TV Weekly

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January 21 - 27, 2009
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Wednesday (Jan 21) Film - Punch Drunk Love on Fox Movies at 11pm.

A dark comedy centering around Barry Egan, the socially impaired owner of a small business distributing novelty toilet plungers in the San Fernando Valley. Dominated by seven sisters, and constantly negotiating his own manhood, he is unlikely to find romance unless romance finds him. In an attempt to resolve his loneliness, Barry contacts a phone sex operator who, in turn, threatens him with blackmail. Connected to a larger business network, the operator sends some thugs on a mission from Utah to California, to follow, scare, and extort Barry.

THURSDAY (Jan 22)

Film - Hoodlum on Star Movies at 8.30pm.

Ellsworth 'Bumpy' Johnson is the legendary Harlem gangster of the 1930s who fights for control of the illegal gaming business with Dutch Schultz. The numbers game is very profitable - enough so that mob boss 'Lucky' Luciano wants in on the action. He assigns one of his key men, Dutch, to work out a deal which causes tensions to arise. Francine is a social activist who's in love with Bumpy but can't understand the violent path he's chosen. Bumpy, a surprisingly civic-minded criminal, goes to war with Schultz to protect Harlem from the interloper.

FRIDAY (Jan 23)

Film - White Squall on Fox Movies at 11pm.

In the autumn of 1960, 13 young men admitted as students in the Ocean Academy - a highly selective floating prep school - begin an adventure that will change their lives forever. They pursue a rigorous course of studies, while spending a year at sea as the crew of a square-rigged brigantine, the Albatross. During the mythic voyage, the boys are pushed beyond adolescence as they explore the mysteries of the Caribbean and South Pacific. However, as the Albatross nears the end of her voyage she's stricken by a freak weather condition known as a white squall.

SATURDAY (Jan 24)

Film - Sideways on Fox Movies at 9pm.

A wine tasting road trip to salute Jack's (Thomas Hayden Church) final days as a bachelor careens woefully sideways as he and Miles (Paul Giamatti) hit the gas en route to mid-life crises. The comically mismatched pair, who share little more than their history and a heady blend of failed potential and fading youth, soon find themselves drowning in wine and women. Emerging from a haze of pinot noir, wistful yearnings and trepidation about the future, the two inevitably collide with reality.

SUNDAY (Jan 25)

Film - JFK on Xtra Movies at 7.30pm.

This is the story that won't go away. Chronicling New Orleans District Attorney Jim Garrison's investigation into the assassination of United States President John F Kennedy, this riveting drama examines assassination theories that still plague the United States with persistent questions, doubts and suspicions about the murder of a charismatic President - an event that changed a nation forever.

MONDAY (Jan 26)

Docu/Film - Ancient Rome Monday-Friday at 7.30pm on BBC Prime.

This dramatised documentary series tells the story of the rise and fall of ancient Rome through the six key turning points. Factually accurate and based on extensive historical research, it reveals how the greed, lust and ambition of men like Caesar, Nero and Constantine shaped the Roman Empire. It describes how Rome destroyed Carthage, was conquered by Caesar, how it suppressed the Jewish revolt, and converted to Christianity.

TUESDAY (Jan 27)

Film - Sum of all Fears on Fox Movies at 9pm.

When the president of Russia suddenly dies and is succeeded by a man about whom little is known, tension increases as old fears ignite new paranoia. Director of Central Intelligence Bill Cabot recruits a young analyst from the Russia desk, Jack Ryan, to supply insight and advice. Then the capital of Chechnya is levelled by a nuclear bomb. America is quick to blame the Russians, and mistrust escalates despite Ryan's certainty that other players are at work. Terrorists are moving behind the scenes to manufacture and escalate a conflict.







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