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Movies & TV

10th Aug 2023

Two very fun The Rock films among the movies on TV tonight

Rory Cashin

If you love The Rock, then you’re in for a treat tonight!

Your Thursday evening movie menu has arrived, and it is gonna rock (geddit?), kicking off with…

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them – ITV2 – 6.25pm

The first of the Harry Potter prequels is pretty decent, with Colin Farrell in scene-stealing form as the villainous wizard.

Men In Black – FilmFour – 7.05pm

FilmFour are having a bit of a big sci-fi night, kicking off with this brilliant action-comedy featuring Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones.

Ghostbusters – BBC Three – 7.20pm

The classic comedy-horror with Bill Murray and the gang basically working as pest controllers… except the pests are ghosts.

Train To Busan Presents: Peninsula – Sky Sci-Fi – 9pm

The zombie apocalypse spin-off/sequel is nowhere near as good as the original, but still features some decent action and horror set-pieces.

Central Intelligence – ITV4 – 9pm

The first of tonight’s The Rock double-bill sees him as an undercover CIA agent, forced to team up with a high school alumni (Kevin Hart) to crack a new case.

Paul – FilmFour – 9pm

The next entry in FilmFour’s sci-fi night sees the Hot Fuzz guys – Simon Pegg and Nick Frost – reunite on a road trip across America, with an alien (voiced by Seth Rogen) along for the ride.

The Hangover Part III – RTÉ2 – 9pm

Better than Part II, at least. But still not great.

Creed – MTV – 11pm

Michael B. Jordan helped breath new life into the Rocky franchise, portraying the son of Apollo Creed. Stallone is also great as the returning and now very aged boxer.

Area 51 – FilmFour – 11.05pm

FilmFour ends its sci-fi night with a bit of a dud, this sci-fi horror set at the infamous UFO site comes from the folks behind Paranormal Activity. 13% on Rotten Tomatoes actually feels too generous.

Elizabeth: The Golden Age – BBC One – 11.10pm

Cate Blanchett is great as Queen Elizabeth, but the film around her is quite poor.

The Other Guys – ITV4 – 11.15pm

And the second half our our night with The Rock, and while he and Samuel L. Jackson aren’t the leads (that would be Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg), they do leave an impression.

Embrace of the Serpent – FilmFour – 12.55am

This 2015 movie was the first time Colombia ever had a nomination for the Best International Movie at the Oscars. With a RT score of 96%, it tells the story of a shaman who joins forces with two scientists in search for a plant with powerful healing properties.

Assassination Nation – Channel 4 – 1am

From the writer/director of Euphoria, this dark thriller about four teenage girls at the centre of an internet hack is as far from subtle as you can get (it is a modern day witch hunt… set in Salem)

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