XIII Oceans

Thought I’d take a look to see what films are on Freeview this week and pick out some that are worth watching if you’re looking for something you might not have watched before.

First up tonight is The French Connection II on BBC1 (11.20pm) which many site as being as good a sequel as you can find, some say even better than the first. I don’t subscribe to the latter view though it is a very good film and worth watching solely for Gene Hackman’s performance which puts Keifer Sutherland’s 24 turn to shame.

On Tuesday at 9pm on Film4, Alexander Payne of Sideways and Election fame (both worth checking out if you haven’t seen either before) directs Jack Nicholson in another terrific acting performance in About Scmidt. It’s not your usual Jack Nicholson role. I hadn’t seen this until recently this year and loved it. It’s a film that is rich in the central characters emotions without ever going over the edge into sentimentality. I’d go so far to say that it’s probably my favourite Nicholson performance from the past twenty years.

Onto Friday (10.45pm) and it’s Film4 again for Paul Verhoeven directing Black Book, a tale about the Dutch resistance in WWII. It’s a film that I’ve not managed to catch yet and I’m told that Carice van Houten steals the plaudits although I’ve heard mixed reviews about it.