 Square Eyes
Television Reviews
Movie of the week, Three Kings, NBN, Sun, 8.30pm
This isn’t your average war movie, although the plot is a familiar refrain – four Gulf War soldiers can’t resist the chance to flog bullion left behind by Saddam’s troops. George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg, Ice Cube and Spike Jonze ham it up in this blow-em-up action thriller that has an amusing satirical edge amidst the violence.
Hope Floats, Prime, Fri, 8.30pm
And sh#* stinks, as this Sandra Bullock saccharine feelgood drama proves. She returns to her hometown for solace after her best friend goes on a Jerry Springer style TV show to confess she’s been bonking Sandy’s hubby. That’s the best bit, it’s all downhill from there as she meets up with her childhood sweetheart (Harry Connick Jr). A good cure for insomnia.
Blithe Spirit, ABC, Sat, 2pm
This 60 year old rendition of Noel Coward’s play still has charm and wit. Rex Harrison stars as the hapless chap who arranges a seance which summons the spirit of his mischievous first wife, who then hangs round to trash his second marriage.
Dot Con, SBS, Sat, 7.30pm
All those mum and dad shareholders must have been thrilled to watch $3 trillion disappear when the Internet bubble burst. This doco offers a post mortem of what happened and suggests those nice young chaps from Wall Street may have only been in it for their own greed, manipulating the market to the expense of outside investors. Gosh, who’d have guessed?
The Frighteners, Ten, Sat, 8.30pm
At the other end of the paranormal spectrum from Blithe Spirit is this quirky, blackly comic horror tale which comes across as an uneven blend of Ghostbusters and Beetlejuice. Michael J Fox has a near death experience, then is caught in a twilight zone. He begins a haunting scam, but things go awry. It all falls between the cracks, ending up neither funny or scary.
EdTV, Ten, Sun, 8.30pm
Before Big Brother this mild satire exposed the nasty voyeurism and manipulation of reality shows. Ed (Matthew McConaughey) is a nonchalant slacker keen to get his mug on the box. His family is signed up to a reality show for a laugh, but as intimate moments are revealed to a salivating audience, it’s no longer funny for the stars, and they want out. Of course profit-hungry studio execs don’t give a stuff, so a battle begins.
The Green Mile, Prime, Sun, 8.30pm
Stephen King’s bestseller about striking the balance between justice and vengeance is tediously epic in its telling, but Tom Hanks is surprisingly good as the 1930s prison guard pondering the meaning of life amidst death row prisoners. Michael Clarke Duncan is outstanding as the (wrongly) condemned intellectually disabled man with extraordinary healing powers.
The Matrix, NBN, Weds, 8.30pm
Keanu Reeves boofheads his way around a hyperspace Sydney in this twisting futuristic thriller, reminiscent of a computer-age Fantastic Voyage. Hugo Weaving plays a chilling evil dude. The special effects are awesome, but still can’t inject life into Reeves.
Cricket in the 70s, ABC, Weds, 8.30pm
Thommo and Lillee once terrorised batsman everywhere (and best of all, crushed Tony Greig’s toes). Then came one day cricket and streakers.
Air Force, ABC, Thurs, 10pm
Remember the kerfuffle over the RAAF paying Aunty cash to make this program? The money was handed back, but the results remain impressive. The second episode of this five part series on how and where the RAAF will fight wars over the next 40 years looks at weaponry, and the pressure on the RAFF to decide how to spend billions of dollars on upgrading the fleet. Training a pilot costs $9 million, but now we’re in the era of remote control rocket strikes.
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