Bond. Bourne. Bowie. It’s all kicking off on the box today…
It’s a touch cooler out there today – Sunday 10 June – than it’s been for the past few days, plus you’re probably back to the grind on Monday so maybe it’s a day for the couch.
With that in mind and with JOE’s resident film guru Rory Cashin off on his holidays – do check him out alongside the usual crew on the latest episode of The Big Reviewski below – it’s time to shine a light on the best* films on the box today.
*Okay, admittedly, not everything here is an outright classic but all are at least worthy of consideration for a lazy Sunday…
Casablanca – RTÉ One – 1.40pm
Well, this one is a genuine classic in fairness.
Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman collide in the beloved World War II romantic drama that is still regularly hailed as one of the all-time great movies.
It even has that famous line that you think you know but everyone quotes it wrong all the time.
Mirror Mirror – Channel 4 – 2.30pm
This one… yeah, not quite a classic.
Mirror Mirror does indeed call the use of the word ‘best’ into question but for mid-afternoon Sunday viewing it’s kind of perfect.
Based on Snow White and starring Lily Collins, Julia Roberts and Armie Hammer, this 2012 twist on the Brothers Grimm fairy tale challenges the eyeballs with a wildly over the top colour palette.
Direction really is the main reason to check this one out, especially as it marks yet another odd turn behind the camera from Tarsem Singh, the man behind The Cell, The Fall and Immortals.
Hulk – E4 – 6.20pm
Before the Marvel Cinematic Universe kicked into gear, we were treated to two notable big-screen outings for The Incredible Hulk.
2003 saw Eric Bana step into the role of a particularly tortured Bruce Banner as he fends off his aggressive green condition in the face of love woes, mercenaries, a never-more-grizzled Nick Nolte and some rubbish CGI mutant dogs.
Ang Lee approached Hulk as a serious drama with jarring comic book flourishes. The result is a noble failure, but still intriguing.
Licence to Kill – RTÉ Two – 6.35pm
Timothy Dalton as James Bond in maybe the most adult-themed entry of the series.
This was ‘going dark’ before that became the thing that most blockbusters do nowadays, as Bond pursues a personal vendetta against a vicious drug lord with a taste for brutal violence.
Licence to Kill is a far cry from the cheeky quipping Roger Moore era, and Dalton never really got his due in the role, only filling out 007’s tuxedo twice before Pierce Brosnan came along.
That’s a shame, as Dalton really brings it here, as both actor and story make this adventure a unique standalone in its own right.
The Bourne Legacy – Film 4 – 9pm
Another somewhat tricky change for an existing franchise.
Following the thrilling climax of The Bourne Ultimatum, director Paul Greengrass moved on to new projects, with Jason Bourne himself Matt Damon not interested in continuing on without Greengrass at the helm.
How to keep things moving, then? Bring in Jeremy Renner as another agent who went through the same program as Bourne with just as many emotional scars to deal with.
Legacy is considered the weak link in the Bourne films – a tag that 2016’s undercooked Jason Bourne deserves more – but there’s a lot here to like.
Renner is terrific as the conflicted Aaron Cross, despite a script that sees him relying on saying the word ‘chems’ every five seconds. He ably fills Bourne’s shoes and we’re holding out hope that a crossover film comes to life soon.
Throw in a great support cast – Rachel Weisz, Ed Norton, Oscar Isaac – and this one deserves more love than it gets.
Murder By Numbers – TV3 – 9pm
Sandra Bullock is a troubled detective out to hunt down a pair of highly intelligent young serial killers in this trashy-but-fun 2002 thriller.
Plus, you get a young Ryan Gosling showing off his charisma before he become the huge star he is today.
Starred Up – Film 4 – 11.40pm
From the director of the excellent Hell or High Water, Starred Up is a tough father/son drama that plays out in the grounds of a violent, oppressive prison.
Jack O’Connell and Ben Mendelsohn give career-best performances here and the setting is legitimately powerful enough to register as its own character.
And taking us into the very early hours of Monday morning…
David Bowie: The Last Five Years – RTÉ One – 1.30am
If you’ve got work on Monday morning then you may well be asleep when this rolls around, but it’s worth at least making use of whatever recording equipment you use these days.
As the title suggests, The Last Five Years chronicles the very specific, final time in the life of the late, great David Bowie.
A superb doc that first premiered last year, it goes some way to capturing Bowie’s one-of-a-kind essence.
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