Saturday 26/08/23
M3gan (2022) **** (Sky Cinema Premiere, 12.10pm & 8.00pm)
Robotics engineer Gemma (Allison Williams) is working on the latest iteration of PurrPetual Petz for toy company Funki in Seattle when she learns that her sister and brother-in-law have been killed in a car accident. The couple’s nine-year-old daughter Cady (Violet McGraw) is sole survivor and Gemma applies for temporary protective custody of her grief-stricken niece. With a design deadline looming that demands her full attention, Gemma entrusts Cady to a high-tech doll called M3GAN (Model 3 Generative ANdroid), which has malfunctioned in development and needs to win the approval of her profit-hungry boss David (Ronny Chieng). M3GAN is a campy horror thriller, which dispatches clearly signposted victims with gurgles of macabre humour and sufficient gore to warrant a 15 certificate.
The Third Man (1949) ***** (BBC2, 12.30pm)
Carol Reed’s masterful 1949 evocation of Graham Greene’s screenplay sees failed novelist Holly Martins (Joseph Cotten) arriving in Vienna to meet his good chum, Harry Lime (Orson Welles), only to find the poor chap dead as a doornail and his reputation besmirched by vile allegations. Determined to clear his pal’s name, Holly ignores the advice of two British Army police officers – Major Calloway (Trevor Howard) and Sergeant Paine (Bernard Lee) – to hunt down the elusive ‘third man’ spotted at the scene of the crime. In the process, Holly becomes entangled in a web of murder and intrigue. Tightly plotted and expertly acted, The Third Man is a master class in sustained tension that puts the majority of modern thrillers to shame.
Skyfall (2012) ***** (ITV, 8.30pm)
Arguably the best of Daniel Craig’s Bond films begins with 007 seemingly killed in action. It’s left to section chief M (Judi Dench) to pen his obituary as a political storm rages around her. A database of MI6 assets has fallen into the wrong hands, which puts M in the firing line, and she is summoned to Westminster to explain her actions. While she fends off sustained attacks on her reputation, news filters through that Bond has survived and M engages her physically bruised agent to track down menacing cyber terrorist Raoul Silva (a charismatic Javier Bardem). Working alongside Q (Ben Whishaw) and field agent Eve (Naomie Harris), Bond traverses the globe in search of Silva, along the way crossing paths with the mysterious Severine (Berenice Marlohe).
Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation (2015) **** (Channel 4, 9.15pm)
CIA Director Alan Hunley (Alec Baldwin) succeeds in shutting down the Impossible Missions Force (IMF). Subsequently, the hunters become the hunted when a shadowy organisation known as the Syndicate, fronted by Solomon Lane (Sean Harris), targets IMF for extinction. Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) covertly reunites with colleagues William Brandt (Jeremy Renner), Benji Dunn (Simon Pegg) and computer hacker Luther Stickell (Ving Rhames) to take on their foes. A stylish and slick fifth instalment of the action-packed franchise, bolted together with brio by director Christopher McQuarrie and editor Eddie Hamilton (Kick-Ass, Kingsman: The Secret Service). If you only see 10 minutes, make sure it’s the stunning Turandot action scene set at the Vienna State Opera House.
Sunday 27/08/23
The Boss Baby (2017) **** (BBC1, 2.35pm)
Every night, seven-year-old Tim Templeton (voiced by Miles Christopher Bakshi) enjoys three bedtime stories, five hugs and a special song from his parents Ted (Jimmy Kimmel) and Janice (Lisa Kudrow), who have demanding jobs at Puppy Co. This bond is severely tested with the arrival of a brother called Boss Baby (Alec Baldwin). It transpires that the wisecracking infant is a fast-rising executive at BabyCorp, who is on a secret mission to stop Puppy Co’s CEO, Francis E Francis (Steve Buscemi), from launching a new product that could weaken humankind’s enduring love for babies. The Boss Baby is a colourful computer-animated fantasy, which is almost carried to full term by Baldwin’s virtuoso vocal performance.
Wifelike (2022) *** (Sky Cinema Premiere, 6.05pm)
Writer-director James Bird explores the tantalising possibilities and perils of artificial intelligence in a disturbing sci-fi thriller. In the near future, detective William Bradwell (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) hunts criminals who trade robot companions on the black market. He has a vested interest in the work.
William recently lost his wife Meredith (Elena Kampouris) and has been assigned a mechanised doppelganger created by the Wifelike corporation, which is hard-coded with his late spouse’s memories and quirks. The automaton helps William to surf crashing waves of grief but a shadowy organisation hacks Meredith’s AI programming for nefarious purposes.
Notting Hill (1999) **** (ITV, 10.15pm)
Writer Richard Curtis reunited with Four Weddings and a Funeral leading man Hugh Grant for this winning romantic comedy. Grant plays London bookshop owner Will, who has a chance encounter with the biggest movie star in the world, Anna Scott (a perfectly cast Julia Roberts). A spark develops, but can love overcome their very different lifestyles and the pressures of media intrusion? The leads make a great couple, and there’s also scene-stealing support from Rhys Ifans as Will’s oddball flatmate and a bit of Hollywood satire thrown in to stop it becoming too similar to Four Weddings – Will’s attempt to navigate a press junket is a particular highlight.
Benedetta (2021) **** (Film4, 11.15pm) Premiere
Dutch filmmaker Paul Verhoeven (the man who gave us RoboCop) traverses sex and religion in an erotically charged historical drama. Benedetta Carlini (Virginie Efira) arrives at the Convent of the Mother of God in Pescia, northern Italy as a child in the late 16th century. She becomes the property of Abbess Felicita (Charlotte Rampling) and The Nuncio (Lambert Wilson). Benedetta dedicates herself to God and in adulthood, she experiences powerful visions of Jesus. Her proclamations draw crowds to the convent, but her faith is severely tested by the arrival of Bartolomea (Daphne Patakia), who arouses forbidden lust.
Monday 28/08/23
Groundhog Day (1993) ***** (ITV4, 9.30am)
Cynical weatherman Phil Connors (the perfectly cast Bill Murray) reluctantly reports on a quaint ceremony in small-town Pennsylvania. He can’t wait to leave, but after getting caught in a snowdrift, he, his producer (Andie MacDowell) and cameraman (Chris Elliott) have to return to the town, where Phil gets caught in a time loop, reliving the same day over and over. Once he gets over the initial shock, Phil finds ways to exploit the situation, but then despair gradually sets in… Director Harold Ramis’ comedy is one of the best Hollywood films of the 1990s (even if critics and awards bodies largely failed to realise it at the time), with an ingenious screenplay that makes the most of its premise. No wonder the phrase Groundhog Day has now entered the language.
Going in Style (2017) **** (BBC2, 10.30pm)
Joe (Michael Caine), Willie (Morgan Freeman) and Albert (Alan Arkin) are lifelong friends, who are mellowing in retirement. During a meeting between Joe and his unsympathetic bank manager (Josh Pais), three masked men with guns walk into the branch and confidently steal $1.6 million. Soon after, the buddies’ old employer announces it is freezing company pensions. Joe is apoplectic and decides to rob the Williamsburg Savings Bank, which is managing the liquidation of the pension fund. Going in Style is a warm-hearted remake of the 1979 comedy starring George Burns, Art Burney and Lee Strasberg. The Academy Award-winning trio of Freeman, Caine and Arkin gel beautifully in the new version, trading quips courtesy of scriptwriter Theodore Melfi, who was Oscar nominated for the splendid Hidden Figures.
Tuesday 29/08/23
In the Heat of the Night (1967) **** (BBC2, 11.15pm)
When a wealthy industrialist in found murdered in a Mississippi town, the racist local sheriff Bill Gillespie (Rod Steiger) is quick to accuse black newcomer Virgil Tibbs (Sidney Poitier, on terrific form) who has been spotted in the town. Then he discovers that his chief suspect is actually a decorated homicide detective from Philadelphia. Despite this disastrous start, the pair work together to find the real killer, reaching a new respect along the way. Released in 1967 at the height of the US civil rights movement, director Norman Jewison’s drama boasts great performances and at least one truly iconic line from Poitier. It also won the Best Picture Oscar in a landmark year, beating the era-defining likes of The Graduate and Bonnie and Clyde.
This Is Spinal Tap (1984) ***** (BBC1, 11.40pm)
The laughs go up to 11 in director Rob Reiner’s brilliant spoof ‘rockumentary’. Christopher Guest, Michael McKean and Harry Shearer play the members of a British band whose ‘appeal is becoming more selective’ as they head out on a disastrous tour of America. As if undersized props, cancelled concerts and deserted record signings weren’t demoralising enough, there are tensions between the group and their manager, especially when the lead singer’s girlfriend takes up a seat on the tour bus. Not only is it an endlessly quotable comedy classic, This Is Spinal Tap also boasts some of the best ever English accents by American actors.
Wednesday 30/08/23
Starman (1984) **** (GREAT! movies, 4.45pm)
John Carpenter, the director behind Halloween and The Thing, gets in touch with his softer side for this moving sci-fi drama. An alien crash-lands on Earth and must assume a human form to evade being detected by the trigger-happy authorities. The extra-terrestrial happens upon the home of grieving widow Jenny (Karen Allen) and takes on the guise of her late husband (Jeff Bridges). She’s initially afraid and angry, but eventually agrees to help the visitor to get to the Arizona desert, where his people will come to collect him. During the journey, Jenny falls for her new friend, but can they make it to his destination before the military find him? Although this has dated a bit, the elegantly simple story and Allen’s superb performance alongside an Oscar-nominated Bridges make Starman a thing of beauty.
The Adjustment Bureau (2011) **** (GREAT! movies, 9.00pm)
Adapted from Philip K Dick’s 1954 short story, writer-director George Nolfi’s fast-paced thriller ponders the ripple effect when one man attempts to defy the future that has been apparently mapped out for him. It’s smartly scripted and slickly directed, anchored by another compelling performance from the ever-reliable Matt Damon. He plays ambitious New York politician David Norris, who has overcome tragedy in his personal life to lead the charge for the US Senate and The White House, aided by campaign manager Charlie Traynor (Michael Kelly). On the eve of an important speech, David meets gifted dancer Elise Sellas (Emily Blunt) and the spark of attraction is palpable, culminating in a kiss. The chance encounter proves a turning point in David’s potentially glittering future.
Thursday 31/08/23
Green Book (2018) **** (BBC1, 10.40pm)
Frank “Tony Lip” Vallelonga (Viggo Mortensen) is a bouncer at the Copacabana nightclub in 1962 New York City. During the winter, the club is closed for renovations, so Tony accepts an offer from refined pianist Don Shirley (Mahershala Ali) to chauffeur him on an eight-week tour that will take in Kentucky, North Carolina and Tennessee. Tony and Don initially clash but as the tour gathers momentum, they learn valuable life lessons from each other. Inspired by a real-life friendship, Green Book is a life-affirming comedy drama which follows the tyre prints of Driving Miss Daisy to spark mutual appreciation between a chauffeur and his employer. Peter Farrelly’s Oscar-winning picture makes exceedingly light work of a 129-minute running time, deftly juggling heart-tugging drama and culture-clash comedy.
For a Few Dollars More (1965) ***** (BBC4, 11.35pm)
It’s arguably less well known than A Fistful of Dollars and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, but this middle entry in director Sergio Leone’s influential Western trilogy is just as dazzling. Clint Eastwood returns as The Man With No Name, who forges an uneasy alliance with a military veteran as they track down a dangerous fugitive. However, tensions begin to rise to the surface when it becomes clear that the two men have very different reasons for hunting the felon. Lee Van Cleef, Gian Maria Volonte, Josef Egger, Mara Krup and Klaus Kinski also star. Ennio Morricone provides the score.
Friday 01/09/23
The Mule (2018) **** (BBC1, 11.25pm)
Cash-strapped Korean War veteran Earl Stone (Clint Eastwood) is offered a deceptively simple way to dig himself out of a financial hole by couriering a package across state lines – no questions asked. The bag contains a consignment of drugs for cigar-puffing cartel boss Laton (Andy Garcia). As an elderly driver with an unblemished record, Earl is ignored by police and he is rewarded handsomely for his services. New-found wealth rebuilds bridges to Earl’s embittered ex-wife Mary (Dianne Wiest) and estranged daughter Iris (Alison Eastwood). Meanwhile, hotshot DEA agent Colin Bates (Bradley Cooper) begins a stakeout. Eastwood invests his politically incorrect old coot with rascally charm and old-fashioned grit in this thriller, which was inspired by an outlandish true story.
Spy (2015) **** (ITV, 11.35pm)
Suave secret agent Bradley Fine (Jude Law) completes some of the CIA’s most dangerous missions thanks to the quick-thinking and hi-tech gadgetry of deskbound analyst Susan Cooper (Melissa McCarthy). When Bradley and other agents, including British bruiser Rick Ford (a very funny Jason Statham, gamely sending up his hard-man image), are compromised, Susan puts herself forward for active duty to infiltrate the inner circle of arms-dealer Rayna Boyanov (Rose Byrne). Spy is a terrifically entertaining comedy caper and McCarthy throws herself into her role with gusto, mixing steeliness with lovability as she battles armed henchmen, speeds after a target on a scooter and tries to stop a bad guy from escaping in his helicopter.
