M-Net Movies Highlights – August 2017

Sunday Blockbuster

Sunday 6 August 2017

Life on the Line

M-Net Movies Premiere, DStv Channel 104, at 20:30
Year: 2015
Cast: John Travolta, Kate Bosworth, Sharon Stone
Director: David Hackl
Genres: Action, Drama.
Rating:13VL

At the pinnacle of their careers, John Travolta and Sharon Stone were the best-paid male and female actors, respectively, on the planet. They show why this was the case in a suspenseful drama inspired by the real crises that can hit high-wire workers unexpectedly at any time.

A crew of high-wire workers are doing repairs to the electric grid when they are hit by a massive storm. Now their only mission is to stay alive.

Sunday 13 August 2017

Don’t Breathe

M-Net Movies Premiere, DStv Channel 104, at 20:30
Year: 2016
Cast: Stephen Lang, Jane Levy, Dylan Minnette
Director: Fede Alvarez
Genres: Horror, Thriller.
Rating:16VL

A 2016 was a good year for horror movies, which may reflect on the general sense of foreboding that swept across America. One on the biggest hits in the genre was also highly commended by top critics in New York and Los Angeles.

Three burglars choose the wrong house to break into. It belongs to a blind man, which theoretically makes their job a lot easier, but he is not as vulnerable as they expected, and neither is he what he pretends to be.

Sunday 20 August 2017

Extraction

M-Net Movies Premiere, DStv Channel 104, at 20:30
Year: 2015
Cast: Bruce Willis, Kellan Lutz, Gina Carano
Director: Steven C. Miller
Genres: Action, Thriller.
Rating:16VNL

Musclemen have always been popular tough guys in Hollywood, but Bruce Willis, who does not spend half his life pushing iron, is from the hard-boiled school; his characters don’t need brawn to outwit and outmanoeuvre the criminal hordes. This time, though, he plays the victim, not the hero.

A CIA operative is captured by Russian terrorists, and it soon becomes clear that the US government has no plans to secure his freedom. His son realises it is up to him to save his father.

Sunday 27 August 2017

Garage Sale Mystery: The Novel Murders

M-Net Movies Premiere, DStv Channel 104, at 20:30
Year: 2016
Cast: Lori Loughlin, Sarah Strange, Steve Bacic
Director: Norma Bailey
Genre: N/A
Rating:E13

An intriguing whodunnit that explores the thin line between fact and fiction. Truth, the saying goes, is stranger than fiction, and in this instance, fiction may be more truthful than facts! Now try to get your head around that one as you make yourself comfy on the couch.

A murder has been committed, and the killer has left two important clues on the scene of the crime. Antiques expert Jennifer Shannon has a sneaky suspicion that she has come across the self-same clues in a crime novel.

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Friday 4 August 2017

Kubo And The Two Strings

M-Net Movies Smile, DStv Channel 105, at 16:22
Year: 2016
Cast: Charlize Theron, Art Parkinson, Ralph Fiennes
Director: Travis Knight
Genre: Animated
Rating:PG13

Perhaps the most beautiful and most complex stop motion film ever made. The technique is as old as cinema itself: Puppets are moved in tiny increments and filmed one frame at a time. Each minute of screen time requires 1440 clicks of the shutter! It won the Bafta for Best Animated Feature.

Kubo’s father used to own a suit of arms that bestows magical powers on the person who wears is. Now Kobo needs it desperately for his quest to subdue an evil spirit from long, long ago.

Wednesday 9 August 2017

Into the Blue

M-Net Movies Action+, DStv Channel 106, at 16:05
Year: 2005
Cast: Paul Walker, Jessica Alba, Scott Caan
Director: John Stockwell
Genres: Action, Action Adventure, Crime.
Rating:13VL

An American thriller featuring Paul Walker and Jessica Alba, who both put their lives at risk by venturing into the water alongside real sharks for truly scary action sequences.

Divers exploring the seabed stumble upon a massive drug haul in an aeroplane that had crashed into the sea. News of their discovery stirs a drug lord into action: He’ll do whatever it takes to lay his hand on the illicit cargo – even if it includes murder.

Saturday 12 August 2017

Bad Moms

M-Net Premiere, DStv Channel 104, at 20:30
Year: 2016
Cast: Mila Kunis, Kathryn Hahn, Kristen Bell
Directors: Jon Lucas, Scott Moore
Genre: Comedy
Rating:16SNL

One of the hit comedies of 2016 set a new film franchise into motion. It is impossible to choose one stand-out performance from a rocking ensemble cast of mothers, kids and goodie-goodies. They’re all totally convincing; you’ll recognise your mom’s personality – or your own – in one of them.

If there is a single term to describe mothers the world over, it won’t be “loving” or “devoted”, as the popular myth would have it. It will be “fed-up”. Three moms sharing similar burdens decide they’ve had enough of being everyone’s slave. It’s party time!

Tuesday 15 August 2017

Barbie In Spy Squad

M-Net Movies Smile, DStv Channel 105, at 19:00
Year: 2016
Cast: Erica Lindbeck, Stephanie Sheh, Jenny Pellicer
Director: Conrad Helten
Genre: Animated
Rating: Family

Little girls the world over have seen Barbie as a role model, and she returns to the screen in an adventure that proves that no one should ever underestimate a girl’s toughness just because she is pretty.

Barbie and two of her friends become star gymnasts… but the plot thickens when they uncover a dangerous conspiracy. Now they have keep their wits together to unravel a dark mystery!

Friday 18 August 2017

The Big Wedding

M-Net Movies Smile, DStv Channel 105, at 20:45
Year: 2013
Cast: Robert De Niro, Katherine Heigl, Diane Keaton, Ben Barnes, Robin Williams
Director: Justin Zackham
Genre: Comedy
Rating:13SNL

A film about a big wedding needs a big ensemble cast… which in this case includes some of the biggest names in Hollywood as well: Four Oscar winners – Robin Williams, Diane Keaton, Susan Sarandon and Robert de Niro.

Groom-to-be Alejandro has a problem. He was adopted as a child, and his biological mother, a devout Catholic who is coming to the wedding, would not approve of the fact that his adoptive parents are divorced. As a special favour, he asks them to play the happy couple instead…

Friday 18 August 2017

Jason Bourne

M-Net Movies Premiere, DStv Channel 104, at 21:44
Year: 2016
Cast: Matt Damon, Tommy Lee Jones, Alicia Vikander
Director: Paul Greengrass
Genres: Action, Thriller
Rating:16V

The fifth instalment of the Jason Bourne film series is a direct continuation of the story that began in The Bourne Ultimatum. Oscar winner Matt Damon reprises the role of a CIA assassin that cemented his international stardom. The film grossed more than $400-million.

Jason Bourne’s history is tainted with a slew of murders in the service of the CIA, which forces him to go undercover. But his life in hiding couldn’t last forever. His services are required again, and more shocking facts about his past are revealed.

Read the SAMDB review of Jason Bourne.

Saturday 19 August 2017

Battle for Terra

M-Net Movies Smile, DStv Channel 105, at 9:45
Year: 2007
Cast: Evan Rachel Wood, Luke Wilson, Justin Long
Director: Aristomenis Tsirbas
Genres: Animated, Action.
Rating: PG

An animated science fiction action drama based on a short film of the same name. It is an indictment on humanity, which, having made its own planet uninhabitable, proceeds to invade a peaceful alien planet.

Earth is in ruins, and the survivors of its destruction embark on a mission to occupy Terra, a peaceful planet millions of lightyears away. Tara, a Terian teenager, sees that it will lead to a calamity, and devises a plan to stop it.

Saturday 19 August 2017

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

M-Net Premiere, DStv Channel 104 at 20:00
Year: 2016
Cast: Felicity Jones, Diego Luna, Alan Tudyk
Director: Gareth Edwards
Genres: Science Fiction, Action.
Rating:13V

The opening salvo of the Star Wars Anthology series has been discharged! It is a prequel to the original Star Wars film series, and introduces several new characters. The Death Star, the Galactic Empire’s superweapon, is at the centre of the story. It crossed the $1-billion mark at the box office.

The rebels fear their cause is doomed: they have nothing to counter the Death Star, a weapon of mass destruction. Then they discover a weakness in its design that may enable them to access a blueprint and build their own version.

Read the SAMDB review of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.

Saturday 26 August 2017

Zootopia

M-Net Movies Smile, DStv Channel 105, at 19:00
Year: 2016
Cast: Ginnifer Goodwin, Jason Bateman, Idris Elba
Directors: Byron Howard, Rich Moore
Genres: Animated, Action.
Rating: PG

The winner of all the top prizes in the world of animation, including the Oscar for Best Animated Feature, was also a smash hit at the box office, breaking the magical $1-billion barrier. It’s not just for kids: adults made up 40% of its audience!

A conspiracy is brewing, and an unlikely duo – a bunny who recently joined the police and a sly fox who earns his living as a con artist – join forces to unravel it. Judy Hops, the cop, has her hands full keeping her wily partner, Nick Wilde, under control.

Read the SAMDB review of Zootopia.

Saturday 26 August 2017

Jack Reacher: Never Go Back

M-Net Premiere, DStv Channel 104, at 20:00
Year: 2016
Cast: Tom Cruise, Cobie Smulders, Aldis Hodge
Director: Edward Zwick
Genres: Action, Crime,Thriller.
Rating:13VL

With his days as a boyish and charming screen Casanova behind him, Tom Cruise has reinvented himself as an action hero – and scooted to the top of popularity polls once more. And in Jack Reacher, he has found a tough guy with a dark charm of his own.

Jack is shocked to learn that his crime-fighting partner is under lock and key and accused of the murder of two soldiers in Afghanistan… and Jack himself is under investigation. When his accuser is murdered, all evidence points to Jack Reacher.

Read the SAMDB of Jack Reacher: Never Go Back.

Tuesday 29 August 2017

Ice Age: Collision Course

M-Net Movies Premiere, DStv Channel 104, at 17:16
Year: 2016
Cast: Ray Romano, John Leguizamo, Denis Leary
Director: Mike Thurmeier
Genres: Animated, Comedy
Rating: PG

The fifth instalment of the Ice Age CGI animated comedy series was another smash hit for the franchise. Queen Latifah, Jennifer Lopez and Ray Romano reprise their roles from the previous films.

As if an ice age isn’t tough enough to deal with, a meteor is speeding towards the earth. If it hits, life in all its forms will come under threat. Manny, Diego, and Sid join up with Buck to save the planet from destruction.

Compact

Tuesday 1 August 2017

Pitch Black

M-Net Movies Action, DStv Channel 110, at 18:55
Year: 2000
Cast: Vin Diesel, Radha Mitchell, Cole Hauser
Director: David Twohy
Genres: Science Fiction, Horror Thriller.
Rating:16VL

Vin Diesel makes his first appearance as Riddick, an antihero with very few scruples. In addition to a follow-up live-action sci-fi thriller, Riddick’s fame – or infamy – extends to animated sequels and a video game series.

Riddick, a dangerous criminal, is banished to a distant destination in space, and when the spaceship makes a forced landing, he escapes. However, he is soon confronted by the evil inhabitants of the planet and has to join forces with other crash survivors to combat them.

Saturday 5 August 2017

Deadpool

M-Net Movies Action, DStv Channel 110, at 21:00
Year: 2016
Cast: Ryan Reynolds, Morena Baccarin, Ed Skrein
Director: Tim Miller
Genres: Action, Comedy.
Rating:18VSL

The eighth instalment of the X-Men film series features a superhero with a twisted sense of humour and the ability to recover from any injury in a flash. It was a major box office hit: $762-million on a $58-million budget.

Wade Wilson, who had served in the US Special forces, is diagnosed with terminal cancer. He is offered a cure – but at a heavy price. He is tortured and left badly disfigured, and ashamed to reconnect with his lover. He only has one thing on his mind: revenge.

Read the SAMDB review of Deadpool.

Wednesday 30 August 2017

Barbie: The Princess & The Popstar

M-Net Movies All Stars, DStv Channel 111, at 18:00
Year: 2012
Cast: Kelly Sheridan, Jennifer Waris, Ashleigh Ball
Director: Zeke Norton
Genres: Animated, Family animation, Music.
Rating: Family.

A rockin’-and-rollin’ animated musical extravaganza inspired by one of Mark Twain’s best-loved stories, The Prince and the Pauper. It is the 23rd instalment of the Barbie film series.

Two teenagers, one a princess, the other a popstar, whose lives differ in every respect, find that they nonetheless have a lot in common – and that each would prefer the other’s life to their own. They trade places – and have to rethink their decision.

Access

Thursday 3 August 2017

A Most Wanted Man

M-Net Movies Zone, DStv Channel 139 at 19:30
Year: 2014
Cast: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Rachel McAdams, Willem Dafoe, Robin Wright
Director: Anton Corbijn
Genre: Thriller
Rating:16VL

The last film featuring Philip Seymour Hoffmann in a lead role sees him as a man on a mission to halt terrorist plots by winning over the sympathies of former supporters of radical anti-West ideas, and to protect innocent people who are drawn into the conflict against their will.

Günther Bachmann is a brilliant analysts of radical Islamist groups in Europe, but he is still hounded by a failed mission many years ago. He can redeem himself in his own eyes by “turning” a powerful Muslim philanthropist; a task that would appear impossible to most people in his position.

Read the SAMDB review of A Most Wanted Man.

Monday 14 August 2017

Winnie

M-Net Movies Zone, DStv Channel 139 at 21:03
Year: 2011
Cast: Jennifer Hudson, Terrence Howard, Wendy Crewson
Director: Darrell Roodt
Genres: Drama, Biography, History.
Rating:16VL

Oscar winner Jenifer Hudson takes on the formidable task of portraying Winnie Mandela, a fearless icon of the South African struggle… but by no means an angel. The film pulls no punches, and was met with anger from some political quarters, where it was seen as a betrayal of her legacy.

During Nelson Mandela’s 27 years in prison, Winnie Mandela became one of the most powerful symbols of the fight for freedom in South Africa. She was revered as the “Mother of the Nation”. It came as a shock to millions when her dark side was revealed.

Thursday 17 August 2017

Trevor Noah: It’s My Culture

M-Net Movies Zone, DStv Channel 139 at 17:45
Year: 2013
Cast: Trevor Noah
Director: David Paul Meyer
Genre: Comedy.
Rating:PG13L

Trevor Noah’s stand-up routines have won wide acclaim by steering clear of stale traditional gags to create something totally fresh and original. By doing so, he attained something incredible rare in showbiz: universal appeal.

In South Africa, even the weirdest actions can be defended… as long as one can prove that they fit into one’s cultural framework. Trevor Noah investigates – and sends up – the cultural eccentricities found in Zambia, New Zealand, London and New York.

Tuesday 29 August 2017

Chef

M-Net Movies Zone, DStv Channel 139, at 17:35
Year: 2014
Cast: Jon Favreau, Sofía Vergara, John Leguizamo, Scarlett Johansson, Dustin Hoffman, Robert Downey Jr.
Director: Jon Favreau
Genre: Comedy
Rating: 16L

Director Jon Favreau walked away from blockbusters to get “back to basics” as a filmmaker… with a movie about a chef on exactly the same mission in his own trade. Look out for Hollywood heavyweights Scarlett Johansson, Dustin Hoffman and Robert Downey Jnr.

A top chef’s reputation is dented by a very public spat with a food critic, and he decides to say goodbye to the glamour and set off on a cross-country venture in a food truck with his son. On the way, he rediscovers the joy he had lost amid the hubbub of a top-flight

Wednesday 30 August 2017

The Forgotten Kingdom

M-Net Movies Zone, DStv Channel 139, at 17:39
Year: 2013
Cast: Zenzo Ngqobe, Nozipho Nkelemba, Lebohang Ntsane
Director: Andrew Mudge
Genres: Drama, Romance.
Rating:PG13VL

Lesotho is a country of haunting beauty. Many of its rural communities remain untainted by materialism. This is the setting of a moving story of a young man’s return to his past, and a rediscovery of his ancestral mores and values.

A family tragedy – the death of his father – forces Atang to leave the slum where he ekes out a living and return to the remote village where he was born. He becomes reacquainted with a childhood friend and falls in love. It leads to an incredible journey to the deepest recesses of the heart.

By Andrew Germishuys

Founder of SAMDB | Actor | Armourer | Tech Enthusiast With over two decades in the film industry, I'm a seasoned actor and skilled armourer. I hold numerous certifications in acting and filmmaking, complemented by degrees and diplomas in IT and technology, giving me a unique blend of creative and technical expertise. When I'm not on set or in the workshop, you'll find me immersed in the world of gaming and VR, fuelling my passion for cutting-edge technology. Connect with me: X / Twitter Facebook Instagram Mastodon Threads Explore my work on SAMDB IMDb