Sunday (26/6) 14:55 BBC1 Monsters, Inc. (2001) (also Friday 19:00 BBC3)
Another delightful animation from Pixar. In a world populated by monsters, and powered by scaring children for their screams, the industry of harvesting their power direct from source is threatened by a megalomaniacal CEO. The slightest contact with cildren is highly toxic, but the boss has a secret he must keep under wraps at all costs. John Goodman and Billy Crystal star as the loveable odd couple James P. 'Sulley' Sullivan and Mike Wasowski. As is often the case, the superb voice casting helps to communicate character traits immediately and help make them some of the more relatable movie monsters.
Sunday (26/6) 22:05 Talking Pictures Notorious (1946)
One of the genuine masterworks directed by Alfred Hitchcock, who uses his renowned flair for cinematography and trademark for tension building to tell the story of government agent Devlin (Cary Grant) and Alicia (Ingrid Bergman). She must go undercover for him to help build a case against a suspected Nazi collaborator played by Claude Rains. Devlin and Alicia start to fall for eachother, but as she slips further into her role, the lines of reality and her work begin to blur. The film gained notoriety on release for a famously controversial kissing scene which lasts for minutes.. tame by today's standards, but incendiary at the time.
Sunday (26/6) 15:45 Channel 5 Labyrinth (1986)
This film, almost instantly upon release, gained cult classic status. Young Jennifer Connolly's baby brother is whisked away to a magical land whilst she is babysitting, so she must follow to get him back. She comes face to face with a myriad of creatures (wonderfully realised by Jim Henson, who also directs), a maze of tasks to complete and an enigmatic, menacing David Bowie as the Goblin King. It is hard to know what a new 21st century audience would make of this, but for those who remember, It should hold a special place in the memory.
Monday (27/6) 23:35 Film4 Mother! (2017)
Darren Aronkfsky (Black Swan, Requiem for a dream, Pi) delivers another unflinching work with his retelling of the birth of a holy messiah. Newlyweds Jennifer Lawrence and Javier Bardem move to a run down, remote house and begin to get visitors who are not as upfront as they seem, causing friction between them. This is where the cliches end. What happens after this is quite astounding, and guaranteed to get a visceral audience reaction, for better or worse. It examines the human condition and their weakness for faith, which can eclipse all other lifeforces.
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