There are A LOT of really fun movies on the telly this Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
If you’re sitting in or going out for movies, we’ve definitely got you covered.
Should you be cinema-bound, then we recommend giving this week’s The Big Reviewski a listen, as we discuss all of the best (and the worst) of what you can check out on the big screen this weekend:
However, if you’re sitting in for the weekend, then we’ve also got you covered for that, as we’ve got no less than FOURTEEN movies to chose from, with everything from action to horror to comedy to enjoy!
FRIDAY
Titanic – Film 4 – 21:00
Leo and Kate and a doomed romance on board a sinking ship. There is a good chance that you’ve seen it already, but it is actually a whole lot better than anybody has given it credit for. Once the iceberg arrives, you really can see where that quarter of a billion dollar budget went.
Source Code – ITV4 – 22:45
The director of Moon and the upcoming Mute worked with Jake Gyllenhaal on this time-travelling sci-fi, telling the story of the only man who can help stop a terrorist attack… by living through it and dying over and over again.
Safe House – Channel 4 – 00:10 (Friday night into Saturday morning)
Ryan Reynolds is in charge of a mostly empty CIA safe house in South Africa, when a high-value target (Denzel Washington) is dropped off and left in his charge. When the should-be-secret safe house is then attacked, they are forced to go on the run together, never sure who they can trust.
SATURDAY
Volcano – Film 4 – 16:35
Tommy Lee Jones has to save LA when a volcano suddenly erupts in the middle of the city. Lowest common denominator disaster movie, but made automatically better thanks to TLJ and the always brilliant Don Cheadle on hand to help out.
Toy Story 3 – RTE One – 18:35
Still in a three-way tie with the opening of Up and one scene in particular in Coco for the saddest scene in any Pixar movie. A great way to say goodbye to Woody and Co., except that Toy Story 4 is actually on the way.
The Mask Of Zorro – Sky One – 21:00
Antonio Banderas is trained to take up the Zorro mantle from the previous incarnation of the mask-wearer, here played by a clearly-having-a-ball Anthony Hopkins. A real old-school action-adventure, which also features Banderas having a sexy sword-fight with Catherine Zeta-Jones.
Lethal Weapon 2 – UTV – 22:50
“Diplomatic immunity!”
The Fly – Film 4 – 23:10
Jeff Goldblum is the scientific genius who has created a transportation device, only when he tests it out on himself, he doesn’t notice there’s also a fly in there with him, and his body soon begins to transform into a human-fly hybrid. One of the best body horror movies ever made.
SUNDAY
Despicable Me 2 – ITV2 – 16:35
One of the few examples of the sequel being genuinely better than the original, this sees Steve Carrell, Kristen Wiig and co return the world of a super-villain attempting to be a good adoptive father, but being dragged back into the world of evil by another super-villain.
Jurassic World – ITV2 – 18:40
You’d think, eventually, someone would realise that dinosaur parks just aren’t going to work out. Fourth time is almost a charm here, as we see the park up and operational and hugely popular. Until the folks behind the scenes create a new type of dinosaur, one that is so smart it breaks free and begins to turn the holiday into an absolute nightmare.
Spy – Channel 4 – 21:00
Melissa McCarthy is the office assistant for super spy Jude Law, until he is killed in action, and she is dragged into the real world espionage. From the same director of Bridemaids, this is probably McCarthy’s funniest movie to date, thanks to the likes of Rose Byrne, Allison Janney and, out of nowhere, 50 Cent.
Executive Decision – ITV4 – 22:00
Kurt Russell and Steven Seagal are the oddest pairing ever for this airplane hijack movie, which also features a very early-in-her-career Halle Berry. Not an out-and-out action movie (at least until the end), but closer to an incredibly tense thriller.
War Of The Worlds – 3E – 23:30
Tom Cruise and director Steven Spielberg give this old-school alien invasion flick a 9/11 make-over, as the Martians appear from under the cities and promptly start flattening buildings and turning people to dust. That opening attack in the town-square is still one of the best scenes Spielberg has ever directed.
Enough Said – Film 4 – 01:55 (so, technically, Monday morning)
One of James Gandolfini’s final ever roles is this really cute romantic comedy-drama, starring across from Julia Louis-Dreyfuss as a pair of late-in-the-day singletons who have been burned by previous divorces, but may find new love with each other. Definitely worth staying up for.
LISTEN: You Must Be Jokin’ with Aideen McQueen – Faith healers, Coolock craic and Gigging as Gaeilge
