The Weekly Retro Movie Rundown 157
Sweet internal combustion! It's only the weekend again. Yeeesh where does the time fly?
Like a top racing team gearing up for a big event, we find ourselves once again fine tuning our carefully crafted machine ready to hit the track and tear up this weekends movies. We'll master each and every twist and turn before lining up with our competitors ready for the off. Racing our way through the pack like a classic movie hero, we'll brake later, accelerate harder and inch our way to the lead crossing the the finish line with the roar of the crowed. A moment surely to been captured and treasured onto celluloid wonder for all to see.
Have a happy retro weekend.
SATURDAY 25th JULY
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Silent Running (1972) Film4 11:00am-12:50pm (1 hour 50 minutes)
A scientist, with the help of his three robot assistants, tends a huge garden aboard a space station, created to replenish an Earth ravaged by nuclear warfare. But his superiors' decision to abandon the project prompts him to embark on a desperate course of action. Ecological sci-fi drama, starring Bruce Dern, with Cliff Potts and Ron Rifkin.
Freaky Friday (1976) More4 11:05am-1:00pm (1 hour 55 minutes)
A mother and her rebellious teenage daughter's simultaneous wishes to trade places results in them magically switching bodies for a day and gaining an unforgettable insight into each other's lives. Disney fantasy comedy, with Jodie Foster, Barbara Harris, Patsy Kelly, John Astin, Charlene Tilton and Sorrell Booke.
Addams Family Values (1993) 5* 3:10pm-5:05pm (1 hour 55 minutes)
Spooky couple Gomez and Morticia hire a nanny to look after their new baby son - and stop him suffering an early death at the hands of his jealous elder siblings. Romance soon blossoms between the new childminder and Uncle Fester, but he does not realise she is planning to kill him once she has got hold of the family fortune. Comedy sequel, starring Anjelica Huston, Raul Julia, Christopher Lloyd, Christina Ricci and Joan Cusack.
Fun Fact: The character of Pubert Addams (a boy) was played by twin girls, Kaitlyn and Kristen Hooper.
Back to the Future Part II (1989) ITV2 6:50pm-9:00pm (2 hours 10 minutes)
Time-travelling teenager Marty McFly travels to the 21st century, where he has to save his children from a terrible fate. However, this proves to have unforeseen consequences when the future version of arch enemy Biff sees a chance to rewrite history for his own benefit, leaving Marty stuck in a twisted parallel universe. Sci-fi comedy sequel, starring Michael J Fox and Christopher Lloyd.
Despicable Me (2010) ITV London 7:00pm-9:00pm (2 hours)
A criminal mastermind hopes to seal his reputation as the greatest villain of them all by stealing the moon. First he needs to get his hands on a shrinking ray owned by a rival evil genius, and adopts three orphan girls to help him - but finds that fatherhood brings out his long-buried caring side. Animated comedy, with the voices of Steve Carell, Jason Segel, Russell Brand and Julie Andrews.
The Living Daylights (1987) ITV4 8:00pm-10:40pm (2 hours 40 minutes)
James Bond crosses the continents to help a KGB agent to defect to the West. While protecting him from an unknown assassin, the super-spy is drawn into the world of arms dealing and a plot to trade millions of pounds' worth of diamonds for weapons to supply mercenaries around the world. Action adventure, with Timothy Dalton making his debut appearance as 007, alongside Maryam d'Abo, Joe Don Baker and Art Malik.
Fun Fact: This was the last James Bond film to use an original Ian Fleming title until Casino Royale (2006), a gap of almost twenty years.
The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996) ITV4 10:40pm-1:05am (2 hours 25 minutes)
An amnesiac teacher starts to experience disturbing flashbacks of her former life and hires a private eye to help her learn more about her history. His findings unearth a murky past and her involvement with a shadowy government organisation - whose agents have been dispatched to kill them both. Action thriller, with Geena Davis and Samuel L Jackson, alongside Patrick Malahide, Brian Cox and Craig Bierko.
Twins (1988) ITV London 10:45pm-12:40am (1 hour 55 minutes)
An unlikely pair of brothers, who were born as the result of a one-off genetic experiment and separated at birth, are reunited in adulthood. They set out on a cross-country search for their unknown mother - fending off vicious loan sharks and a professional assassin along the way. Comedy, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Danny DeVito, Kelly Preston and Chloe Webb.
SUNDAY 26th JULY
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Richie Rich (1994) Channel 5 1:20pm-3:10pm (1 hour 50 minutes)
The world's wealthiest youngster has everything he could possibly want except friends. When his parents go missing, he must try to keep their fortune out of the clutches of a scheming executive, with the help of some less well-off children. Family comedy, starring Macaulay Culkin, John Larroquette, Jonathan Hyde, Edward Herrmann, Christine Ebersole and Mike McShane.
Beethoven (1992) ITV2 3:45pm-5:30pm (1 hour 45 minutes)
An all-American family adopts a huge St Bernard, but the father is dismayed when it turns into a one-dog disaster zone. He insists the mutt must go to a new home, but when it is kidnapped by a crooked vet, dad has a change of heart and races to the rescue. Comedy, starring Charles Grodin, Bonnie Hunt, Oliver Platt and David Duchovny.
Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (1989) Film4 4:50pm-6:40pm (1 hour 50 minutes)
A professor invents a ray with the power to reduce objects in size. Unfortunately, his kids and their meddling friends trigger it off and are shrunk to microscopic proportions. When they are accidentally thrown out with the rubbish, the children have to contend with all kinds of animals and insects on their journey home across the backyard. Disney comedy, with Rick Moranis, Marcia Strassman and Amy O'Neill.
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009) Channel 4 5:10pm-8:00pm (2 hours 50 minutes)
The war between the shape-shifting robots erupts once again, as the first of the evil Decepticons leads an attack on Earth to locate an ancient planet-destroying machine. Hapless teenager Sam Witwicky is caught in the middle of the ensuing conflict as he holds the key to discovering the location of the device. Sci-fi adventure sequel, starring Shia LaBeouf and Megan Fox.
The Last of the Mohicans (1992) Channel 5 10:50pm-1:00am (2 hours 10 minutes)
An orphaned settler in North America is adopted by the last member of a native tribe following the death of his family. The child grows to become legendary frontiersman Hawkeye, who rescues and falls in love with a British officer's daughter during the Anglo-French War. But a bitter Huron war chief is determined to take revenge against her father by killing her. Michael Mann's historical adventure, based on James Fenimore Cooper's classic tale, starring Daniel Day-Lewis, Madeleine Stowe, Russell Means, Wes Studi, Maurice Roeves and Eric Schweig.
Whatever you're up to this weekend, make sure you leave them with plenty of food and always measure twice and cut once.
xoxo