2020-03-07 New Zealand Listener

70 LISTENER MARCH 7 2020

THAT’S ENTERTAINMENT

to make sure that doesn’t

happen. They then squander

it all with a ridiculous ending,

complete with a Friday the 13th

moment. (1987)

SUNDAY MARCH 8

Father of the Bride (TVNZ 2,

noon). Steve Martin and Kim-

berly Williams star in a gentle,

loving comedy in which every-

thing plays out as expected.

And somehow, it’s still charm-

ing. Do parents relate to the

experience of having to let go

of their children? Or do they

just hate expensive weddings?

(1991)

Ocean’s 8 (TVNZ 2, 8.30pm). An

all-female ensemble (Sandra

Bullock, Cate Blanchett,

Awkwafina, Mindy Kaling,

Anne Hathaway and more)

takes over the caper franchise

with style, but the underlying

problem remains: the heists

have gone stale. For more

proof, see Ocean’s Twelve on

Sky Movies Greats at the same

time. (2018)

American Animals (Māori

TV, 8.30pm). Here’s a heist

worth retelling: in 2003,

four students in Kentucky

disguised themselves as old

men and tried to steal several

incredibly valuable books

from the campus library,

including a first edition of

Charles Darwin’s On the Origin

of Species. It was a disaster.

Director Bart Layton, who

made the surreal doco The

Imposter, puts a documentary

spin on the narrative,

intertwining the drama

with testimony from the

perpetrators. It’s strangely dark

and discombobulating. (2018)

A Quiet Place (Three, 8.30pm).

With a sequel to writer-

director John Krasinski’s

horror flick due in March,

we’ll finally know whether this

film’s central idea is a novelty

or an innovation: monsters

that have turned the US into

a post-apocalyptic landscape

have no sense of smell or sight

• they hunt purely by sound.
  The movie is extremely quiet.
  Even the usually screeching
  score is restrained.
  The Abbott family
  (Krasinski and
  his real-life wife,
  Emily Blunt) are
  in a bit of a tricky
  position because
  they have young
  children. Never has
  an audience been so ter-
  rified of a child playing with a
  toy. (2018)

Alien (TVNZ 2, 10.45pm).

Director Ridley Scott’s sci-fi

masterpiece is a joy – perhaps

the wrong word – to behold.

Watch how slowly and

tensely it builds up to its

heart-stopping climax. (1979)

MONDAY MARCH 9

Mama Africa (Māori TV,

8.30pm). A documentary

about the South African

singer and anti-apartheid

activist whose music, in the

words of Nelson Mandela,

“inspired a powerful sense

of hope in all of us”. Zenzile

Miriam Makeba was among

the first African musicians to

reach international stardom,

becoming friends with the

likes of Harry Belafonte and

Nina Simone, before she was

barred from South Africa for

her activism and pushed from

the United States by white

disapproval of her marriage

to civil-rights leader Stokely

Carmichael. Finnish director

Mika Kaurismäki traces her

life’s enthralling arc, which

eventually ends in post-

apartheid South Africa, and

scatters it with old and new

interviews and moving scenes

of her live performances.

(2011)

TUESDAY MARCH 10

Boyz n the Hood (TVNZ Duke,

10.50pm). Director John

Singleton’s coming-of-age

story opens with the words,

“One out of 21 black Ameri-

can males will be murdered

in their lifetime.” In South

Central LA, Jason Styles Jr

(Laurence Fishburne) is doing

his best to ensure his son, Tre

(Cuba Gooding Jr), isn’t one of

them, but he’s working against

the pull of Tre’s friends Ricky

(Morris Chestnut) and Dough-

boy (Ice Cube). It’s staggering

to think that this powerful and

confident film was the debut

feature of a 23-year-old direc-

tor. (1991)

FRIDAY MARCH 13

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince

Caspian (TVNZ 2, 7.30pm).

Since the events of The Lion,

the Witch and the Wardrobe,

one year has passed in Old

Blighty, but it’s been 1300

years in Narnia. The Pevensie

clan (William Moseley, Anna

Popplewell, Georgie Henley

and Skandar Keynes, the

great-great-nephew of John

Maynard) find themselves back

in the magical land through

a transport system more com-

plex than a wardrobe. Narnia

is in warfare and ruin and

the Pevensies join the fight

to restore the rightful king to

the throne. The plot is darker

than the prequel and the body

count much higher, so parents

should be aware of the PG

rating. Kiwi director Andrew

Adamson makes a good fist

of a story overflowing with

characters and also manages to

sneak in some stunning shots

of New Zealand’s landscapes,

including Cathedral Cove,

Woodhill Forest and Flock Hill.

(2008)

Films are rated out of 5:

(abysmal) to (amazing).

Ocean’s 8, Sunday.

The Chronicles

of Narnia: Prince

Caspian, Friday.

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