, but graciously hand the movie back to its hard-working star as appropriate. Though prone to sudden mood swings that can often (albeit briefly) threaten to undo much of its good work, The Dressmaker never loses its thread when it counts. Recommended.
DIE HARD 2
***1/2
SUN 8:30PM 7MATE
Of all the films in the successful Bruce Willis-starring series, this is undoubtedly the pick of the crop. Bruce’s New York cop is holed up in Washington’s Dulles Airport, trying to wrest control of a radar tower back from terrorists threatening to leave planes in the air until they run out of fuel. Ends with the most fantastic screen fist fight of all-time … on the wing of a 747 in the throes of taking off.
FAST AND FURIOUS 8: THE FATE OF THE FURIOUS
***1/2
SUN 7:30PM GO!
Let’s not bother with the plot so much. The screenwriters of this eighth F&F instalment clearly haven’t, so why should we? The need-to-know on why Dom (Vin Diesel) has abandoned Team Toretto is confined to a bonkers blackmail scheme concocted by the sinister computer hacker Cipher (Charlize Theron). Some dangerous gadgets will fall in and out of the wrong hands on a repeated basis. The future of the planet will be called into question. And a lot of stuff will be blown up. Or sent to the panel beaters. Best of all, the showpiece action sequences (ever seen a car chase which includes a nuclear sub?) keep switching from incredible to insane with ridiculous ease. Co-stars Dwayne Johnson, Jason Statham, Helen Mirren.
BABY DRIVER
*****
SUN 10:10PM GO!
Put your foot down. Keep your eyes up. All roads lead to Baby Driver. If you thought the Fast & Furious franchise was the last word in cars, crashes, chases and hi-octane heists, then this brilliant, dynamic movie is going to mow you down. For Baby Driver rewrites the textbook on how to tear up tarmac with style, substance and spectacularly syncopated stunts that just never, ever let up. Ansel Elgort has the title role of Baby, a gifted and enigmatic young getaway driver going nowhere until he completes one last job for a bank-robbing mastermind (Kevin Spacey). Every key scene is excitingly synced up to the ever-present soundtrack inside Baby’s head (he suffers from a rare hearing disorder). While emptying its full tank of pure adrenaline, the film also revels in a cool, infectious sense of humour, and bares a big romantic heart. Highly recommended. Co-stars Lily James, Jamie Foxx, Jon Hamm.
BURNING
***1/2
SUN 9:30PM WORLD MOVIES
The flight path taken by this ingeniously involving psychological drama glides to such dizzying altitudes across its (very lengthy) running time that it almost does not matter when it runs out of narrative runway upon landing. Almost. For an ending that does not work could be a source of frustration for viewers who have invested so much in the eerily enigmatic journey taken here. Consider yourself warned. The story amounts to a simple echo of The Great Gatsby, but an irresistibly resounding one all the same. Jong-soo (Yoo Ah-In) is a young writer who has just moved to the South Korean capital Seoul, and has immediately fallen for a former classmate from his village school. While he barely remembers Haemi (Jun Jong-seo) from back then, she soon becomes all he can think about. Doubly so when she suddenly vanishes without trace after becoming the girlfriend of a mysterious man of means (Steven Yeun of The Walking Dead). What follows (until that problematic ending) is unworldly, transfixing and often unforgettable stuff.
A UNITED KINGDOM
**1/2
SUN 6:25PM WORLD MOVIES
Solid, if unspectacular biopic drama. In the 1950s, Botswanan prince Seretse Khama (played by David Oyelowo) raised the ire of the colonial British powers-that-were in Africa for daring to marry Ruth Williams (Rosamund Pike), a pretty white woman from London. How they kept their cool – and kept chasing the life they wished to share together – is communicated tenderly and clearly. Directed by Amma Assante (Belle).
Originally published as Mega free-to-air weekend movie guide