Top Films: w/c Saturday, May 20

Top films to watch week beginning Saturday, May 20

Saturday 20/05/23Great Expectations (1946) ***** (BBC2, 1.00pm)There have been plenty of adaptations of Charles Dickens’ novel (the BBC recently brought us Peaky Blinders’ creator Steven Knight’s take), but this one is by far and away the best. John Mills heads an excellent cast, with director David Lean creating the perfect atmosphere and setting. For the uninitiated, this classic tells the story of orphan Pip, who falls in love with the adopted daughter of an eccentric old woman, before a mysterious benefactor provides him with the opportunity to rise through the ranks of London’s high society. He soon forgets all about his humble roots, and isn’t prepared when he discovers the truth about the girl he loves and the stranger funding his new life.

The Remains of the Day (1993) ***** (BBC2, 2.55pm)Anthony Hopkins gives one of his best performances as Stevens, a butler in a 1930s mansion who devotes himself to his master and the smooth running of the household. In fact, he’s so dedicated, he puts the demands of the job above his own emotional needs, rebuffing the advances of the spirited housekeeper Miss Kenton (Emma Thompson) – and so obedient, he fails to question his employer’s (James Fox) increasingly pro-Nazi politics. Made at the height of period-drama specialists Merchant Ivory’s powers, this sensitive adaptation transforms Kazuo Ishiguro’s acclaimed novel into a deeply moving drama. The impressive supporting cast includes Hugh Grant, Christopher Reeve, Peter Vaughan and Tim Pigott-Smith.

Confess, Fletch (2022) **** (Sky Cinema Premiere, 6.10pm) PremiereFreelance journalist Fletch (Jon Hamm) arrives in Boston from Rome at the behest of his recent bedfellow Angela de Grassi (Lorenza Izzo). Her father has been kidnapped by three thugs with guns and the ransom is the family’s stolen Picasso painting worth around 20 million dollars, which is reportedly in the possession of germophobic art dealer Ronald Horan (Kyle MacLachlan). Unfortunately, Fletch’s base of operations in Boston, a rented townhouse belonging to Owen Tasserly (John Behlmann), contains a murdered woman… Adapted from the second book in Gregory Mcdonald’s series of award-winning mystery novels, Confess, Fletch is a fizzing crime caper. Hamm exudes an old-fashioned playfulness reminiscent of Cary Grant that is difficult to resist and the script gifts him a full arsenal of bone-dry wisecracks.

Bad Boys for Life (2020) *** (Channel 4, 9.00pm)Miami detective Mike Lowrey (Will Smith) barely survives a drive-by shooting. When he has recovered from his injuries, Mike hungers for revenge. Long-time partner Marcus Burnett (Martin Lawrence), who has retired from the force to spend more time with his family, warns Mike against playing judge, jury and executioner. His wise counsel falls on deaf ears and Mike goes to war flanked by a team of fresh-faced recruits. Mike persuades Marcus to join him for a final hurrah across the border in Mexico. Hard-wired to entertain fans of the series, Bad Boys for Life barks to the same tune as its predecessors, albeit without Michael Bay at the helm. A heady scent of nostalgia permeates as Smith and Lawrence work tirelessly to rekindle the sparky rat-a-tat banter of their badge-wielding buddies.

Sunday 21/05/23The Railway Children (1970) ***** (BBC1, 2.50pm)The charming children’s adventure film based on the E Nesbit novel stars Jenny Agutter, Sally Thomsett and Gary Warren as three youngsters forced to leave their comfortable, middle-class home in London when their father is mysteriously taken into custody. Although initially horrified by their impoverished state and bleak new home in Yorkshire (the parsonage home of the Brontes in Haworth provided the location), the move opens up an exciting new world for them, centring on the local railway line. Bernard Cribbins also stars and actor Lionel Jeffries stepped behind the camera as director; he also wrote the screenplay.

School of Rock (2003) **** (Channel 4, 2.50pm)Dewey Finn’s (Jack Black) dreams of becoming a rock star suffer a setback when he’s kicked out of his own band. Realising it might finally be time to get a job, he poses as his flatmate and starts work as a supply teacher at an exclusive private school. Dewey is initially uninterested in his pupils, but when he realises how many budding musicians are in his class, he decides to secretly turn them into his own new backing group. The role of Dewey was written with Black in mind, and it shows – he’s perfectly cast as the slobby, overbearing but ultimately likeable teacher. Even more impressively, for a comedy about performing kids teaching an adult a few life lessons, it’s short on sentiment, thanks to director Richard Linklater, who gets winningly understated performances out of his child stars.

Supernova (2020) **** (BBC2, 10.00pm) PremiereTaking its title from the blindingly bright explosion of a dying star, writer-director Harry Macqueen’s heart-breaking drama about living with dementia juxtaposes the fear and confusion of a patient with the anguish of caring family members, using a more conventional approach to storytelling than the similarly themed The Father. Stanley Tucci and Colin Firth play longstanding lovers whose on-screen familiarity is delightfully believable from the opening shot of the couple entwined in bed, whether it be playful teasing about the shipping forecast on BBC Radio 4 or a more serious conversation about medicines. The natural flow and ease of early scenes contrasts with a fraught, tear-wringing final act.

Halloween Ends (2022) *** (Sky Cinema Premiere, 10.00pm)Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) puts the finishing touches to her memoir as she rebuilds her life in Haddonfield with granddaughter Allyson (Andi Matichak). She is determined to lay to rest the ghost of her tormentor, Michael Myers (James Jude Courtney and Nick Castle), but prickles of discomfort resurface when Allyson forms a romantic attachment to twentysomething misfit Corey Cunningham (Rohan Campbell). He faced an aggravated manslaughter charge three years ago after a young boy died in his care while babysitting on All Hallow’s Eve. Alas, pure evil returns to Haddonfield and Laurie faces her greatest fear. Halloween Ends is the concluding chapter of director David Gordon Green’s trilogy reboot of the influential slasher franchise, which fulfils the storytelling obligations of its title with cool efficiency.

Monday 22/05/23Independence Day (1996) **** (Film4, 9.00pm)Essentially a reworked version of War of the Worlds, Independence Day sees a whole host of aliens visiting Earth, intent on destroying it. After the world’s landmarks are laid to waste spectacularly, it seems to fall to the Americans – in the form of cocky, courageous fighter pilot Will Smith, computer genius Jeff Goldblum and plucky president Bill Pullman – to save the planet. Don’t let the flag-waving patriotism put you off – or the Grand Canyon-sized plot holes, such as Smith’s remarkable capacity to fly an alien spaceship and Goldblum hacking into an alien mainframe with not so much a system error in sight, for that matter – this is glorious escapism. Featuring fun performances, a super David Arnold score and impressive special effects, it’s a blockbuster that deserved the hype.

Do the Right Thing (1989) ***** (BBC2, 11.15pm)Director Spike Lee’s powerful, provocative drama grabs you from the opening titles – which feature Rosie Perez, in her electrifying film debut, dancing to Public Enemy’s Fight the Power – and never lets go. It centres on a Brooklyn pizzeria, where the Italian-American owner (Danny Aiello) is involved in an apparently minor dispute with his predominately Black customers. However, as the temperature rises on the hottest day of the year, the simmering racial tensions in the neighbourhood reach boiling point and explode into violence. Do the Right Thing still feels shockingly timely, while the Academy’s failure to even nominate it for Best Picture – it instead gave the Oscar to Driving Miss Daisy – only seems more baffling with each passing year.

Tuesday 23/05/23Alien: Covenant (2017) *** (Film4, 9.00pm)Set approximately 10 years after the 2012 prequel Prometheus, Alien: Covenant joins the dots to the original trilogy with strong echoes of Sigourney Weaver’s exploits as Ripley, somewhat meekly mimicked here by Katherine Waterston. The Weyland-Yutani Corporation vessel Covenant is bound for a remote planet with 15 crew and 2,000 colonists in cryogenic stasis. Synthetic android Walter (a scene-stealing Michael Fassbender, who takes a dual role) keeps watch until a neutrino burst from a star causes a “destructive event” that prematurely wakes the crew. They stumble upon a distress signal broadcast from a nearby planet that sensors reveal would make an idyllic new home and set out to investigate. But they are not alone on this new world…

Vice (2018) **** (BBC2, 11.15pm)In 1963 Wyoming, a young Dick Cheney (Christian Bale) works on the power lines and drinks to excess. He is a crushing disappointment to 21-year-old sweetheart Lynne (Amy Adams), whose father also lives by the bottle. In response, Dick secures an internment at the White House, where he assiduously aligns himself with Republican Congressman Donald Rumsfeld (Steve Carell). By playing the waiting game on Capitol Hill, Dick manoeuvres himself into the position of running mate to George W. Bush (Sam Rockwell) during the 2000 US presidential election. Written and directed by Adam McKay, Vice is a briskly paced and engrossing portrait of ambition, which nervously prowls the corridors of power in Washington DC to satirise a true story of malicious meddling and unabashed self-interest.

Wednesday 24/05/23Men in Black (1997) **** (Film4, 9.00pm)Forget the pointless reboot Men in Black: International, the original movie is still the best. Will Smith stars as a streetwise cop who is recruited to join a secret agency that polices aliens living on Earth. Usually, the job is all about peaceful co-existence, but the rookie has joined up just as just as a body-swapping extra-terrestrial giant insect (hilariously and unsettlingly embodied by Vincent D’Onofrio) begins a reign of terror in New York City. It’s up to the new boy and his seen-it-all-before partner (the delightfully deadpan Tommy Lee Jones) to save the world. Director Barry Sonnenfeld pulls off a blindingly successful sci-fi comedy, balancing impressive special effects with some very big laughs.

Fight Club (1999) ***** (Film4, 10.55pm)An insomniac office worker (Edward Norton) is tired of his boring day job and spends his evenings crashing support groups for illnesses he doesn’t have. However, when he meets mysterious soap salesman Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt) on a plane back from one of his business trips, they establish a very different kind of club where similarly frustrated men come to vent their anger in the form of bare-knuckle fighting. With a star-studded cast, including Helena Bonham Carter in what was then seen as a huge departure from her period movie roles, director David Fincher’s pitch-black comedy became an instant cult classic. In fact, author Chuck Palahniuk, who wrote the book on which Fight Club is based, has even said that he thinks the film is an improvement on his novel.

Thursday 25/05/23The Color Purple (1985) **** (BBC4, 9.30pm)Steven Spielberg wasn’t the obvious choice to bring Alice Walker’s acclaimed 1982 novel to the big screen, especially in 1985 when he was just coming off Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. However, it’s the movie that proved he could do more than make summer blockbusters. The Color Purple also gave Whoopi Goldberg an extraordinary breakthrough role as Celie, a young African-American woman in early 20th-century Georgia, who is abused by her father (Leonard Jackson) and then married off to a man (Danny Glover) who also mistreats her. There’s strong support from Margaret Avery and Oprah Winfrey, who were both Oscar-nominated along with Goldberg.

Shallow Grave (1994) ***** (Film4, 10.45pm)Three flatmates try to find a fourth person to share their spacious Edinburgh apartment, but their chosen new lodger dies of an overdose on his first night, leaving behind a suitcase full of cash. The trio decide to keep quiet about his death and hang on to the money, but disposing of the body has a traumatic effect on one of them, and the presence of all that loot – not to mention a dogged detective – soon has the friends turning on each other. First-time director Danny Boyle would go on to make the even more successful Trainspotting and the Oscar-winning Slumdog Millionaire, and his promise is very apparent in this slick, gripping and blackly funny thriller. There’s also plenty of talent in front of the camera too, with Kerry Fox, Ewan McGregor and Christopher Eccleston playing the flatmates.

Friday 26/05/23Eighth Grade (2018) **** (BBC3, 9.00pm)Thirteen-year-old Kayla Day (Elsie Fisher) is in the final stretch of solitude at Miles Grove Middle School. She stands awkwardly on the precipice of a more formidable challenge – high school – without any emotional support except for her father (Josh Hamilton). Unexpectedly, Kayla receives an invitation to a pool party thrown by classmate Kennedy Graves (Catherine Oliviere). Kennedy only extended the invitation under parental duress but Kayla attends nevertheless, hoping to bump into her unrequited crush, Aiden (Luke Prael). Directed by comedian Bo Burnham, Eighth Grade joins an elite class of cinematic coming-of-age stories which candidly reflect a pivotal moment when hormones rage, bodies develop at an alarming rate and every heartbreak is amplified beyond rational thought to the end of days.

Fast & Furious 7 (2015) **** (ITV, 10.45pm)The seventh instalment of The Fast and the Furious franchise begins directly after the events of Fast & Furious 6 with corrupt British soldier Owen Shaw (Luke Evans) on life support in a London hospital. Owen’s older brother Deckard (Jason Statham) seeks revenge against Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel), Brian O’Conner (Paul Walker) and their crew. Deckard hacks into the computer of federal agent Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) to ascertain the whereabouts of the team and doles out a near fatal pummelling to Hobbs in the process. Meanwhile, Dominic’s crew prepare for war. Fast & Furious 7 is dedicated to the memory of Walker, who died midway through production, and a heartfelt coda provides Diesel with an opportunity to publicly say farewell to his cinematic brother in arms.