Welcome to the weekend, courtesy of JOE.ie. Whether you’re staying in or going out, we’ve got it covered. It’s time to leave the working week behind.
GOING OUT
Gigs
Republic of Loose anyone? Fionn Regan maybe? Thought not. Anyway, moving swiftly on… Oh wait, here’s one – if you’re mysteriously handed a carton of eggs this weekend and have no use for them, why not toss them at big-haired X Factor reject Jamie Archer? He’s playing in Antrim on Saturday night under the guise of ‘X Factor’s Jamie Archer’, naturally. Hmm, maybe just give gigs a skip until next week.
Film
New to cinemas this week is the further continuation of the Resident Evil film franchise, Resident Evil: Afterlife, which appears in stunning, non-overused or gimmicky 3D. As the fourth film adaptation, it’s a little disappointing that series director Paul WS Anderson couldn’t find any inspiration from the fourth videogame, which effectively rebooted the franchise with possessed, pitchfork Spaniards in the countryside facing the protagonist rather than zombies.
As it is, Afterlife looks to be a sturdy if unsurprising sequel, though we’re admittedly intrigued by the inclusion of videogame series stalwarts Chris Redfield (played by Prison Break star Wentworth Miller) and the villainous Albert Wesker (Shawn Roberts).
Wesker finally makes a Resident Evil appearence
On the other hand, if you have more subtle tastes, the indie comedy Cyrus opens this week, boasting a tremendous cast that includes John C Reilly (Talladega Nights, Chicago), Marisa Tomei (The Wrestler) and Jonah Hill (Superbad). No sign of Miley, which is either good or bad news depending on your perversity. Reilly stars as John, a divorced singleton that meets Molly (Tomei) at a party and begins a romantic relationship. The only problem? Molly’s grown son Cyrus (Hill), who deliberately tries to sabotage the kinship. Yes, it sounds startingly similar to Step Brothers with an indie bent, but in any case, Cyrus has received rave reviews thus far from US critics, so it might be worth a watch.
Events
It’s a big weekend for comedy fans as Jimmy Carr brings his Laughter Therapy show to the Olympia Theatre, Dublin for the weekend, with three gigs from Friday to Sunday. Fellow funnymen Dara Ó Briain and Tommy Tiernan are also on the road. Dara will be performing on Friday, Saturday and Sunday at Vicar Street, whilst Tommy can be found in Longford on Friday night and Monasterevin on Saturday. You can take a gander at Dara’s busy schedule and chance your luck for tickets here, or if Tommy’s your man instead, you can pick up tickets for himself here.
There’s plenty of sports action this weekend too, as Shamrock Rovers take on St. Pats, Bray Wanderers challenge Galway United and UCD travel to Bohemians in the Airtricity League. Whichever tie catches your fancy, tickets are available on Ticketmaster now.
Getaway
God evidently thinks it’s funny to urinate all over his servants on this his greenest isle during summer time, but you don’t have to stand for it. You could convert to Buddhism or alternatively make a break for it – check out the hottest late, late travel deals featured in the newest edition of the Last Minute JOE.
STAYING IN
Sport on TV
After a relatively dull (but successful) international break, it’s a delight to see the top European domestic leagues back in action, with the two biggest highlights easily being Wayne Rooney’s hostile return to Goodison Park on Saturday and a new-look Juventus taking on the high-scoring Sampdoria on Sunday.
If you’re fed up with the football and missing the GAA, we can’t really help too much – but you can choose between the US Open Tennis finals this weekend or the Italian F1 Grand Prix on Sunday.
Barca won last week, Real drew – is La Liga’s title race already over?
Friday 27 August
Airtricity League: St Patrick’s Athletic v Shamrock Rovers (RTE Two from 7:30pm)
Saturday 28 August
Premier League: Everton v Man Utd (Sky Sports 2 from 12:45pm)
Premier League: Arsenal v Bolton (Setanta Sports 1 from 2:30pm)
La Liga: Barcelona v Hercules (Sky Sports 4 from 5:10pm)
La Liga: Real Madrid v Osasuna (Sky Sports 4 from 7:00pm)
Serie A: Cesena v AC Milan (Setanta Sports 1 from 7:40pm, ESPN from 7:45pm)
Sunday 29 August
US Open: Women’s Final (Sky Sports 1 from 1:00am)
Italian F1 Grand Prix (Setanta Ireland from 12:45pm)
Serie A: Juventus v Sampdoria (Setanta Sports 1from 1:45pm)
Premier League: Birmingham v Liverpool (SkySports 1 from 4:00pm)
US Open: Men’s Final (Sky Sports 1 from 9:00pm)
On the Box
We’re still waiting to sink our teeth into the third series of everyone’s favourite vampire drama (or the only good current creation involving vampires) True Blood, whose second series is repeated from the wee hours of Friday night (TG4 00:05pm). If you need a quick sell on why you should watch a show focused on blood-suckers having been forced to sit in front of Twilight, here are a few reasons – True Blood is packed with violence, nudity, southern drawls, and its creator Alan Ball wrote the Oscar-winning American Beauty. Give it a go, you’ll be surprised.
Sharlto Copley goes through a massive transformation in District 9
Avatar may have won over the box office with its dazzling 3D visuals, but for sci-fi purists there was none more interesting than Neil Blomkamp’s debut feature District 9 (Friday, Sky Movies Premiere, 10:00pm), a thinly-veiled science fiction thriller laced with Apartheid overtones. Set in South Africa, stranded extra-terrestrials are living in slum-like conditions and derogatively referred to as ‘prawns’. Star Sharlto Copley stars as an Afrikaaner bureaucrat in charge of re-locating the aliens to an internment camp, when he accidentally becomes inextricably linked with those he fears. Emotionally affecting, bittersweet and consistently thrilling, District 9 is an absolute must-see this weekend.
DVD
After six years of polar bears, time-travel paradoxes and unanswered questions (who was shooting from the outrigger in season 5?!), the greatest TV phenomenon of the last ten years, Lost came to a close this year. Arriving on DVD this weekend is the giant Lost: The Complete Collection box-set, which contains all six seasons and over three hours of additional bonus content. Sure, it can be a frustrating show and sure, the final ending was a slight cop-out, yet the giant cliff-hangers and series denouments of Lost ensure that this is addictive box-set viewing moreso than any other TV show out there.
And finally…
Joe’s Robert Carry is after having a natter with Newstalk’s Ivan Yates over his eye-opening experience in the underground Irish swingers scene. Have a read of his revealing piece here.
