A small but excellent selection.
You can take your pick of what film to watch tonight and there’s no doubt you’ll be reasonably happy.
But some days, there’s an oldie on the box, or in this case a classic ’90s action movie, that is worth watching for nostalgia alone.
While Arnie, Stallone and Reeves are the names that may instantly spring to mind when thinking of the genre, for our pick tonight, it’s Cage and Travolta who are front and centre.
Face/Off – ITV4 – 10.10pm
OK you’re going to need to leave logic and reasoning at the door for this one.
John Travolta plays FBI agent Sean Archer and Nicholas Cage plays notorious Castor Troy. They’re mortal enemies, not least because Troy killed Archer’s young son.
But for the purposes of the movie, they must switch faces and end up swapping lives because of it.
It’s two plus hours of over-the-top ridiculousness but anyone who says it’s too silly to be enjoyed is not the kind of person you want to be spending your Thursday night watching a film with.
Directed by John Woo, it’s a wild ride, exactly like many of his other movies.
Here’s the pick of the rest.
Along Came Polly – Comedy Central – 9pm
While Jennifer Anniston and Ben Stiller are the leads in this rom-com, Phillip Seymour Hoffman manages to steal the show in his handful of scenes.
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri – Film4 – 9pm
A bereaved mother upset that the local police force haven’t done enough to catch the killer of her teenage daughter rents the three billboards on a back-road leading into her town, calling out their ineffectual investigation.
An excellent movie that’s powerful, heart-breaking and hilarious at different times.
John Wick Chapter 2 – Channel 5 – 11pm
It’s rare that a sequel lives up the standards of the original, but Chapter 2 somehow manages to build on an already rock solid foundation.
The franchise that reinstated Keanu Reeves as an action star status in his 50s.
LISTEN: You Must Be Jokin’ with Aideen McQueen – Faith healers, Coolock craic and Gigging as Gaeilge
