Your night in: Every movie on TV tonight rated or slated
It’s a tough job sorting the wheat from the chaff of tonight’s TV movie offerings, so we’ve done it for you. Hidden among a few mindless sequels is a new Australian classic that’s well worth you tuning in.
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THE DRESSMAKER (M)
****
8.30PM CH. 7
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 hardworking 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.
TAKEN 3 (MA15+)
**
7.30PM 7MATE
Since the days of the original Taken, Liam Neeson has made it his business to saturate the market with messy revenge thrillers. Most of them have been better than bearable, largely thanks to Neeson’s willingness to trash his own reputation in compelling fashion. Unfortunately, Taken 3 will be remembered as the one where Neeson just couldn’t save the day. Part of the problem is that all the highly strung, highly improbable stuff is happening in America this time around. The exotic European settings of the first two Takens were more important to the franchise’s success than producers realised. Therefore this tale of how Neeson’s Bryan Mills is framed (sigh) for a murder he did not commit rarely engages like its pulpy predecessors did. Co-stars Dougray Scott, Forest Whitaker.
47 RONIN (MA15+)
*1/2
9.45PM 7MATE
A lumbering bumbler of an action flick. Keanu Reeves dozily plays a disrespected mixed-caste samurai helping some dull Japanese fighting types do battle with shape-shifting witches, ogres and sundry unworldly threats. The whole debacle cost more than 200 million bucks to make, and has only a handful of diverting visual effects to show for it. Avoid, dude.
GROWN UPS 2 (PG)
**
8.30PM 7FLIX
No real point in turning up your nose or turning down your thumb here. You’re in Adam Sandler country now. The normal laws of comedy no longer apply. This soft-headed sequel had to happen after the first Grown Ups became the highest-grossing film in Sandler’s highly gross career. That was the one where Sandler played a fortysomething dude reliving the glory days of his youth with some other fortysomething dudes (Kevin James, Chris Rock, David Spade, etc.). This time around, the boysy BFFs now all live in the same town, and their kids are going through the same stuff they did back in the day. It all ends rather politely with an 80s costume party, and rather worryingly with the possibility there might be a Grown Ups 3.
THE INCREDIBLE BURT WONDERSTONE (M)
**1/2
10.30PM 7FLIX
While too bitsy to be regarded as a comedy classic, this is still a very amusing movie whenever some of those bits come together. The title character (played by Steve Carell) is a dinosaur of Las Vegas entertainment, an old-school magician with a tan, hairdo and fashion sense that can all be seen from outer space. Banished from a long-running casino engagement, Burt falls into a bitter rivalry with a bizarre new *extreme magician*. The movie’s secret weapon is a surreally inspired Jim Carrey, who hasn’t been this funny since dial-up modems ruled the internet. Co-stars Steve Buscemi, Olivia Wilde.
INFERNO (M)
*
8.35PM CH. 9
After saving Christianity and the Vatican in earlier films, ex-Da Vinci Code cracker Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks) must now save the world. Only this time, without his legendary weapon of mass deduction. For Bob has a Jason Bourne-esque case of amnesia, and a sinister plague is about to be unleashed. The laughable, logic-free plotting of this lavishly-produced lemon does little more than dump fresh loads of red herrings and raw prawns upon the audience at random intervals. What a shocker.
MICHAEL CLAYTON (MA 15+)
****
11.05PM CH. 9
George Clooney anchors a top-notch ensemble cast in this powerful legal thriller, playing a shadowy corporate lawyer who saves his best work for outside the courtroom. If you’re dumb enough to break the law and rich enough to buy some time to work out your next move, he’s the only person worth calling. Highly recommended. Co-stars Tilda Swinton, Tom Wilkinson.
MUNICH (MA)
*1/2
8.40PM GEM
A covert death squad led by Mossad agent Avner (Eric Bana) wanders Europe avenging the infamous slaying of Israeli athletes at the 1972 Olympics. A daft and directionless thriller from Steven Spielberg, cynically hijacking Israeli-Palestinian tensions to fuel the engine of an over-heated action vehicle. In a major miscalculation for a director of his stature, Spielberg cuts a series of flashbacks to the deaths of the athletes in loose sync with a cathartic bonking session between Avner and his wife.
FLORENCE FOSTER JENKINS (PG)
***
7.30PM WORLD MOVIES
On a good night in the 1940s, New York socialite Florence (Meryl Streep) hits notes known only to canines. On a bad night, eardrums and windows alike are in imminent danger of cracking. While the similar-themed Marguerite is better at capturing the tragi-comic commitment of a rich woman to a deluded folly, this has Meryl Streep. Whenever she shows up, it is never just for the pay cheque. Co-stars Hugh Grant.
LOVE AND MERCY (M)
***
9.55PM WORLD MOVIES
TV has already had a few cheesy dips at the story of Beach Boys singer-songwriter Brian Wilson. While this feature-film biopic brings higher aspirations to the table, it doesn’t always rise to the occasion demanded by its fascinating subject. The story switches between the 1960s with Wilson (played in this decade by Paul Dano) at the peak of his pop-tastic powers. Meanwhile, in the 1980s (John Cusack), a life lived in the spotlight has taken a heavy mental toll on Wilson, now a shadow of his former self. An engaging enough effort (particularly if you remain in awe of Wilson’s work), but lacks a certain ‘personal’ something that’s hard to put a finger on. Co-stars Paul Giamatti, Elizabeth Banks.
Originally published as Your night in: Every movie on TV tonight rated or slated
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