Our weekly LSi best freeview flicks picks are here! This week we hang out with a bunch of toys, try to escape from a burning building and get seduced by Mrs. Robinson.
MONDAY – The Towering Inferno (Film4 13:20)
Everyone knows about The Towering Inferno, a film about a massive fire that breaks out in a tower, but few have seen it. Monday then is your chance to enjoy this ridiculous, silly but fun action movie that stars the ever brilliant Steve McQueen. It is certainly one of the best disaster films ever made and is insanely entertaining at times.
TUESDAY – Harry Brown (Five USA 22:00)
Director Daniel Barber’s first feature-length directorial debut, Harry Brown, is a mesmerising film that sees Michael Caine give what is perhaps his best performance of a long career in film. Playing a widower looking to avenge for his best friends’ murder, the realism of the film allows you to connect with it, not a common feature of thrillers. Clever and smart it combines social commentary and realism with the action/thriller genre to create a unique film that is rather brilliant.
WEDNESDAY – Terms of Endearment (Film4 18:25)
Today director James L. Brooks is best known for his work on The Simpsons, but his career started long before that era with his funny directorial debut Terms of Endearment in 1984. Focussing on a mother and daughter relationship, portrayed with charm by Shirley MacLaine and Debra Winger respectively, it is a film about family and the love and laughter shared amongst it.
THURSDAY – Gambit (More4 11:15)
Forget the utter nonsense 2012 remake, the classic and original version of Gambit is the one that you need to watch. Michael Caine is charming as a cat burglar who needs the help of a dancer to achieve the perfect crime, accompanied by a wonderful cast that includes Shirley MacLaine as the dancer. Fun, modest, romantic and entertaining it is a solid watch.
FRIDAY – Toy Story (BBC3 20:30)
The Toy Story series ranks as one of the best trilogies of all time, and how better can you spend Good Friday evening than relaxing with our friends Buzz Lightyear and Woody. There is nothing new to say on this classic film which will steal your heart whether you are an adult or a child.
SATURDAY – Downfall (BBC4 21:00)
This German film that tells the story of Hitler’s last days hiding in a bunker is one of the best films recent German cinema has produced. Bruno Ganz is unforgettable as Hitler reminding us he was a human like any of us, a role which is parodied constantly across the internet. Of course Downfall was going to be controversial with a distanced and non-judgemental tone, however this was appropriate and makes the film even more impacting and melancholic.
SUNDAY – The Graduate (ITV3 22:00)
The line ‘Mrs. Robinson, you’re trying to seduce me… aren’t you’ is known around the world as one of the most popular movie quotes of all time. The film which it comes from, The Graduate, is a 1960’s American classic that made Dustin Hoffman a wanted man in the acting world. He is superb as a recent graduate trapped into an affair with the beautiful Mrs. Robinson, played by a sultry Anne Bancroft. Perfect for a relaxed Easter Sunday, it is funny, smart and quite enjoyable.
Emily Murray