Get the popcorn ready for a dazzling M-Net
Movies Oscars pop-up treat on channel 109 on DStv.
Starting tomorrow, February 1 until February
28, this channel will air the most iconic movies that will transport viewers
into the heart of their characters’ stories, desires, fears and wonders.
Herewith forthcoming attractions over the
next few days:
FEBRUARY
2, 2018:
The
English Patient at 20h00. Cast: Ralph Fiennes,
Juliette Binoche, Willem Dafoe. Director: Anthony Minghella.
One of the most acclaimed films of all time
– it won nine Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Supporting
actress, from 12 nominations – is a romantic tale told almost entirely in
flashbacks. It is based on an equally successful novel by Michael Ondaatjie.
A nurse in Italy during World War II stays
behind when her mobile medical unit is called upon to move to a new location.
She vows to take care of a burnt and disfigured patient, who is not expected to
live long. A new arrival casts doubt on the patient’s claim to be suffering
from amnesia.
FEBRUARY
3, 2018:
About
Schmidt at 12h00. Cast: Jack Nicholson, Dermot
Mulroney, Kathy Bates. Director: Alexander Payne.
Jack Nicholson delivers a magnificent
performance in a poignant tale of a man who finds meaning to a life he had
deemed to be over after the trauma of losing his partner. Both Nicholson and
Kathy Bates received Oscar nominations for their roles.
Warren Schmidt feels alone in this world
after the death of his wife. He embarks on a rather challenging road trip to
his estranged daughter’s wedding. It exposes the ideas has had about life to be
way off the mark.
Up at 14h15. Cast: Ed Asner, Christopher Plummer, Jordan Nagai. Director:
Pete Docter.
In a daring move, animation giant Pixar let
go of every proven ingredient of a winning formula: no heroes this time; no
princesses; minimal action. A senior citizen is the main character. The result?
A beautiful human drama that was nominated for a Best Picture Oscar!
Carl, a childless widower, rekindles a
dream of a trip to the South American wild, which he abandoned at the death of
Ellie, his long-time partner. By tying millions of balloons to his home, he
takes to the air and discovers an uninvited travelling companion.
Arrival at 18h00. Cast: Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner, Forest Whitaker. Director:
Denis Villeneuve.
Eight Academy Award nominations for a
science fiction thriller is unheard of, and underlines the power of a strong
story told at a fast pace in any genre. The Oscar nominations included Best
Picture, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay.
Spaceships from an unknown planet have
landed on earth, and war appears to be unavoidable. A professor of linguistics
must find a way to communicate with the invaders to stave off conflict.
Flight at 20h00. Cast: Denzel Washington, Don Cheadle, Kelly Reilly, John Goodman.
Director: Robert Zemeckis.
Double Oscar winner Denzel Washington
narrowly missed out on his third statuette for his performance in this
acclaimed film about a man in a life-and-death battle with his addictions and
his conscience.
Airline pilot Whip Whitaker (Denzel
Washington) saves the lives of 96 passengers and crew with a brilliant crash
landing. Or so says the preliminary report. But then the evidence mounts that
he was drunk in the cockpit and responsible for the six deaths that occurred.
Hell
or High Water at 22h15. Cast: Chris Pine, Ben
Foster, Jeff Bridges. Director: David Mackenzie.
Oscar winner Jeff Bridges stars in a dark
modern-day Western crime thriller, for which he received an Academy Award
nomination – one of four attracted by the film. It was one of the Top Ten films
of 2016, on the American Film Institute’s list.
Two brothers, Toby and Tanner, resort to
bank robbery to save the family farm. Tanner, wild by nature, takes chances
that put the operation at risk, despite Toby’s efforts to restrain him. Two
Texas Rangers believe they are on the verge of making an arrest.
FEBRUARY
4, 2018
Gandhi at 11h00. Cast: Ben Kingsley, John Gielgud, Candice Bergen. Director:
Richard Attenborough.
An epic that nearly swept the boards in the
main categories at the 55th Academy Awards, winning in eight of the 11
categories for which it received nominations. This included Best Picture, Best
Director, Best Original Screenplay and Best Actor (Ben Kingsley).
It is the year 1983. A young Indian in
South Africa is made painfully aware of the injustice of society when he is
forced to leave the first-class compartment of a train because he isn’t white.
It sparks a life-long non-violent battle to eradicate prejudice and inequality.
Happy
Feet at 14h15. Cast: Elijah Wood, Robin Williams,
Brittany Murphy, Hugh Jackman, Nicole Kidman. Director: George Miller.
An all-star voice cast that includes Robin
Williams, Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman adds spice to a jolly tale of a penguin
with an unusual talent that won Warner Brothers its first Academy Award for
Best Animated Feature.
Each male emperor penguin has a unique
song, called a heartsong, with which to woo and conquer a female penguin. But
Mumble is different, due to a little accident while he was still in his egg. He
cannot sing at all, but his tap-dancing prowess might just yield a surprisingly positive outcome.
Hidden
Figures at 16h00. Cast: Taraji P Henson, Octavia
Spencer, Janelle Monáe. Director: Theodore Melfi.
A biopic of three female African-American
mathematicians who worked for NASA during the space race, making the
computations that assured John Glenn’s safe launch into orbit. It receives
three Oscar nominations: Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best
Supporting Actress.
Katherine Gobel, a black woman, surprises
her NASA bosses with her astonishing mathematical skills, proving that their
prejudices are baseless and unfounded. But many racial and gender barriers
remain in place – until talent and determination break them down for good.
Toy
Story 3 at 18h05. Cast: Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan
Cusack. Director: Lee Unkrich
In this Oscar-winning third instalment of
the series, the story takes a hilarious twist when a spot they see as a safe
haven turns out to be a place where tiny tots cause havoc and toys with a
reputation for kindness turn out to be violent maniacs.
Andy has gotten too old for his toys, and
decides to store them in the attic while he attends college, but they
accidentally end up in a box headed for the trash heap. They escape, and make
their way to a day care centre, where a teddy bear rules with an, um, iron
fist.
Manchester
by the Sea at 20h00. Cast: Casey Affleck, Michelle
Williams, Kyle Chandler. Director: Kenneth Lonergan
An unforgettable tragedy, Shakespearean in
its depth and reach, that earned Casey Affleck the Best Actor Oscar at the 89th
Academy Awards. Director Kenneth Lonergan won for Best Original Screenplay.
Lee is a handyman who keeps to himself and
shows no sign of needing company or friendship. He is rocked by news of his
brother’s death – and the fact that he has been appointed guardian to his
teenage nephew. Old wounds are ripped open to a heart that will never heal.
FEBRUARY
10, 2018
Out of Africa at 12h08. Cast: Meryl Streep,
Robert Redford, Klaus Maria Brandauer. Director: Sydney Pollack
A tale of romance and adventure that won no
fewer than seven Academy Awards … and many observers felt leading lady Meryl
Streep was unlucky not to be named Best Actress. It was the most successful
film of legendary director Sydney Pollack’s career.
A Danish baroness is not only struggling to
adapt to the unexpected troubles she encounters as a plantation owner and
philanthropist in colonial Kenya, but is trapped in a loveless marriage. A
big-game hunter turns her world upside down.
The
King's Speech at 14h54. Cast: Colin Firth, Geoffrey
Rush, Helena Bonham Carter. Director: Tom Hooper
A story built upon one man’s inner struggle
defeated a host of action-packed cinematic rivals to claim four of the “Big
Five” awards at the Oscars in 2012: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original
Screenplay and Best Actor (for Colin Firth) from 12 nominations.
Prince Albert becomes heir to the British
throne when his brother, King Edward, abdicates to marry an American divorcee.
Albert fears his stammer will make him the laughing stock of the Kingdom. His
wife, Elizabeth, calls upon a famous speech therapist to tackle the problem
head-on.
Girl,
Interrupted at 11h20. Cast: Winona Ryder, Angelina
Jolie, Clea DuVall. Director: James Mangolded
Angelina Jolie stole the limelight and won
an Oscar for her work in a film that appears to have been written for Winona
Ryder, whose stellar performance in the lead was overlooked by members of the
Academy. Jolie’s acclaim was universal – she picked up numerous other awards.
A young girl is admitted to a psychiatric
hospital after swallowing a handful of pain tablets. She ends up in a ward
filled with people who both repel and fascinate her – and none more so than an
angry, mean-spirited girl with whom she forms a powerful bond.
La La
Land at 16h52. Cast: Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone,
Rosemarie DeWitt. Director: Damien Chazelle
A musical romantic comedy for which its
creator had nearly given up hope of finding financial backing. It was a hit at
the box office and equaled the record for most Oscar nominations – 14 – of
which it won six, including Best Director, making Damien Chazelle, at 32, its
youngest recipient.
Los Angeles is a tough city, especially for
those who dream of finding fame and fortune there. Two such people, a pianist
and an actress, meet and fall in love. Now they must reconcile their dreams and
their passion for each other.
Gravity at 19h00. Cast: Sandra Bullock, George Clooney. Director: Alfonso
Cuarón
A collision in space like the one portrayed
has not yet happened, but most certainly could, say the experts. Production was
taxing: Sandra Bullock spent up to 10 hours per day in a gigantic mechanical
rig. It won seven Oscars, including Best Director and Best Original Score.
Flying debris from the explosion of a
Russian satellite smashes into the space shuttle Explorer, leaving its
surviving crew members, who had been out on a spacewalk, little chance of
returning home safely. They have only each other to rely on.
Schindler's
List at 20h30. Cast: Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes,
Ben Kingsley. Director: Steven Spielberg
An epic historical drama, which is regarded
as one of the best films ever made, earned Steven Spielberg his first Oscar for
Best Director. It was nominated for a whopping 12 Academy Awards, and received
seven, including Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Score.
A factory owner in Nazi-occupied Poland
during World War II is shocked by the plight of Jews, and sets out to intervene
by offering them employment. He manages to save 1 200 lives.
Traffic at 23h50. Cast: Michael Douglas, Benicio Del Toro, Catherine
Zeta-Jones. Director: Steven Soderbergh
A political crime drama that exceeded
everyone’s expectations – except that of director Steven Soderbergh, who knew
he had a winner on his hands. It won four Oscars, including Best Director and
Best Supporting Actor, the latter for Benicio del Toro.
A judge who vows to lead a crackdown on
drug peddlers and users alike is shocked to find that his own daughter is
addicted to crack cocaine. Meanwhile, a key informant has to flee for his life
and the wife of a drug lord is drawn into his dirty business while he is
serving time in prison.
FEBRUARY
11, 2018
Gone
with the Wind at 13h30. Cast: Clark Gable, Vivien
Leigh, Thomas Mitchell. Director: Victor Fleming
The biggest box office hit in the history
of cinema, when adjusted for monetary inflation, is also one of the most
successful at the Academy Awards, winning ten from 13 nominations. Vivien Lee,
chosen from 1,400 candidates for the role of Scarlett O’Hara, was named Best
Actress.
A beautiful, strong-willed woman faces the
challenges of life bravely, but her love of an unavailable man tears her apart.
On the first day of the American Civil War, a stranger arrives unannounced.
Nothing will remain the same.
The
Aviator at 17h10. Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Cate
Blanchett, Alec Baldwin, Alan Alda. Director: Martin Scorsese
Director Martin Scorcese joins forces with
two of the top-rated actors of recent times, Leonardo DiCaprio and Cate
Blanchett, in a biopic of the Hollywood and aviation legend Howard Hughes.
Blanchett won an Oscar; DiCaprio missed out, and had to console himself with a
Golden Globe.
Howard Hughes is regarded as a genius. He
is not only a daring pilot, but has also created a cinematic masterpiece,
Hell’s Angels. But as is so often the case, the brilliant mind is haunted by
mental illness that threatens to push him over the edge.
Fences at 20h00. Cast: Denzel Washington, Viola Davis, Stephen Henderson. Director:
Denzel Washington
Double Oscar winner Denzel Washington
received his seventh nomination for his performance in a period drama that also
received a Best Picture nomination. Veteran Viola Davis, playing Washington’s
wife, garnered universal praise and won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress.
A man whose dreams of football glory was
crushed by racism allows his bitterness to deny his son the opportunities he
had missed out on. It threatens to tear the family apart.
Precious at 22h20. Cast: Gabourey Sidibe, Mo'Nique, Paula Patton. Director:
Lee Daniels
Actress Mo’Nique won more than an Oscar at
the 82nd Academy Awards for her performance in a heart-rending tale about a
family wracked by pain, betrayal and abuse: she earned the respect of her
peers, who gave her a standing ovation as she walked to the podium to collect
her statuette.
Fate
has never been kind to Precious, a black American teen. She has repeatedly been
raped by her otherwise absent father, twice becoming pregnant as a result. He
mother holds her responsible and showers her with abuse. A gentle teacher sets
out to help her recover from the traumas
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