The Weekly Retro Movie Rundown 251
Cluck, click! Another retro movie weekend is here and ready to take over our TV boxes by storm!
Raise the anchor and hoist the main sale! Let's set sail into another retro movie weekend full of adventure, singing and mischief. With our deck freshly scrubbed, our hull bulging and our minds full of wonder, we'll begin an epic voyage into the unknown.
Have a happy retro weekend!
SATURDAY 21st July
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Wayne's World (1992) 5STAR 11:05am-1:00pm
Two heavy-metal fans broadcast an amateur TV programme from their basement. A slimy network executive offers them the chance to turn professional, but as they enjoy the perks of wealth and fame, they find their show being ruined by corporate interference. Comedy, starring Mike Myers, Dana Carvey, Rob Lowe, Tia Carrere and Lara Flynn Boyle, with a cameo by Alice Cooper.
Hulk (2003) ITV2 11:50am-2:35pm
Scientist Dr Bruce Banner turns into the rampaging green Hulk after exposure to a huge dose of gamma radiation, prompting the military to embark on a no-holds-barred mission to destroy the monster. Meanwhile, Banner's unstable father resurfaces, holding the secret to his transformation. Comic-strip adventure from director Ang Lee, starring Eric Bana, Jennifer Connelly, Sam Elliott and Nick Nolte.
Grease (1978) Film4 1:00pm-3:10pm (2 hours 10 minutes)
Rebellious American teenager Danny falls for innocent Australian girl Sandy during the summer holidays, but when he later finds out she is a new student at his school, he risks losing her love by trying to act cool in front of his friends. Romantic musical set in the 1950s, starring John Travolta, Olivia Newton-John, Stockard Channing, Jeff Conaway, Didi Conn and Sid Caesar.
A Knight's Tale (2001) 5STAR 7:25pm-9:00pm (1 hour 35 minutes)
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.
Demolition Man (1993) Dave 9:00pm-11:15pm (2 hours 15 minutes)
Maverick cop John Spartan is frozen alive in 1996 and held in cryonic suspension for a crime he did not commit. Decades into the future, the dictator of a seemingly utopian city unleashes a criminal psychopath against his political enemy - but he proves impossible to control, forcing the authorities to revive Spartan to defeat him. Sci-fi thriller, with Sylvester Stallone, Wesley Snipes, Sandra Bullock and Nigel Hawthorne.
Speed (1994) E4 9:00pm-11:20pm (2 hours 20 minutes)
An LAPD cop discovers a psychopathic criminal has planted a bomb on a crowded bus, primed to go off if the vehicle drops below 50mph. He boards the vehicle and helps the hapless passenger who has been forced to take the wheel to keep a constant speed to avoid a disaster. Action thriller, starring Keanu Reeves, Sandra Bullock, Dennis Hopper and Jeff Daniels.
Fun Fact: Keanu Reeves breaking the glass on the bus door in the beginning of the movie was an accident, however it was left in the final cut.
Darkman (1990) Film4 9:00pm-10:50pm (1 hour 50 minutes)
A scientist working on synthetic skin is horribly disfigured and left for dead by a criminal gang. Now unable to feel pain, he continues his research, creating artificial faces that will last for only a short time. He uses these disguises to aid him in taking revenge on those who mutilated him - while also using a mask of his own face to see the girlfriend who thinks he died. Thriller, starring Liam Neeson and Frances McDormand.
Passenger 57 (1992) ITV4 9:55pm-11:40pm
After his wife is shot dead during a robbery, a cop hands in his badge and takes up a job offer from an old friend to be a security adviser for a major transatlantic airline. On the flight taking him to his new employers in Los Angeles is an international terrorist being escorted to trial by the FBI - while the prisoner's accomplices are disguised as passengers and crew and plan to hijack the plane. Action thriller, with Wesley Snipes, Bruce Payne, Tom Sizemore, Alex Datcher, Bruce Greenwood and Elizabeth Hurley.
Fun Fact: The lead role was originally offered to Sylvester Stallone but he turned it down. However, just for fun, the script writer named one of the major characters, "Sly".
SUNDAY 22nd July
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Look Who's Talking Now (1993) Sony Movie Channel 9:10am-11:10am
A family takes in two pet dogs, a scruffy mongrel with discipline problems and a prim and proper pedigree poodle, whose personality clashes create all sorts of mayhem for the household. Comedy sequel, starring John Travolta and Kirstie Alley, plus the voices of Diane Keaton and Danny DeVito as the canine duo.
Godzilla (1998) Sony Movie Channel 1:00pm-3:55pm
A giant mutant lizard spawned from an atomic test rampages through the streets of New York, defying the combined might of the US Army and Navy as it searches for a quiet place to hatch its eggs. A bookish radiation expert and a shady French secret agent join forces to defeat the creature. Hollywood remake of the Japanese monster adventure, starring Matthew Broderick, Jean Reno, Maria Pitillo and Hank Azaria.
Octopussy (1983) ITV 3:25pm-6:00pm (2 hours 35 minutes)
James Bond investigates the mysterious death of a British agent in East Berlin, a mission that leads him to a glamorous, international jewel thief. He discovers one of her criminal cohorts, an Indian gangster, is in league with a crazed Soviet general who plans to heat up the Cold War by detonating a nuclear bomb in an American Air Force Base. Spy adventure, with Roger Moore, Maud Adams, Steven Berkoff and Louis Jourdan.
Titanic (1997) Film4 5:15pm-9:00pm (3 hours 45 minutes)
A party of explorers studying the sunken remains of the famous liner meets an elderly woman who was a passenger on the ill-fated maiden voyage. She recounts how she boarded the ship while on the brink of being forced into marriage by her family, and was stopped from killing herself by a penniless artist. She fell in love with her saviour, but the disaster on the horizon meant their time together was doomed to be short. James Cameron's Oscar-winning romantic drama, starring Kate Winslet, Leonardo DiCaprio, Billy Zane, Kathy Bates and Bill Paxton.
Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994) Channel 5 5:35pm-7:10pm (1 hour 35 minutes)
An eccentric but brilliant former cop sets himself up to champion the underdog - as a private eye specialising in locating missing animals. The zany detective is called in to find a kidnapped dolphin - the mascot of an American football team - and uncovers a plot involving high-level police corruption. Comedy, starring Jim Carrey, Courteney Cox, Sean Young, Tone Loc and Noble Willingham.
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005) ITV 7:30pm-10:20pm (2 hours 50 minutes)
Adolescent wizard Harry is unexpectedly chosen to represent Hogwarts School in a prestigious magical tournament, despite being legally too young to enter. Along with charming sixth-year student Cedric Diggory, Harry takes on the champions of two other magical academies visiting the school facing deadly monsters in a series of death-defying challenges. Meanwhile, the followers of the dreaded Lord Voldemort plot to restore their master to the land of the living. Fourth instalment of the fantasy saga, starring Daniel Radcliffe, Robbie Coltrane, Ralph Fiennes, Michael Gambon, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Brendan Gleeson and Robert Pattinson.
Whatever you're up to this weekend, keep dry, keep smiling and keep the good times rollin!