MARCH 14 2020 LISTENER 71
Mark Twain. (2012)
Prisoners (TVNZ 2, 11.25pm).
In this mystery thriller, Blade
Runner 2049 director Denis
Villeneuve and Contraband
screenwriter Aaron Guzikowski
explore what it means to be
confined, both in a literal
and metaphorical
sense. When two young
girls vanish on a cold
Thanksgiving night, their
disappearance sets off a
chain of events involv-
ing an obsessive detective
(Jake Gyllenhaal), an
unlikely suspect (Paul
Dano) and a father (Hugh
Jackman) who will stop
at nothing to find his
daughter. Jackman and
Gyllenhaal are terrific,
as is famed cinematogra-
pher Roger Deakins, who
brings a brooding atmosphere
to small-town Pennsylvania.
(2013)SUNDAY MARCH 15
Arrival (Three, 8.30pm).
Another Denis Villeneuve
think piece, this time about
language, memory and time.The story revolves around 12
alien spaceships that appear
out of the blue in locations
across the world. Terror breaks
out. But there are no ray-guns;
they just kind of sit there. So,
what do they want? The task
of deciphering their intentions
falls on linguistics professor
Louise Banks (Amy Adams).
She is the voice of reason to
the increasingly belligerent
military men of China, Russia
and the US, where nerves
are fraying and patience is
wearing thin. Jeremy Renner
stars as our heroine’s side-
kick, and Forest Whitaker is
a commanding presence as
a military, er, commander.
(2016)A Ghost Story (Māori TV,
8.30pm). You wouldn’t expect
much from a film whose ghost
appears in a white sheet with
holes cut out for eyes. You cer-
tainly wouldn’t expect it to be
a subtly haunting story of love
and loss. But that’s what direc-
tor-screenwriter David Lowery
(Pete’s Dragon, The Old Man &
the Gun) has pulled off against
all odds. Not much happens in
this tale of a husband (Casey
Affleck) who returns to visit
his grieving wife (Rooney
Mara), but it is strangely com-
pelling and utterly original.
(2017)Gold (Choice TV, 8.30pm).
A goldmine with no gold.
It’s the plot of Stephen
Gaghan’s latest film and
a good analogy for the
film itself, which some-
how squanders a tale
rich in fraud, corruption
and greed. It’s true that
Gaghan doesn’t need to
prove himself to anyone.
As the Oscar-winning
screenwriter of Traffic and
director of the complex
and satisfying Syriana, he
can get away with any-
thing, although Dolittle
was pushing it. The Bre-Xscandal on which Gold is based
- but not mentioned at all,
presumably for legal reasons - is fascinating, and although
Matthew McConaughey gives
a committed performance
as the central prospector,
the camera dwells on him
excessively, taking away the
opportunity to explore the
many crooked characters
behind the billion-dollar scam.
(2016)
Aliens (TVNZ 2, 10.55pm). In
the sequel to Alien, James
Cameron takes Ridley Scott’s
eerie original and turns it into
an action extravaganza. (1986)WEDNESDAY MARCH 18
The Juror (Movies Classics, Sky,
8.30pm). The great James Gan-
dolfini is the only redeeming
feature of this dreadful film
about a deranged mob hench-
man (Alec Baldwin) who leans
on a juror (Demi Moore) – and
if only it were that subtle – in
order to force her to change
her verdict in the criminal trial
of his boss (Tony Lo Bianco).
(1996)FRIDAY MARCH 20
Tropic Thunder (TVNZ Duke,
8.30pm). Believing that they’re
filming a Vietnam War movie,
a group of Hollywood actors
trek through a dangerous
Southeast Asian jungle full of
heroin traffickers. The message
of the satirical film was lost in
the controversy that erupted
over Robert Downey Jr’s char-
acter, an Australian method
actor who uses disability slurs
and is so method that he wears
black face. It’s a shame, really,
because the actual target was
the pomposity of Hollywood
actors, studios and agents –
and actor-director Ben Stiller
was a surprisingly good shot.
(2008)Films are rated out of 5:
(abysmal) to (amazing).A Ghost Story, Sunday.Prisoners, Saturday.Tropic Thunder, Friday.