Adam Bowen's Talkie Talk - THIS WEEK BEGINNING May 11th, 2020 - Free to Air TV Recommendations

Monday

930pm SBS World Movies: Ray (2004) – Jamie Foxx is thoroughly convincing and compelling as Ray Charles, the blues & r&b genius in an absorbing biopic, directed by Taylor Hackford.

Tuesday

2am SBS World Movies: La Vie en Rose/La Môme (2007) – Marion Cotillard gives a brilliant performance as Edith Piaf in this episodic biopic with warts and all and then more warts. As a whole it’s not easy to ingest, but parts of it are compelling, and unforgettable.  

730pm SBS World Movies: The Namesake (2006) -  Charming, if slight story of a born-in-America Indian boy who wants to be accepted by his fellow New Yorkers, while his family adhere to their Indian roots. Directed Mira Nair, and beautifully scored by Nitin Sawhney. 

[Repeated on Wednesday at 2.20am and at 1130pm]

Wednesday

730am SBS World Movies: Midnight Run (1988)– Charles Grodin is a dodgy accountant who jumps bail and is hunted down by the mafia, the FBI and a very determined bounty hunter (Robert de Niro). A road trip, buddy movie with a lot of laughs.

Thursday

530pm SBS World Movies: Mr Holmes (2015),a slender novella of a film with an engaging depiction of an ancient, retired Sherlock Holmes (Ian McKellen), who’s suffering from dementia, and is haunted by the memory of a mysterious woman. Also stars Laura Linney.

[Repeated on Friday at 11.15pm and on Saturday at 4.10 am]

Friday 

3.30pm 9GemHD: Went the Day Well? (1942) - A curious, dark story, in which WW2 British villagers defend their turf against an invasion by Nazi paratroopers. Which one of the villagers is a traitor? Based on a story by Graham Greene, and effectively directed by Alberto Cavalcanti.

9.35pm SBS World Movies: Love and Mercy (2014) – biopic of Beach Boys genius, Brian Wilson; jumping between his musical triumphs of the 1960s and his psychosis in the 1980s. Wilson is played alternately by Paul Dano (60s) and John Cusack (80s). His creepy therapist, Dr Eugene Landy, is played by Paul Giamatti. It’s a bit like having therapy yourself, but fascinating, and there’s the music.

[Repeated at 12.30am Sunday]

Saturday

5.20pm 9GemHD: The Rat Race (1960) – enjoyable entertainment, starring Tony Curtis as a jazz saxophonist from the mid-west, who comes to NYC to try his luck, and meets Debbie Reynolds, who’s not playing a sweetie-pie girl next-door, but a tough taxi dancer. Lots of jazz standards on the soundtrack, but also some excellent original music by Elmer Bernstein.

8.30pm SBS World Movies: The Thin Red Line (1998) - Terrence Malick’s mesmerising adaptation of the James Jones novel set in Guadalcanal during WW2. A star-studded cast includes Sean Penn, Miranda Otto and Adrien Brody.

Adam Bowen Productions