Square Eyes

Television Reviews

Movie of the week, Helen's War, SBS, Thurs, 8.30pm:

Locals may remember that anti-nuclear campaigner Dr Helen Caldicott changed the face of local politics in 1990 when she helped unseat National Party leader Charles Blunt in Richmond. She faded for a while, but is now back with a vengeance, alert and alarmed about the US War on Terror. Her bemused and somewhat jaded neice, filmmaker Anna Broinowski, follows Caldicott's evangelical tour of the States as she takes on the Bush Whitehouse. She has some powerful friends, and equally powerful enemies. It's an intriguing, if sometimes laboured doco about idealism, activism and the ability of one passionate crusader to change the world in the face of overwhelming odds. It's also fascinating to watch the vulnerable relationship between the cynical, sceptical younger doco maker challenging a righteous family member.

Loot, ABC, Fri, 8.30pm:

Jon Peregrine (Jason Donovan) is an investigator who follows paper trails. When his brother-in-law commits suicide after losing money in a dodgy share float, he promises his sister (Tara Morice) that he'll find those responsible. Toss in a missing mafia boss, stony silence from shifty corporate types, an estranged wife Cynthia (Anita Hegh) who knows something, but wants her divorce first, and Barry Otto as his eccentric silent partner and you have a gripping, fast-paced mytery that feels palpably true.

Australia v England, Prime, Sat, 6.30pm:

It's revenge time for the Wallabies after last year's World Cup loss. With a bit of luck, pride will be restored.

Memory Tree: David Boyd, ABC, Sun, 3pm:

Everyone knew and loved Arthur, which left his equally talented younger brother in the shadow. This excellent doco, to mark his 80th birthday, shows David's time in the sunshine is long overdue.

The Shining, SBS, Sun, 9.30pm:

Stephen King fans were less-than-impressed with Kubrick's claustrophobic reworking of a great horror yarn. Jack Nicholson's performance borders on hysterical, and it all seems scary, but somehow misses the mark on King's genius as a writer.

The Panama Canal, Sun, ABC, 7.30pm:

Malaria and yellow fever killed 20,000 workers building the canal by the late 1880s. It brought down the French Government and sent the project's proponent (Ferdinand de Lesseps, who also built the Suez Canal), broke and insane. 30 years later, an American engineer finally brought it to fruition using this amazing new material called concrete.

At the Movies, ABC, Thurs, 9.30pm:

Stratts and Pommers make their debut on Aunty. If you ever watched their long reign on SBS, you'll know the drill. He's cool and analytical, she wears her passions on her sleeve. And when they blue, it's a scream.