KEY POINTS:
TODAY'S PICKS
9.30pm, TV One
THE LIFE OF IAN
Actor, writer and director Ian Mune might come across as tough as old boots but you probably have to be to keep chipping away over the decades making television, movies and plays in New Zealand.
Mune was a central figure in the formative years of New Zealand film, television and theatre: he appeared in and co-wrote the movie Sleeping Dogs, featured in TV series Pukemanu, and was part of Downstage theatre. And he's been directing, acting and writing ever since, with some of his bigger projects being the movies The End of the Golden Weather, What Becomes of the Broken Hearted?, and Came a Hot Friday.
This profile of Mune, now in his 60s, is the first of TVNZ's NZ Festival of feature-length documentaries and will be followed by others focusing on Billy Apple, the man who became a living work of art; painter Rita Angus; and businessman Ron Brierley.
7PM, TV ONE
A TASTE OF HOME
Last week it was Russian cuisine, so this time it's out with Borscht and in with the best of mouth-watering French food in Godzone.
7.30PM, TV ONE
JIMMY'S FARM
The moment of truth has come for Jimmy, as he gets his first sausages ready to go to market. Being the, er, entrepreneur that he is, he reckons a 12-inch "love sausage" is what the world needs.
7.30PM, TV3
GRAND DESIGNS
Host Kevin McCloud hangs out with a couple in Cumbria who aim to build an ecologically friendly house under the ground. It's a little slice of Hobbiton in the English countryside.
MOVIES
8.30PM, TV3
Herald rating: * *
RIVER QUEEN
Vincent Ward's fractured New Zealand Wars-era tale of conflict between colonials and Maori is propped up by some beautiful footage from the banks of the Whanganui River, shot by one of New Zealand's greatest cameramen, Alun Bollinger. Some moving performances by Cliff Curtis and Temuera Morrison too, but that doesn't stop it from being totally confusing.
(2005)
8.35PM, TV2
Herald rating: * *
HART'S WAR
Bruce Willis, Colin Farrell and Terrence Howard star as POWs in this World War II drama. Farrell plays a young lieutenant and law student who must defend a black POW (Howard) on a murder charge. (2002)
10.50PM, TV3
Hearld rating: * * * *
THE VIRGIN SUICIDES
Visually appealing Sophia Coppola-directed tragedy about a group of boys who are obsessed with a family of psychologically questionable blonde sisters, told mostly in flashback. Dreamy atmosphere and a great cast, including Kirsten Dunst, Kathleen Turner, James Woods and Josh Hartnett. (1999)
8.30PM, RIALTO SKY DIGITAL
Herald rating: * * * *
THE SCIENCE OF SLEEP
Powerful surrealist film from Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind), about a man whose dream world encroaches on his reality. Stunning visuals and animation add to the fantasy. (2006)
