Your night in: Every movie on TV tonight rated and slated
Whether you need a bit of Liam Neeson action, want to walk in the shoes of Quincy Jones or go to space with Matt Damon, there’s plenty of great entertainment on TV tonight.
Leigh Paatsch
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THE MARTIAN (M)
****
8.30PM CH. 7
Science fiction on the big screen rarely gets as instantly compelling, yet casually crowdpleasing, as it does in The Martian. A stirring tale of improvised survival on a desolate planet is guaranteed not only to raise the calmest pulses, but also place smiles on dials. Matt Damon stars as an astronaut accidentally left for dead on Mars after a monster storm. If he is to survive the four years it will take to be rescued, our hero will have to come up with some bright ideas fast. What follows is an incredibly involving (and surprisingly plausible) yarn about finding resilience, resourcefulness and humour in places and situations where none of these things should be remotely possible. Continual crosses to NASA HQ in Houston - where a brains trust led by Jeff Daniels and Chiwetel Ejiofor are trying to piece together what has happened up there - move with an upbeat urgency that is disarmingly enjoyable. Directed by Ridley Scott (Blade Runner).
BATMAN V SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE (M)
***
8.35PM 7MATE
At times, this epic production unleashes enough firepower to set alight an audience. Particularly when building up an irresistible grudge match between the Dark Knight (Ben Affleck completely retooling the role vacated by Christian Bale) and the Man of Steel (Henry Cavill suiting up for a second time). However, the film crams in so much added business that it can often feel like a to-do list is being completed. When the head-to-head heavy hitting finally transpires - be patient, for it takes some time to get there - Dawn of Justice delivers the shock and awe on a level befitting a superheroblockbuster of such massive scale. However, whenever the adrenalised action subsides, the lumpy sub-plotting moves like wet cement down a slight incline. Co-stars Jeremy Irons, Jesse Eisenberg, Gal Gadot. ***
THE ZOOKEEPER’S WIFE (M)
**1/2
7.30PM GEM
An initially intriguing, then mildly disappointing Holocaust drama. This is the true story of Antonina Zabinska (Jessica Chastain), a Polish woman who saved the lives of 300 Jews while looking after the Warsaw Zoo during WWII. While the film is capable enough of chronicling the heroism and bravery of Antonina, it does lack the emotional clout that should come with such drastic matters of life and death as those depicted here. Based on the book by Diane Ackerman.
THE BOY IN THE STRIPED PYJAMAS (M)
****
10.05PM GEM
A superb adaptation of John Boyne’s novel bears witness to the unyielding horror of the Holocaust through the eyes of a child. Though staged as a gentle fable, the film roughs up the viewer relentlessly by contrasting innocence and evil of equal purities. Impressive newcomer Asa Butterfield plays Bruno, a naive young German boy who does not realise his military father’s latest posting is at a concentration camp. The story is disturbingly spare on actual detail. The viewer’s mind races to fill the gaps between what little Bruno knows, and the full extent of what he will soon learn. Devastatingly memorable, sincerely sorrowful.
MECHANIC: RESURRECTION (MA15+)
***
9.30pm GO
His recent success in the so-bad-it’s-good shark flick The Meg notwithstanding, have you ever stopped to wonder how British hardman Jason Statham is still a major movie star in the global scheme of things? Well, the stubbly trouble-magnet is a big, big name in China. So much so that this 2016 action sequel grossed almost 100 million bucks in that boom market. Nothing too remarkable is happening here as Statham efficiently reprises his role as Arthur Bishop, a star hitman specialising in making deliberate deaths look totally accidental. The stunt work and fight choreography are the chief selling points, and both are exemplary. Co-stars Tommy Lee Jones, Jessica Alba.
ANONYMOUS (M)
***1/2
8.30pm WORLD MOVIES
This unorthodox period piece goes postal on the reputation of the most influential playwright of them all, Mr William Shakespeare. You can put away your posh literary textbooks. They won’t be needed here. The key point of the campy conspiracy theory spouted here is that Shakespeare was a frontman for Edward de Vere (Rhys Ifans), a former lover and longtime thorn in the side of Queen Elizabeth I (Vanessa Redgrave). Though Anonymous is historical hogwash of the highest order - the film’s audacious claims have already bunched the undies of many Shakespeare buffs overseas - it is never less than highly entertaining. Well worth checking out. Co-stars Joely Richardson, Rafe Spall, David Thewlis.
SUNDAY NIGHT SEQUEL SUMMARY
A few channels are in the habit of playing through a franchise every Sunday night. Here’s a summary of this week’s crop.
Rambo : First Blood 3 (M), 7.30pm GO!, rating : **
Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood (MA15+), 9.35pm, VICELAND, rating: *1/2
Friday the 13th Part VIII (MA15+), 11.15pm, VICELAND, rating: **
FIVE MOVIE PICKS FOR STREAMING OR RENTAL
LITTLE WOMEN (G)
****1/2
rent via FOXTEL STORE, GOOGLE, ITUNES, YOUTUBE MOVIES
A fastidiously realised and impeccably cast rendition of Louisa May Alcott’s classic novel. With their father taken away by the US Civil War, all the growing up the four young March sisters have to do will be completed under the watchful eye of their warmly supportive mother, Marmee (Laura Dern). The much-admired Saoirse Ronan has the plum role of Jo March, and delivers her usual shrewd read of a character. Rising star Florence Pugh (Midsommar) more than matches Ronan in the deceptively demanding part of Amy, the youngest and most high-spirited of the March women. Adding yet more power to an already strong ensemble are the incomparable Meryl Streep and the ever-consistent Timothee Chalamet (skilfully underplaying the male heart-throb role of Laurie). Written and directed by Greta Gerwig (Lady Bird).
QUINCY (PG)
****
NETFLIX
Now 84 years of age, Quincy Jones is still a presence in the biz as a producer, arranger, songwriter and all-round music guru of the highest repute. This is one of those docos content to let its subject’s track record do most of the talking, and seminal collaborations with the likes of Frank Sinatra, Michael Jackson and Ray Charles speak volumes to Jones’ undeniable influence on popular music.
THE GREY (M)
***
STAN
Liam Neeson plays the self-appointed leader of a small band of survivors of a plane crash in the Alaskan wilderness. One by one, Neeson’s drab offsiders are picked off by a pack of killer super-wolves. Anticipating when these biting machines might attack turns out to be much more fun than enduring how they always do attack (the pulling apart of humans like cheap jam doughnuts gets old quickly).
GOING IN STYLE (M)
**1/2
NETFLIX
An unfailingly genial, yet unrelentingly generic comedy. What saves the whole exercise from being smoothed down into a slab of movie margarine is the superb trio of old-timers cast in the main roles. Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman and Alan Arkin play three best buddies who were steel workers back in the day. Now, the greybeards are secretly prepping for a new career very late in life : robbing their local bank for fun and profit.
HIGH FLYING BIRD (M)
***
NETFLIX
This intriguing, if erratic drama is sure to be prominent on the feeds of Netflix users who love their sports. Devotees of American basketball will probably press ‘play’ without a second thought. Hold it right there: High Flying Bird might be a movie about basketball, but you’re not going to see much basketball going on. This is more a deep-dig into the off-court machinations of the NBA, where players and team owners are always at loggerheads over who gets a bigger cut of the billions on offer for broadcast and endorsement rights. Director Steven Soderbergh (Magic Mike, Ocean’s Eleven) frames the tale around a fictional lockout where an NBA game hasn’t been played in six months. Emerging stars not yet to cash in on their fame are beginning to panic. Established stars whose spending habits are out of control are also sweating bullets. Enter cocky manager and manipulator Ray Burke (Andre Holland), who just might have the tricks up his sleeve to defuse this explosive standoff. Co-stars Zazie Beetz (Deadpool 2).