JUNE 8 2019 LISTENER 69
SATURDAY JUNE 8Star Wars: The Force Awakens
(TVNZ 2, 7.00pm). JJ Abrams
manages the trick of making
Star Wars both new and
familiar: it’s basically the same
plot as The Return of the Jedi,
down to a droid (BB-8) car-
rying important information
and a Death Star that needs
to be destroyed (when will
the Empire learn?). But with
a canny infusion of new faces
(Daisy Ridley, John Boyega,
Oscar Isaac and Adam Driver),
old faces (Harrison Ford, Carrie
Fisher and, ah, Chewbacca),
and a sprightly script from
Lawrence Kasdan (The Empire
Strikes Back) and Michael Arndt
(Little Miss Sunshine, Toy Story
3 ), the movie works on every
level. (2015)The Edge of Seventeen (Three,
8.45pm). An excellent coming-
of-age film in which Hailee
Steinfeld just manages to
remain engaging. Her high-
school junior is infuriating,
dramatic and self-absorbed- in other words, a typical
annoying teen. Yet there are
issues, such as the loss of her
father when she was 13, an
image-conscious mother (Kyra
Sedgwick), and a best-friend
betrayal. Woody Harrelson’s
teacher offers hilariously
laconic advice. (2016)
Predator (TVNZ Duke, 9.25pm).
Fear and loathing in Central
America: coming at the end
of the Iran-Contra era, the
first Predator is lean, mean and
doesn’t outstay its welcome.
Ah-nuld and his Special Forces
buddies are hunted by an
alien with advanced technol-
ogy. That’s it, although Arnie’s
descent into primitivism
towards the end has a touch
of the Kurtz about it. (1987)Any Given Sunday (TVNZ 2,
11.15 p m). In his manic, epic
football movie, Oliver Stone
depicts the US in microcosm:
white people in charge of blackplayers, a woman (Cameron
Diaz) trying to be more manly
than the men, a corrupt doctor
(James Woods) and a brutal
yet idealistic father figure (Al
Pacino). Typically unsubtle
(there’s quite a lot of shout-
ing), yet much like Stone, it’s
never boring. (1999)SUNDAY JUNE 9
Guardians of the Galaxy (TVNZ
2, 8.10pm). The space opera
that came out of nowhere:
the Guardians were obscure
characters until relative
newbie James Gunn (who
co-wrote the script with Nicole
Perlman, the first woman to
write a Marvel movie) gotA Guide to the Week’s Viewing
TV Films
Star Wars: The
Force Awakens,
Saturday.by FIONA RAE