Square Eyes

Television Reviews

Movie of the week, The Cider House Rules, NBN, Sat, 8.30pm:

John Irving is a clever novelist and director Lasse Hallstrom does his best with this bowdlerised version of Irving's Homeric adventure. A coming-of-age tale about an orphan (Tobey Maguire), it's full of morality tales and disappointments. Michael Caine is excellent as the eccentric orphanage director and music buffs should keep an eye out for Erykah Badu as Rose. It's still superlative drama, beautifully rendered, with plenty of food for thought.

World Weddings, SBS, Fri, 7.30pm:

Ah, the things we do for love - or at least a US visa when you're stuck in Russia. DJ Ray, 49, hasn't had much luck with the Long Island gals, but finds a nice Russian lass, 13 years his junior, on the internet. The rocky road to love is revealed in this doco.

The Decameron, SBS, Sat, 12.25pm:

Italian provocateur Pier Pasolini does his best to offend everyone in this adaptation of Boccaccio's 14th-century tale of sexual folly. This bawdy medieval Italian adventure is ebullient, rude and irreverent. Like many of his films, it was originally banned and outraged the church.

Krakatoa, ABC, Sun, 8.30pm:

Thar she blows! And thanks to the special effects department, you can be there too, 122 years later. Mind you, recent events are enough of a reminder of just how dangerous Indonesia's geography can be.

Zoolander, NBN, Sun, 9.30pm:

Ben Stiller is a vacuous, vain model (sorry for the tautology) brainwashed to assassinate the Malaysian president. The really scary part is how well he plays a brainless twit while writing, directing and starring in this alleged satire. Enough said really.

Medical Emergency, Prime, Tues, 10pm:

Nurse Parker has resigned from All Saints, but fear not, she's moved down the road to Melbourne's Alfred Hospital to give NBN a run for its money in the RPA emergency-reality-TV stakes.

Counting the Days, SBS, Weds, 7.30pm:

This sad doco charts the end of Michael Bleathman as he tries to tidy up the loose ends of his life before cancer takes it from him. He's determined, especially to reconcile with his three estranged sons, but his body has other ideas. It's a challenging and moving meditation on how to spend your final moments.

Jamie's School Dinners, Ten, Weds, 7.30pm:

Jamie Oliver has used his celebrity status to campaign against the crap served up in British school canteens. Amazingly, momentum is on his side and he's garnered political clout. It's no bad thing.

Troy Cassar-Daley, SBS, Thurs, 8.30pm:

This is a ripper doco about the Grafton lad and his musical apprenticeship under country and western legend Brian Young. At age 70, Young is one of our last travelling country showmen, and time with him was a rite-of-passage for many of today's country stars. It's a fond elegy to life on the road.