The last day of the ‘Movies on TV’ month is upon us.
Act accordingly.
Here’s the best of what’s available on the box this evening, Tuesday 31 August.
Alien: Covenant – Film 4 – 9pm
In which Michael Fassbender’s dangerously curious android threatens to rival the titular xenomorph as the enduring franchise’s true evil.
Venom – RTÉ 2 – 9pm
Tom Hardy comes into contact with a strangely charismatic and unpredictable alien life-form that begins to take over his own.
I’ve made it sound like a scary horror film there but in truth this is mostly Tom Hardy putting in an absolutely wild performance as one of the most famous antagonists in the Spider-Man rogues’ gallery. Note: Spidey does not appear.
Red Eye – TCM – 9pm
In our pick for tonight, the late Wes Craven applies his tense directorial touch to a really rather satisfying thriller that sees Cillian Murphy quickly drop his nice-guy routine in order to blackmail Rachel McAdams into a murderous conspiracy, all while aboard a difficult flight.
If you’re still not sold, it’s only 85 minutes long.
Gran Torino – ITV4 – 10pm
Clint Eastwood does grizzled Clint Eastwood things.
National Lampoon’s Vacation – TCM – 10.50pm
Chevy Chase takes the family on holiday. Humorous chaos ensues.
Nerve – Film 4 – 11.20pm
One of those ‘hip and cool’ neon-drenched fast-paced modern sexy thriller vehicles where good-looking people (Dave Franco and Emma Roberts, in this case) go on a wild adventure. This one is all about social media being vapid and ugly, but you knew that already, right?
The Big Short – TCM – 12.55am
Late enough, admittedly, but Adam McKay’s star-studded (Christian Bale, Ryan Gosling, Steve Carrell, Brad Pitt and a host of celebrity cameos) reading of the 2007/08 financial crash feels more depressingly relevant than ever.
Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa – Film 4 – 1.10am
Definitely the kind of film you want to be still up watching after 1am.
LISTEN: You Must Be Jokin’ with Aideen McQueen – Faith healers, Coolock craic and Gigging as Gaeilge
