Saturday Movie Mix.
It's the weekend, which usually means a decent range of movies on the box.
That's not always a guarantee, mind. You could always pay respect to a
classic sci-fi film that deserves more love, new expensive Netflix spy thriller
The Gray Man, or check out some of the most
recent streaming additions.
https://twitter.com/JOEdotie/status/1550492110016483329
But let's see what we do have available on the box on Saturday, 23 July...
Despicable Me 3 – RTÉ One – 6.35pm
The third one.
Marley & Me – ITV2 – 6.40pm
Tearful dog movie with Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston.
The Green Hornet – Comedy Central – 6.50pm
Seth Rogen updates a crime-fighting TV show. Bad.
The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor – ITV4 – 8pm
The third and final adventure in the Brendan Fraser series of Mummy films – Rachel Weisz tapped out by this point – is easily the worst of the bunch but it's perhaps maybe better than whatever the hell Tom Cruise was going for in 2017.
Grown-Ups 2 – Comedy Central – 9pm
The second one.
Lethal Weapon 3 – Turner Classic Movies – 9pm
The third one.
The Spy Who Dumped Me – Film4 – 9pm
Espionage-related hijinks with Mila Kunis and Kate McKinnon.
Terminator: Dark Fate – Channel 4 – 9pm
The most recent one. Even its director agrees it's bad, literally saying "I was wrong" at a Comic Con panel this weekend when the subject of the movie was
raised.
Hellboy II: The Golden Army – Sky Showcase – 9pm
Our main choice tonight.
The sequel to 2004's Hellboy was initially a big smash at the box office, topping the charts in America in the first weekend of its release back in 2008. It wasn't to last.
Just one week later, a modest underground art house picture by the name of The Dark Knight duly took the throne, and poor Hellboy fell quite quickly out of the pop culture conversation.
It's a shame as it's one, er, hell of a movie. If you're unfamiliar, Ron Perlman plays the titular Hellboy – a demon seemingly destined to destroy the world but one who wishes to save it instead. Hellboy II finds our hero taking on Prince Nuada; a dark elf who intends to unleash monsters upon the entire world.
Funny, innovative – director Guillermo Del Toro gets to throw his entire imagination atop the screen here – and a little emotional at times, we simply cannot recommend The Golden Army strongly enough.
The Last Stand – Virgin Media Two – 9.05pm
Arnie plays a small-town sheriff looking to take down a brutal drug lord.
The Great Debaters – TG4 – 9.30pm
Denzel Washington and Forest Whitaker feature in a fact-based drama about a groundbreaking school debate team.
The Chronicles of Riddick – ITV4 – 10.10pm
Boy, is this ever a divisive movie.
Vin Diesel reprises his role of serial killer Richard B. Riddick from cult sci-fi film Pitch Black, becoming a lot more heroic in this sprawling, strange follow-up. Riddick must face off against a weird death cult of soldiers who conquer and consume planets, leaving untold destruction in their wake.
Critics weren't terribly impressed by this in 2004 – it currently 'boasts' 29% on Rotten Tomatoes – and it didn't exactly break the box office, either. But hey, you know what? I like it.
Hot Pursuit – RTÉ 2 – 10.30pm
Sofia Vergara and Reese Witherspoon star in a crime caper comedy type thing.
Sputnik – Film4 – 11.15pm
Gory creature feature sci-fi horror set in Cold War-era Russia.
Passenger 57 – Turner Classic Movies – 11.30pm
Silly but watchable 'Die Hard on a plane' knock-off with Wesley Snipes.
Star Trek – Channel 4 – 11.30pm
Chris Pine IS Captain Kirk for the first time.
The Bling Ring – BBC One – 11.35pm
Emma Watson leads a gang of bored teenagers who decide to break into the homes of celebrities for the craic. Based on true events.
Fifty Shades Freed – RTÉ 2 – 12.05am
The conclusion of the honestly rather chaste erotic trilogy.
Initiation – Legend (formerly Horror Channel) – 12.45am
A masked killer stalks a college campus.
Slender Man – Film4 – 1.30am
Internet icon Slender Man wreaks havoc upon a dreadful script.
Triangle – Legend – 2.35am
Fun, twisty horror in which a group of people find themselves trapped on a cruise ship with a mysterious adversary for company.
