Your night in: Movies on TV tonight rated

The story of hip-hop pioneers NWA deserved this gripping (if long) biopic. But instead you could just pretend the kids begged you to watch it, then sit back and enjoy that magical first trip to Hogwarts. Here’s your movie night in sorted.

Will Smith with Eva Mendes in scene from Hitch.

HITCH (M)

***1/2

7.30PM GO!

At the time of release, this was Will Smith’s first-ever rom-com. Needless to say, the versatile star was up to the job at the first time of asking. Smith stars as Alex ‘Hitch’ Hitchens, a covert “interpersonal skills consultant” who instructs hapless single New York City males how to win a love match without scoring any easy points.

The foundation of the Hitchens method is that “ninety per cent of what you are saying isn’t coming out of your mouth.”

However, Hitch experiences an unprecedented dip in his own personal form when he fails to win over the cynical newspaper gossip columnist Sara (Eva Mendes).

CHARLIE & BOOTS (M)

*1/2

7.35pm WORLD MOVIES

A tired and uninspired screenplay from the team behind the 2004 hit comedy Strange Bedfellows serves as the basis for a kerplunkingly bland, slightly cloying road movie.

Paul Hogan plays Charlie, a sad old cow-cocky whose missus has recently kicked the bucket. The ever-likeable Shane Jacobson (Kenny) is Boots, the eldest son who impulsively drags his moping dad along on a trek to the topper-most tip of far north Queensland. En route, the pair do the bicker-then-bond thing to a tolerably moderate, if sleepily predictable effect. Hogan’s casually underplayed effort does not help. Co-stars Roy Billing, Morgan Griffin.

PREDESTINATION (M)

**

9.30PM WORLD MOVIES

There is many a deep and meaningless moment in Predestination, but this line takes the cake: “It’s never too late to be who you might have been.” A nice sentiment, but a bit rich for a time-travel movie that wastes a lot of time, and barely travels anywhere.

Sarah Snook plays a man who used to be a woman who once had a baby and almost became an astronaut. Hawke plays a time-jumping secret agent working undercover as a barman while pursuing a dangerous terrorist known as the Fizzle Bomber.

Bereft of the calendar-shredding urgency of modern time-warping classics such as Looper and Source Code, Predestination leaves its best, mind-bending scenes until far too late. How late? Too late for the movie to be what it might have been.

HARRY POTTER AND THE PHILOSOPHER’S STONE (PG)

****

8.30PM 7MATE

The Harry Potter films will be screening in the same slot each week, starting tonight.

When that whiz-kid wizard Harry Potter finally arrived for his movie debut, he did not let the side down in any way.

Accommodating the tastes of both obsessed fans and complete novices, this big-budget Hollywood production does a magnificent job in bringing to life the unique world of magic and fantasy that, until its mega-hyped release, existed only in the imaginations of author J.K. Rowling’s devoted readership.

The entire series of Potter classics will be screening weekly in this slot from now on. Stars Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson and Robbie Coltrane.

Movie picks for streaming or rental

THE PEANUT BUTTER FALCON (M)

***1/2

rent via GOOGLE, ITUNES, YOUTUBE MOVIES

It is rare to see a feel-good movie so willing to take a risk, come a cropper, dust itself off, and have another crack at something else. While this unconventional buddy movie can sometimes lose its way – and lose track of its own plot – its heart remains immovably in the right place.

And what a big, vibrant heart it is. Shia LaBeouf plays Tyler, a troubled fisherman being chased by some peeved and dangerous rivals up coast and down river. In making one of his getaways, Tyler discovers he has a stowaway aboard, Zak (Zack Gottsagen). This feisty interloper (a young man with Down syndrome) is also on the run, having given the slip to the authorities supposedly caring for him.

What follows is a rather shapeless, but spirited set of scrappy adventures for Tyler and Zak. These straight-talking rebels are destined to butt heads and bond big-time as their odyssey continues. A real one-off in all the right ways, thanks to both the funny, moving and motivated work of its stars, and a story that never quite conforms to the predictable.

STRAIGHT OUTTA COMPTON

***1/2

BINGE, FOXTEL

Even now, hip-hop pioneers NWA’s landmark 1988 debut album (from which this authorised biopic takes its name) sounds like a direct broadcast from a war zone. No wonder their spectacular ascent to (short-lived) mass popularity frightened the rich, white and old establishment of the time.

While the group soon fell apart due to the usual creative, financial and indulgence issues, the incendiary and influential legacy of NWA in their prime fully deserves the big-screen treatment. Therefore this biopic wields its maximum impact in a gripping first half: where the rap collective rapidly get their abrasive act together, then rush headlong at an unsuspecting world.

This is where the likes of Ice Cube and Dr. Dre got their start. If you know their names, you know you want to see this. Look out for that epic running time though! Stars O’Shea Jackson Jr., Corey Hawkins, Jason Mitchell.

QUEEN & SLIM (MA15+)

****

rent via GOOGLE, ITUNES, YOUTUBE MOVIES

Those on the lookout for something different, something special and something to treasure always should be assured that all three boxes are emphatically ticked by Queen & Slim.

This spellbinding road movie fuses familiar elements many would associate with the likes of a Bonnie & Clyde or a Thelma & Louise to fresh modern perspectives on love, race and community. If that sounds like a big load for one movie to carry, you are absolutely right. Nevertheless, Queen & Slim never feels like hard work to connect with, or be carried away by. A fascinating story begins with a lacklustre first date where a couple are struggling to make conversation.

By the time they’re on their way home, Queen (Jodie Turner-Smith) and Slim (Get Out star Daniel Kaluuya) are fighting to stay alive. An innocent roadside stop has resulted in the accidental death of a police officer.

Queen and Slim are young and black, and therefore look as guilty as can be to the authorities. Forced to go on the run, this mismatched pair make tracks for Florida, where their sole chance of cheating a tragic fate awaits.

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Originally published as Your night in: Movies on TV tonight rated