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Movies & TV

08th Dec 2022

One of the best films of all time is among the movies on TV tonight

Stephen Porzio

It made the top 100 in Sight & Sound’s recent Greatest Films of All Time poll.

Do you like movies?

Well, you are in luck as there are multiple airing on TV on this very cold Thursday night (8 December).

Some of them are even pretty good.

Here are your options.

A Fish Called Wanda – BBC Four – 9pm

John Cleese, Jamie Lee Curtis, Kevin Kline and Michael Palin star in this much-loved ’80s heist comedy.

Creed II – ITV4 – 9pm

This eighth entry in the boxing franchise Rocky sees Donnie Creed (Michael B. Jordan) still under the tutelage of Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone).

This is as Donnie faces off against Viktor Drago (Florian Munteanu), the son of Rocky’s old nemesis, Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren).

Bloodshot – Film4 – 9pm

Vin Diesel stars in this 2020 action sci-fi as a soldier who dies before being brought back to life with superpowers by an organisation that wants to use him as a weapon.

Criminal – Turner Classic Movies – 9pm

Another action sci-fi, Kevin Costner plays a convict who is implanted with the memories of a dead CIA agent (Ryan Reynolds) in order to finish an assignment.

Rabid – Horror Xtra – 9pm

A so-so remake of acclaimed filmmaker David Cronenberg’s ’70s body horror of the same name.

Reasonable Doubt – Legend – 9pm

In this average crime thriller, a District Attorney (Dominic Cooper) has his life turned upside down when he’s involved in a hit and run and another man (Samuel L. Jackson) is arrested for his crime and charged with murder.

American Sniper – RTÉ2 – 9.35pm

Directed by Clint Eastwood and led by an excellent Bradley Cooper, this visceral war drama was a smash hit upon release in 2014.

Isabella Rossellini in our pick for tonight – Blue Velvet

Ghosts of Mars – Legend – 10.50pm

Critically panned at the time of its release in 2001, this sci-fi horror from director John Carpenter has its defenders.

The Butterfly Room – Horror Xtra – 11.05pm

Cult horror legend Barbara Steele (Black Sunday, Shivers) stars in this 2012 chiller.

Blue Velvet – Film4 – 11.10pm

Our pick for tonight is this mystery thriller revolving around young college student Jeffrey (Kyle MacLachlan) who, upon returning home to visit his ill father, finds a severed human ear in a field.

This discovery leads to Jeffrey becoming entangled in a vast criminal conspiracy and becoming romantically involved with a troubled lounge singer (Isabella Rossellini).

This is another David Lynch-directed film that made the Top 100 in the recent Sight & Sound Greatest Films of All Time poll following JOE’s recommendation of Mulholland Drive yesterday.

While Blue Velvet ranked 84th on the list, compared to Mullholland Drive coming eighth, this 1986 film is arguably better – thanks to its truly unforgettable imagery, deep symbolism and lush soundtrack.

It also contains one of the most impressively menacing performances of all time by Dennis Hopper as the psychopathic, gas tank-huffing villain Frank Booth.

The Condemned – Turner Classic Movies – 11.20pm

‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin and Vinnie Jones star in this violent action flick about ten convicts forced to fight each other to the death as part of an illegal game that is being broadcast to the public.

Conan the Barbarian – ITV4 – 11.35pm

The epic sword and sorcery film that launched Arnold Schwarzenegger as an action star.

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