Giants walk the Earth in TV movies
Published 9:00 pm Thursday, May 13, 2004
Why are there so many giant animals on display in this week’s movies on TV? Let the special-effects people work it out.
Today
“Devil in a Blue Dress,” 8 p.m., Bravo. Denzel Washington and Don Cheadle (who hasn’t been this good since) are excellent in this atmospheric adaptation of Walter Mosley’s novel. 1995.
“Hannah and Her Sisters,” 10 p.m., Channel 9. A lovely offering from Woody Allen, focusing on three sisters with romantic problems: Mia Farrow, Barbara Hershey and Dianne Wiest. 1986.
Saturday
“Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone,” 8 p.m., Channel 4. Just in case you forgot the sequel is coming in a couple of weeks. This is part one of the boy wizard’s saga. 2001.
“Crimson Tide,” 8 p.m., KTWB. Denzel Washington and director Tony Scott have teamed up on the new “Man on Fire”; they did their stuff a lot more effectively in this tense submarine thriller. Gene Hackman co-stars. 1995.
Sunday
“Kingpin,” 2 p.m., Channel 11. The first half of this Farrelly brothers bowling comedy is a truly rude, tastefully funny comedy; then it goes sentimental. Still, whenever Bill Murray is on screen, good things happen. 1996.
“Steamboat Bill Jr.,” 9 p.m., Turner Classic Movies. Lots of sublime moments in Buster Keaton’s silent comedy, including a literally death-defying stunt involving a falling house. 1928.
Monday
“Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” 7:30 p.m., FX. Martial arts movies don’t soar any higher than this hit, directed by Ang Lee with no regard whatsoever for conventional rules of gravity. 2000.
“Whale Rider,” 8 p.m., Oxygen. The New Zealand charmer about a little girl who wants to have all the rights of the boys in her tribe. Little Keisha Castle-Hughes was Oscar-nominated. 2002.
Tuesday
“Gerry,” 9:30 p.m., Sundance. Its long-take style probably won’t translate well to TV, but this slow, nearly-non-narrative experiment by director Gus Van Sant exerts a weird pull. Matt Damon and Casey Affleck play two goofs who get lost in the desert. 2002.
Wednesday
“The Bridge on the River Kwai,” 5 p.m., Turner Classic Movies. Completely absorbing look at British soldiers in a Japanese POW camp, and the very ambiguous building of a bridge. Alec Guinness and William Holden lead the cast. 1957.
Thursday
“King Kong,” 1 p.m.; “Godzilla,” 4:45 p.m., American Movie Classics. Two tall leading men, one the giant simian of remote, mysterious Skull Island (1933), the other a reptilian nuisance to Japan (1956).
