It features one of Robin Williams’ best non-comedy performances of his career.
With the weather taking a nasty turn over the last couple days, it looks like we might be getting rained in this weekend. Luckily for us, there’s a tonne of great movies on TV tonight.
From Westerns to comedies, you’re spoiled for choice this evening. Without further delay, let’s get into the best picks below.
Battle: Los Angeles – Great! Movies – 6.40pm
Big budget sci-fi about a military conflict with alien invaders.
Get Smart – ITV2 – 6.50pm
Decent spy comedy based on the 60’s Mel Brooks series.
My Spy – FilmFour – 7.05pm
Wrestler-turned-very good actor Dave Bautista stars in this OK 2020 comedy about a CIA agent who finds himself at odds with a precocious 9-year-old after he’s sent to surveil her family undercover.
Night at the Museum – UTV – 8.30pm
A security guard (Ben Stiller) at the American Museum of Natural History has the night of his life when he discovers that the entire building comes alive after dark.
Angel Has Fallen – FilmFour – 9pm
The third in a pretty bad trilogy of action flicks, this time following US Secret Service agent Mike Banning as he attempts to clear his name after being framed for an attack on the President of the United States.
Once Upon a Time in Mexico – Great! Movies – 9pm
A sequel to Desperado starring Johnny Depp as a CIA agent who hires El Mariachi (Antonio Banderas) to kill a corrupt general.
It’s Complicated – RTÉ1 – 9.45pm
Middling rom-com starring Meryl Streep and Alec Baldwin about a couple engaging in an affair ten years after their divorce from each other. Despite the film’s average reviews, the two leads received Best Actress and Best Supporting Actor nominations at the Golden Globe and BAFTA award ceremonies respectively for their performances.
Awakenings – TG4 – 9.50pm
Our pick of the movies on TV tonight was nominated for three Academy Awards in 1991. Awakenings stars Robert De Niro as an encephalitis lethargica patient who must adjust to a new life after coming out of a catatonic state. Robin Williams co-stars as the neurologist who discovers the cure.
The film is based on the memoir of Oliver Sacks, the actual doctor credited with recognising the drug that helped survivors in the late 1960’s.
Directed by the excellent Penny Marshall, Awakenings is a heartfelt, life-affirming drama worthy of your time.
Blackbird – Channel 4 – 10.15pm
No, not that one. This 2019 flick stars Susan Sarandon as a dying mother who assembles her family to spend a final weekend together before she passes.
Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome – ITV4 – 10.20pm
The third installment of the Australian post-apocalyptic series sees Mel Gibson return as the titular character alongside Tina Turner. Arguably the best or worst of the trilogy depending on who you talk to.
Resident Evil: Apocalypse – Great! Action – 10.45pm
Resident Evil is probably the video game with the most terrible adaptations in history and this one is no different.
Rocky III – UTV – 10.50pm
teams up with his old adversary Apollo Creed (Weathers) to help him train before he faces up against the powerful Clubber Lang (Mr. T).
Never Grow Old – RTÉ2 – 11pm
An excellent Western from Irish filmmaker Ivan Kavanagh starring Emile Hirsch as an Irish undertaker living on the American frontier, who profits from a vicious outlaw (John Cusack) who take over his town.
The Deer Hunter – BBC1 – 11.10pm
A very long, but very good Oscar-winning Vietnam war epic starring Robert De Niro, Christopher Walken and John Savage.
All the Pretty Horses – Great! Movies – 11.10pm
Billy Bob Thornton directs this Western based on the late, great Cormac McCarthy’s novel of the same name, and stars Matt Damon and Penélope Cruz. It is, unfortunately, not very good.
First Man – Channel 4 – 12.10am
Ryan Gosling stars as Neil Armstrong in this excellent biographical flick set in the years before the Apollo 11 moon landing.
Darkest Hour – RTÉ 1 – 1am
The excellent Gary Oldman received multiple awards, including a Best Actor Oscar, for his transformative performance of Winston Churchill in this WW2 drama.
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