Square Eyes

Television Reviews

Movie of the week, Charlotte Gray, Ten, Sat, 8.30pm:

This isn't a great film, but it does star Our Cate as a Scottish lass working with the French resistance during WWII as she searches for her shot down RAF lover. Director Gillian Armstrong turns Sebastian Faulks' novel into a romantic melodrama that's dark and earnest, but strains plausibility at times. Still, Blanchett shines and Michael Gambon offers plenty of wisdom as a gruff farmer.

Star Wars: Episode 1 - The Phantom Menace, NBN, Sat, 8.30pm:

"I have a bad feeling about this," Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) says to Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson). If only George Lucas had listened to the Jedi Knight when making the first of three 'prequels', and eased off on the special effects and used The Force™ to offer a decent story with less corny dialogue and more empathetic characters. Sure it looks great, but it's lifeless, and lacks humour and charm. Or maybe it's just that we've grown up since the original.

Miss Marple: the body in the library, ABC, Sun, 8.30pm:

The first of four excellent Agatha Christie mysteries with a marvellous new Miss Marple (Geraldine McEwan). It's sterling cast, from Joanna Lumley to Simon Callow and Andy Garcia, propels wonderful stories that, despite their familiarity, still feel fresh and new.

Bad Company, Prime, Sun, 8.30pm:

You've seen this action-buddy guff a thousand times before. This one's no different, in fact it's more tedious and stupid than most. Anthony Hopkins and Chris Rock are CIA undercover agents etc etc, the latter, a fish-out-of-water.... zzzzzzzzz

Dances of Ecstasy, ABC, Sun, 10pm:

From whirling Dervishes in Turkey to shamanic healers from the Kalahari to Byron's forest doofheads, dance is used to induce a trance-like bliss. This doco is beautifully filmed as it traverses the planet to explore ritual and rhythm with toe-tapping alacrity.

Outlawing Indecency, SBS, Tues, 8.30pm:

America's new puritans mightn't be worried about Iraqi civilian deaths, but by golly, Janet Jackson's boob is a national disaster. This doco suggests they have all the fanatical fervour of the Taliban.

Little Sister, SBS, Weds, 7.30pm:

In a world where nuns are viewed as antiques, Melissa Dyer is a fascinating woman. She was a brilliant 22-year-old and javelin champion and has lived in a convent for two years and plans to become a nun. This doco tells a very personal story of faith in bewildered modernity.

The Footy Show, NBN, Thurs, 9.30pm:

Watching these boofheads and their malarky, despite supposedly being the sharpest pencils in the rugby league box, is anyone really surprised by the Neanderthal behaviour of the booze-fuelled clods in Bathurst? Stoopid is as stoopid does.