The Weekly Retro Movie Rundown 235
Cheese and pineapple! Another retro movie weekend has sneaked up upon us and here here to shake things up!
With our bags looking fit to burst, we find ourselves once again taking on the challenge that is.... the pick n mix. With a set price, our only limitations are our own imagination on ways to cram more sweet and colourful goodness into our receptacle of choice. Another sprinkle of these, the odd one of them... we'll push, pinch and cram our way to glory before, somehow securing the lid which sole purpose will be to remain in situ for the time it takes to pay for our gains and leave. Will we make it?
SATURDAY 11th MARCH
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Casper (1995) Film4 11:00am-1:00pm (2 hours)
A paranormal expert moves into a haunted house where his daughter befriends the amiable ghost of a young boy - but things start to go awry when three smelly spooks and two dastardly crooks try to chase the new residents away. Family comedy, starring Christina Ricci, Bill Pullman, Eric Idle, Cathy Moriarty and featuring the voice of Malachi Pearson.
The Great Outdoors (1988) ITV4 4:00pm-5:45pm
Easy-going family man Chet Ripley takes his wife and two sons to a lakeside cabin in the wilderness to enjoy a peaceful holiday. However, his plans to relax are ruined by the unwelcome and unannounced arrival of his obnoxious brother-in-law - as well as unexpected intrusions by the local wildlife. Comedy, starring John Candy, Dan Aykroyd and Annette Bening.
A Knight's Tale (2001) 5Star 4:40pm-7:20pm
A poverty-stricken squire spies an opportunity to make his dreams come true when his employer dies. He takes his place as a knight, launching himself on the road to riches by competing in jousting tournaments, but his ruse is jeopardised by a dastardly nobleman. Comedy adventure, starring Heath Ledger, Paul Bettany, Mark Addy, Shannyn Sossamon and Rufus Sewell.
LA Confidential (1997) BBC2 10:45pm-12:55am (2 hours 10 minutes)
Three cops - an ambitious rookie, a hard-boiled veteran and a smooth character more interested in celebrity than justice - investigate a corpse-strewn bloodbath in a diner. However, the ensuing search for the perpetrators reveals a trail of crime and corruption in the police force. Thriller set in 1950s Hollywood, with Russell Crowe, Guy Pearce, Kevin Spacey, James Cromwell, Danny DeVito and an Oscar-winning Kim Basinger.
Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985) ITV 11:00pm-12:50am (1 hour 50 minutes)
Incarcerated Special Forces veteran John Rambo is offered the chance for freedom by former commander Colonel Trautman if he takes up the offer to return to the jungles of Vietnam on a life-or-death mission to rescue American PoWs. During the course of the operation, he develops strong feelings for his guide, a female freedom fighter - but tragedy strikes, leaving him more determined than ever to exact a bloody and explosive revenge. Action adventure sequel, starring Sylvester Stallone, Richard Crenna, Julia Nickson-Soul, Steven Berkoff, George Kee Cheung, Andy Wood and Martin Kove.
Fun Fact: The only film in the Rambo series to be nominated for an Oscar.
SUNDAY 12th MARCH
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King Kong (1976) Film4 2:45pm-5:25pm (2 hours 40 minutes)
Oil prospectors travel to a recently discovered and remote Pacific island, where they encounter a gigantic gorilla. The men manage to capture the huge ape and bring it back to America - but the confused creature is terrified by events and escapes, wreaking havoc in New York. Remake of the classic 1933 fantasy adventure, with Jeff Bridges, Jessica Lange and Charles Grodin.
Fun Fact: When producer Dino De Laurentiis walked into the studio to see the giant King Kong hand for the first time, the arm extended in his direction.... then the middle finger slowly uncurled and extended itself at him. It then broke and remained frozen, finger up, for a week.
Mr Bean's Holiday (2007) ITV2 7:15pm-9:00pm
The bumbling fool wins first prize in the church raffle - a trip to France and a video camera. His travels cause chaos as he disrupts a film shoot in Cannes, to the fury of its megalomaniac director, and is then accused of kidnapping a youngster. Comedy, starring Rowan Atkinson, Willem Dafoe, Emma de Caunes and Max Baldry.
Sleepy Hollow (1999) E4 10:00pm-12:05am (2 hours 5 minutes)
A sceptical 18th-century detective is sent to a small hamlet supposedly terrorised by a demonic headless horseman who decapitates his victims. The investigator refuses to believe in the supernatural, convinced a human killer is behind the murders - but the legend proves to be all too true. Tim Burton's gothic horror, starring Johnny Depp, Christina Ricci, Miranda Richardson and Christopher Walken.
Lock Up (1989) ITV4 11:15pm-1:30am
A convict is transferred to a maximum security prison, where he falls foul of a sadistic warden with a grudge against him - and who abuses his position of power to make the inmate's life a misery and destroy his good relationship with the guards. Thriller, starring Sylvester Stallone, Donald Sutherland, Darlanne Fluegel and Tom Sizemore.
Fun Fact: Chuck Wepner, the real-life inspiration for Rocky (1976), was an inmate at the prison where the film was shot. Sylvester Stallone greeted Wepner and told the other inmates that Wepner was "the real Rocky".
Whatever you're up to this weekend, remember that you'll never be as young and potentially as capable as you are right now. Embrace it!