Something for the Weekend 8-10 October

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

There’s something for everyone this weekend – indie darling Kate Nash plays Limerick City and The Academy, the experimental electronic duo Crystal Castles are also hitting The Academy Saturday night, while world-conquerors Dickie Rock and Crystal Swing team up at the Olympia Theatre, which is actually one of the seven signs of the Apocalypse. Crystal Swing or Crystal Castles – the choice is yours.

Film

After a 23-year wait, Michael Douglas’ iconic Gordon Gekko returns to the silver screen alongside Shia LaBeouf for Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps. With the recession ever looming, the timing couldn’t have been more perfect. JOE’s Andrew Kennedy reviewed Oliver Stone’s latest earlier this week, though he wasn’t completely sold on the week’s big release.

Shia LaBeouf goes toe-to-toe with the legendary Gordon Gekko in Wall Street 2

On the other hand, Notting Hill’s Rhys Ifans stars in this weekend’s other big release, a biopic of the notorious drug dealer Richard Marks, Mr.Nice. Again, JOE has the review so be sure to read up on each before making your decision.

Events

If you're looking for a few laughs on Friday night, Al Murray the Pub Landlord takes his Barrel of Fun show to Vicar Street, while Brendan Grace can be found in Gorey and Balbriggan on Saturday and Sunday. Finally, gamers will be glad to hear that the Game On exhibition continues this weekend at the Ambassador Theatre and promises a look at the past, present and future of the videogames industry.

Although general admission tickets for Ireland v Russia have sold out for Friday night, you can still take advantage of the Aviva Stadium’s VIP seating. Premium tickets, beginning at €85 are still available, while you can splash nearly double for seating in the Aviva Experience Lounge, which includes a four course meal and beer/wine at the stadium’s Havelock Restaurant. If you fancy treating yourself, you can book your tickets here.

Getaway

God evidently thinks it’s funny to urinate all over his servants on this his greenest isle at this time of year, 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

Naturally, the big sports event this weekend are the Euro 2012 Qualifying ties over Friday and Saturday. A win at home to Russia should give high hopes that Trap’s army can finish top of Group B so we’ll be paying close attention to the game, even drafting in our sports editor Conor Heneghan for the JOE live tracker treatment.

Elsewhere, the Heineken Cup kicks off this week, with the highlight of the fixtures being Munster's tie against London Irish on Saturday afternoon. Finally, race fans should also be well covered with Sunday morning’s Japanese F1 Grand Prix, with televised coverage beginning at 6:45am – not for the hungover, in other words.

Are Ireland up to the Russian challenge?

Friday 8 October

Euro 2012 Qualifying: Armenia v Slovakia (Setanta Ireland from 3:55pm)

Euro 2012 Qualifying: Republic of Ireland v Russia (RTE Two from 7:00pm, Sky Sports 2 from 7:30pm)

Euro 2012 Qualifying: Northern Ireland v Italy (Sky Sports 1 from 7:00pm)

Euro 2012 Qualifying: Wales v Bulgaria (Sky Sports 3 from 7:30pm)

Saturday 9 October

Heineken Cup: Leinster v Racing Metro (Sky Sports 1 from 1:30pm)

Euro 2012 Qualifying: France v Romania (Sky Sports 3 from 8:00pm)

Heineken Cup: London Irish v Munster (Sky Sports 1 from 5:30pm)

Sunday 10 October

Japanese F1 Grand Prix (Setanta Ireland from 6:45am)

On the Box

The award-winning and always compelling Louis Theroux is back for his latest documentary Louis Theroux : Law and Disorder in Lagos (Sunday, BBC2, 9:00pm) as the journalist travels to the second most populous city in Africa to meet up with a gang of young men known as the Area Boys. There he patrols the gang’s turf and is taken under the wing of their leader, MC, and spends time with the government's paramilitary tasks force, whose ruthless tactics are not so different from the gangs'.

Here's Samuel L Jackson climbing seats and generally acting the maggot

Friday night’s Snakes on a Plane has one of the most curious back stories in film history. When the film’s original title was changed to the banal Pacific Air Flight 121, Oscar-nominated star Samuel L Jackson was outraged, telling an interviewer, ‘That’s the only reason I took the job: I read the title.”

After the title reverted back to its ludicrously self-explanatory original, internet fans helped the feature become one of the most blogged-about releases of 2006. Reshoots meant that it’s star even got to shout ‘I’ve had it with these mother****ing snakes on this mother****ing plane!!” just to appease them. A ridiculously enjoyable guilty pleasure, we recommend you switch off your brain and enjoy one of the biggest cult hits of the last decade.

Blu Ray/DVD

It’s been called the scariest movie of all time, the best horror movie of all time and it’s even harsh BBC film critic Mark Kermode’s favourite movie – this week The Exorcist is released, with a remastered director’s cut in glorious Blu-Ray. If that’s not enough, the disc features three running commentaries and over an hour of new documentary footage on the making of the supernatural classic. Not a purchase for the squeamish of course, but an extraordinary piece of work by director William Friedkin nonetheless.

And finally...

Don’t forget to join JOE this weekend for our Ireland vs Russia Live Tracker on Friday night, with updates coming throughout the weekend to shout@joe.ie.