Movies for your Summer Holiday

Fill your summer with films!

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
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The Simpsons Movie
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Transformers
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Breach
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The Bourne Ultimatum
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Evan Almighty
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1408
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Fighting baddies, aliens, thieves... and yourself

In cinemas this week:
Die Hard 4.0 - Bruce is back, as John McClane gets his own back. Again.






Out on DVD this week:
Them - Terrifying French thriller that will put everyone off buying a nice place in the country...
Flags of our Fathers - Award-winning war movie, in which director Clint Eastwood explores both sides of WW2 in Japan.



And on TV this week...
Fight Club (Today, 11.30pm, BBC2) - Seminal, disturbing movie which explores the dark underside of the modern male psyche.






Open Range (Tuesday, 10.35pm, BBC1) - Beautiful, epic, Kevin Costner western.
The Pink Panther (Tuesday, 6.50pm, Film4) - Hilarious original version of Inspector Clouseau's first accident-ridden outing.
Panic Room (Tuesday, 9.00pm, FiveUS) - Gripping thriller in which Jodie Foster and her daughter are trapped in their own house.


Jean de Florette and Manon Des Sources (Wednesday, 6.40pm & Thursday, 6.50pm, Film4) - Epic and beautiful pair of French films about a precious spring and how it divides and destroys a rural community.
Election (Wednesday, 9.00pm, ITV2) - Satirical high-school movie about a group of teenagers fighting to be school president.
Men in Black II (Thursday, 9.00pm, FiveUS) - Back in black: Will Smith returns to fight lots of slimy aliens.

Hail, King Shrek!

In cinemas this week:
Even though the reviews are not very good, you might not be able to resist the green allure of everyone's favourite ogre in:
Shrek the Third (PG)






Out on DVD this week:
Nicolas Cage playes stunt rider, Johnny Blaze, who sold his soul to the devil and is now finally having to pay the price in:
Ghost Rider (15)






And on TV this week:
Stealing Beauty (Sunday, 9.00pm, Film4) - 'Coming of age' drama starring Liv Tyler (and directed by the legendary Bernardo Bertolucci)
Die Hard 2 (Monday, 11.0W0pm, ITV1) - 'Die Harder': John McClane is back for more edge-of-your-seat action
Falling Down (Monday, 9.00pm, ITV2) - Violent and disturbing look at the effect of repressed aggression in modern America, starring Michael Douglas.
Road to Perdition (Monday, 9.00pm, Film4) - Bonds of loyalty are put to the test when a hitman's son witnesses what his father does for a living.
Wimbledon (Friday, 8.30pm, ITV1) - Lightweight romantic comedy, which should at least provide an antidote for those fed up of the tennis!

A televisual movie FEAST!!!

Nothing particularly special out this week at the cinema or on DVD, but that is certainly not the case on TV. This week's television listings boast LOADS of excellent films, of which these are just a selection. (*As always, however, please check with your parents before you watch any of these, as some of them have adult content your parents might not want you to watch.)

The Green Mile (Sunday, 9.00pm, Film 4) - Starring Tom Hanks, this critically acclaimed prison drama was based on a Stephen King short story, just like The Shawshank Redemption (showing at the Film Club in July).
28 Days Later (Sunday, 10.00pm, Channel 4) - The sequel to this terrifying, British 'Zombie' film, 28 Weeks Later, is in cinemas now; see how the 'rage' first began...
The Silence of the Lambs (Sunday, 10.00pm, ITV2) - Terrifying and certainly not for the faint-hearted, this film immortalised Anthony Hopkins' Hannibal Lecter, and his taste for human liver...with "a nice Chianti".
Die Hard (Monday, 11.00pm, ITV1) - Die Hard 4.0 is out in cinemas next month; see how it all began, when Bruce Willis' John Maclane was first 'in the wrong place at the wrong time'.
Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (Tuesday, 9.00pm, ITV2) - Kenneth Branagh brings Shelley's gothic horror to the big screen, with a monster made real by Robert De Niro.
East Is East (Tuesday, 10.00pm, More4) - Wonderful film version of Ayub Khan-Din's comedy about a Pakistani family in Salford, and their struggle against the strict Muslim ways their father is trying to preserve.
The King (Tuesday, 10.45pm, Film4) - Gael Garcia Bernal (Babel) plays a prodigal son returning to a Texan town to find his estranged father, with disastrous consequences for the whole family.
Gladiator (Wednesday, 9.00pm, Film4) - Ridley Scott's epic, Oscar-laden depiction of Russel Crowe's Roman 'gladiator' wreaking revenge on the prince who killed his family.
The Magdalene Sisters (Thursday, 9.00pm, Film4) - Three young Irish women struggle to maintain their spirits while they endure dehumanizing abuse as inmates of a Magdalene Sisters Asylum: provocative but compelling.
Out Of Sight (Friday, 10.20pm, ITV2) - Fans of Oceans 11/12/13 will love George Clooney's stylish turn here as an escaped bank robber entwined with Jennifer Lopez's Detroit cop.
The Big Lebowski (Friday, 11.10pm, Film4) - You might not like this one, but I couldn't let it pass without bringing it to your attention; it is one of my top 10 films of all time.

This week's films...

Not many great films on TV this week, but I can highly recommend:


Memento (Tue, 9.00pm, Film4) - The story of a man, suffering from short-term memory loss, who uses notes and tattoos to hunt for the man he thinks killed his wife; but the amazing thing here is not the story itself, but HOW it is told.



Not much to celebrate at cinemas this week either, but, if you like your action blockbusters, you could try:


Fantastic Four: Rise Of The Silver Surfer (PG) - The Fantastic Four learn that they aren't the only super-powered beings in the universe when they square off against the powerful Silver Surfer and the planet-eating Galactus.




And new on DVD this week:

Blood Diamond (15) - Leonardo DiCaprio film about a fisherman, a smuggler, and a syndicate of businessmen who match wits over the possession of a priceless diamond, this is a ruthless indictment of the illegal trade in 'conflict diamonds' which is ripping apart much of the developing world.

Cops and robbers (and some very dangerous monkeys)

New at cinemas
Ten Canoes (15) - rare, beautiful movie about Aboriginal culture, storytelling (and a bit of romance)
Oceans Thirteen (15) - George, Brad and Matt return with their oh-so-cool band of thieves for a third time



New on DVD
Hot Fuzz (15) - The 'Shaun of the Dead' team return with this hilarious action spoof (which also manages to be a great action film in itself too).
Apocalypto (18) - Mel Gibson does 'the end of the Mayan civilisation' like only Mel can.



On TV this week
The Butterfly Effect (Sat, 10.15pm, Channel 4) - complex, teen sci-fi about chaos theory and the power of time travel
The Last of the Mohicans (Sat, 9.00pm, Film4) - epic, award-winning portrayal of life within warring Native American communities
Breakfast at Tiffany's (Sun, 3.55pm, More4) - classic, oscar-winning, 1961 romance starring Audrey Hepburn
Outbreak (Sun, 6.30pm, ITV2) - virus-spreading thriller, and Dustin Hoffman tries to contain the threat
The Talented Mr Ripley (Mon, 9.00pm, Film4) - gripping thriller about duplicitous, machiavellian master-of-disguises, Tom Ripley
Jack and Sarah (Wed, 6.55pm, Film4) - Jack loses his wife in childbirth, and this romantic comedy sees him learning to be a father - all on his own
Phone Booth (Thu, 9.00pm, Film4) - totally gripping thriller where a rather nasty (and clever) terrorist keeps Colin Farrell literally hanging on the line

Scary PIRATES, scary TEACHERS and scary SNAKES

New in Cinemas:



Why not try new Independent Aussie murder thriller, Jindabyne (15)? Or, if you fancy three hours of pure entertainment, Jack is Back: Pirates of the Caribbean (12A) [WARNING: We will be going to see this for a big MLB reward trip after half term, so if you have been heavily involved in MLB this year, try to wait until then...]

New on DVD:



End your fear of spiders with cuddly kids' movie, Charlotte's Web, or look at the dark, underside of teacher-student relationships in Notes on a Scandal.

Films on TV:



Apollo 13 (Today, ITV1, 2.30pm) - classic Space disaster movie starring Tom Hanks
Capturing the Friedmans (Today, More4, 9.30pm) - raw and affecting look at mental illness
Training Day (Today, BBC1, 10.45pm) - Oscar-winning police movie with Ethan Hawke and Denzil Washington
Mission: Impossible (Sunday, ITV1, 3.30pm) - Tom Cruise's FIRST mission
I, Robot (Sunday, Film4, 9pm) - Will Smith battles the robots in this futuristic Sci-Fi
Ocean's Eleven (Monday, ITV1, 9pm) - see George and Brad on their first outing
Enduring Love (Monday, Film4, 9pm) - the film of the book (read more about the book here)
Anaconda (Monday, Five, 11pm) - so-bad-it's-brilliant killer snake movie
Saving Private Ryan (Wednesday, Five, 9pm) - extraordinary Spielberg war movie (especially that first 30 minutes!)

A pianist, a player (and a couple of magicians...)

All the good films out at the cinema this week are Certificate 15 or above, so most of you will not be able to see them until they come out on DVD. Click on the film to view a trailer:

• Black Snake Moan (15) - the new Samuel L. Jackson film, set in the deep south of the USA, and all passion and god-fearing...
• Magicians (15) - a british comedy starring Mitchell and Webb (from TV comedies Peep Show and That Mitchell And Webb Look, and also from the new PC v. Mac adverts) all about two rival magicians.
• Zodiac (15) - disturbing thriller from David Fincher, director of seminal movies Fight Club and Se7en, all about an infamous serial killer in 1970s San Francisco.

Not so many good films on terrestrial TV this week (apart from cult British gangster movie, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels - Thu 10pm Channel 4). But, if you've got Freeview, you can catch the following:

• Vera Drake (Today, 9pm, Film4) - heavy, depressing but brilliant study of one woman's fight to help young women in desperate need to have an abortion.
• The Pianist (Sunday, 10.15pm, ITV3) - inspiring, harrowing, Oscar-winning film about the redemptive power of music, set against the backdrop of the Nazi holocaust of Polish Jews.
• Manon des Sources (Wednesday, 6.50pm, Film4) - beautiful sequel to French film, Jean de Florette, about a rural community torn apart by a battle over a precious water supply.
• Four Weddings and a Funeral (Wednesday, 9.00pm, Film4) and Notting Hill (Wednesday, 11.15pm, Film4) - two classic British romantic comedies which made a star of Hugh Grant and developed the comedic talents of writer, Richard Curtis (Blackadder and Love Actually)
• The Player (Friday, 11.10pm, Film4) - important, epic satire of Hollywood, interweaving numerous storylines to show tinseltown in all its cruelty, ugliness and duplicity

And also on television:

• Indian School (Wednesday, 8.30pm, BBC4) - fascinating series about the Indian education system, eye-opening and educative
• Reader, I married him... (Tuesday, 11.20pm, BBC2) - Documentary exploring the tradition of the romantic novel, from the classics through to the present day.
• Balderdash & Piffle (Friday, 10.00pm, BBC2) - study of language and how it develops, focusing this week on euphemisms (and how they end up in the dictionary!)
  

And out on DVD this week:

• Babel (15) - one of the most extraordinary films I have ever seen, this looks at just how rubbish human beings are at really communicating with each other, and the dire consequences it can have, all shot through the mesmerising lens of filmmaker Alejandro Gonzalex Inarritu. WARNING: I will be showing this in FILM CLUB in June, so avoid it until then if you are a film club member!
  

The First Rambo and the Last King

As requested by many of you in the Web 2.0 survey, each week I will recommend films that you can see a) on terrestrial TV each week; b) on DVD; and c) at the cinema.

Please use the COMMENTS facility to post your own REVIEWS of any of the films each week. And click on the hyperlinks to read reviews of each film; and on the posters to visit imdb.com and find out everything else you need to know...

On TV:
Arlington Road (Sat 12th, 10.40pm, C4) - scary thriller, sure to make you scared of your neighbours
Ray (Tue 15th, 9pm, ITV1) - actor Jamie Foxx brings to life jazz legend, Ray Charles
First Blood (Fri 18th, 11.35pm, BBC1) - iconic, watershed Vietnam movie introducing forgotten veteran Rambo to the silver screen
O (Fri 18th, 12.35am, BBC2) - modern re-telling of Othello, one of Shakespeare's greatest plays

New on DVD:
The Last King of Scotland (15) - Oscar-winning film about the brutal Ugandan dictator Idi Amin's regime
Perfume (15) - Perfume-maker turns serial killer in his search for the ultimate




Out at Cinemas:
Bridge to Terabithia (PG) - Narnia-like fantasy, but with a darker edge