Saturday. Not much happening. Watch a film, yeah?
You may be aware of a certain big-named celebrity visiting Dublin for the next couple of days, and so you’ve probably made up your mind by now whether you have any interest in that or not.
If it’s the latter and you’re planning on a quiet night in until this thing blows over, good news for there’s quite a lot of movies to choose from on the box this Saturday 25 August.
Let’s not stand any further on ceremony, here are your choices tonight:
About Time – Film 4 – 6.40pm
Richard Curtis of Love Actually fame unites Domhnall Gleeson and Rachel McAdams in a romantic time-travelling adventure that’s every bit as whimsical as it is heartbreaking.
Super 8 – E4 – 6.45pm
JJ Abrams dives into big screen science fiction before Star Wars came calling in a well-cast coming-of-age tale that wears its Spielbergian influences proudly on its supernatural sleeve.
Captain America: The First Avenger – Channel 4 – 7.35pm
The best movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (don’t @ us) Chris Evans take his first shot at the most surprisingly likeable and relatable of the current crop of superheroes.
The ending is genuinely jaw-dropping, too.
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King – ITV – 8pm
A marathon effort closes out the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Are you up for the trek?
The Mask – ITV2 – 8pm
Cameron Diaz made her name with an unforgettable introduction but Jim Carrey stole the show with his rubber-faced heroics as a down-on-his-luck everyday guy who comes into possession of a mask that changes his life forever.
Sicario – Film 4 – 9pm
Arguably the best thing about the recent Sicario 2: Day of the Soldado was that it gave us a good reason to go back to the stunning 2015 original.
This writer is very happy to report that Sicario seriously holds up as a nail-biting exercise in tension and incredible execution that cinema really needs more of right now.
Prometheus – E4 – 9pm
The first hour of Prometheus is pretty great, setting up a new world within an existing overall universe in fine fashion.
The characters are interesting enough, the visuals strong – Ridley Scott rarely lets you down on this front – and you know it’s all going to go horribly wrong.
And then it does, and it’s not just the story itself but the telling of it. Frankly, Prometheus is one of the greatest misfires of the decade and it’s worth watching just to see it fall apart so impressively.
Pain & Gain – Channel 4 – 10pm
As with The Wolf of Wall Street, you can’t help shake the feeling that the director of Pain & Gain is glorifying his ugly subject matter rather than condemning it.
Still, Michael Bay of all people does his job in that you will absolutely come away from this film with a strong opinion. Hey, at least The Rock is good in it.
Jaws – ITV 4 – 11pm
The king of all shark movies, no matter what pale imitations try to sell you.
Bone Tomahawk – Film 4 – 11.20pm
Something of a modern classic, Bone Tomahawk is part Western, part horror and all Kurt Russell showcase.
Never more grizzled, Russell leads an eclectic cast of lawmen and bounty hunters as they attempt to thwart a kidnapping from some very, very, very violent foes.
Fair warning; one scene in this movie will haunt you for the rest of your days.
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