Friday 14 November 2008

Movie recommendations for Saturday, 15th November

Liar Liar 5.40pm, ITV2
A fast-talking lawyer finds himself physically unable to lie for 24 hours due to his son's birthday wish. Generally amusing comedy which gives it's star plenty of opportunities to do his usual schtick, if that's what you're into.
Starring: Jim Carrey, Maura Tierney, Cary Elwes, Jennifer Tilly, Amanda Donohoe, Swoosie Kurtz, Krista Allen
Director: Tom Shadyac
IMDb rating: 6.6
My rating: 3/5



Mulholland Drive 8pm, Sky Indie
After a car accident, an amnesiac woman attempts to discover who she with the help of an aspiring young actress and becomes involved in a conspiracy. Beyond that, it's a bitch to explain this movie. It's David Lynch, so fantasy and reality merge and identities shift. Keep an open mind, watch it for someone and after it's finished talk about what it all means for hours.
Starring: Naomi Watts, Laura Elena Harring, Dan hedaya, Justin Theroux, Robert Forster, Billy Ray Cyrus, Melissa George, Mark Pellegrino
Director: David Lynch
IMDb rating: 8.0
My rating: 5/5



Sunshine 11.15pm, Sky Screen 2
Following the failure of an earlier mission, a spacecraft is sent to launch a huge nuclear bomb into the dying sun. Tragically underappreciated sci-fi masterpiece from the director of Trainspotting. Truly amazing visuals and sound.
Starring: Cillian Murphy, Michelle Yeoh, Hiroyuki Sanada, Rose Byrne, Benedict Wong, Chris Evans, Mark Strong
Director: Danny Boyle
IMDb rating: 7.3
My rating: 5/5



The Mothman Prophecies 11.20pm, BBC One
Following the death of his wife after a car accident, a reporter investigates sightings of a mothlike creature that may have been responsible for her death. What sounds like something of a B movie is actually a very chilling, underrated supernatural thriller.
Starring: Richard Gere, Laura Linney, Debra Messing, Alan Bates
Director: Mark Pellegrino
IMDb rating: 6.4
My rating: 4/5



Hana-Bi 12.35am, Sky Indie
A Japanese cop leaves the force to spend more time with his dying wife, while dealing with guilt over a shooting that crippled his partner. Cheery stuff! This is actually a stunningly beautiful film offering an original take on the Yakuza crime genre. Possibly its director and star's greatest film.
Starring: Takeshi Kitano, Kayoko Kishimoto, Ren Osugi
Director: Takeshi Kitano
IMDb rating: 7.8
My rating: 5/5

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

"Sunshine" is hardly "tragically underrated." Unless you're rating films by how impossibly stupid and lacking in common sense their supposedly brainy characters are: then, yes, it's a five-star extravaganza. It would be side-splittingly funny if it weren't so set on being a drama. And an angsty, self-important, overcooked drama at that. Try watching it without the purty, purty music blasting your ears, and you'll start to see it for the dumb, plot-hole-packed mess it is. Would you trust these people to save the world? Hell, I wouldn't trust these people to do the dishes. A deservedly overlooked, pathetic slop-pile of a film. Alex Garland should NOT be allowed to write screenplays, Danny Boyle needs ADHD medication for his spastic genre-hopping and camera-shaking, and the whole cast ought to be ashamed for being involved. (Even Chris Evans, who manages to be the film's much-needed voice of reason-- for all of forty seconds.)