Top films to watch on TV this week
WEDNESDAY
Bugsy (1991) Sony Movies Action, 9p.m.
Warren Beatty finally settled down and married Annette Bening after they starred in Barry Levinson’s elegant factbased thriller depicting the life of New York gangster Benjamin ‘Bugsy’ Siegel.
Bugsy (Beatty) is sent to Los Angeles to take over the West Coast rackets, where he falls in love with a glamorous starlet (Bening). The film then centres on the gangster’s business venture to turn Las Vegas into a gamblers’ paradise.
Beatty, who so often relied on his good looks and charm to breeze his way through films in the early part of his career, is charismatically dangerous as the renowned criminal, and fully deserved his Best Actor Oscar nomination. There’s also some good support from the likes of Harvey Keitel and Ben Kingsley.
THURSDAY
Tremors (1990) ITV4, 10.55p.m.
Remember those Fifties B movies where alien invaders land in small American towns and proceed to wreak havoc? This entertaining cult sci-fi spoof from director Ron Underwood affectionately sends up the likes of It Came From Out Of Space and Them; it also features some low-brow but effective special effects and a fantastic plot.
Kevin Bacon and Fred Ward star as two handymen stranded in the desert who become targets for a family of giant sandworms. Yes it’s silly, and yes it’s tacky – most of the movie is played for laughs, rather than thrills – but some genuinely exciting moments help the story along.
For once, Bacon lives up to his name: he hams it up for all he’s worth. The film has been followed by various sequels, but none match up to the original.
FRIDAY
Stan & Ollie (2018) BBC1, 8.25p.m.
It’s more than 60 years since Oliver Hardy passed away and over half a century since his great friend and comedy partner Stan Laurel followed him to that great stage in the sky, and yet their films and routines continue to be loved, copied and admired by each new generation of fans.
Their screen personas are well known, but this charming biopic takes a look at the latter years of their partnership in the 1950s when they embarked on a music hall tour of Laurel’s native UK. It also reteams Bafta-winning writer Jeff Pope with Steve Coogan, following their success with Philomena.
Artistic licence has been taken with parts of the story, but the gist of it, as well as the genuine affection between the two men, remains. Coogan is outstanding as Laurel, while John C Reilly is equally impressive as Hardy.
SATURDAY
Mission: Impossible – Fallout (2018) Channel 4, 9p.m.
Impossible Missions Force agent Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) receives word that the terrorist network fronted by Solomon Lane (Sean Harris) is poised to take delivery of stolen plutonium. The sale is being brokered by an arms dealer called the White Widow ( Vanessa Kirby) and Hunt must infiltrate the exchange to prevent the payload falling into the hands of Lane’s deranged disciples.
His fellow IMF operatives join the mission, but the team’s movements are closely monitored by the CIA’s August Walker (Henry Cavill). Mission: Impossible – Fallout is the sixth and arguably best instalment of the globe-trotting franchise.
While other blockbusters rely heavily on digital trickery, this film places its most expensive special effect, leading man Cruise, in almost every adrenaline-pumping shot.
SUNDAY
Isle of Dogs (2018) Channel 4, 6.05p.m.
This offbeat buddy comedy on two and four legs marked writer-director Wes Anderson’s return to stop-motion animation after his 2009 adaptation of Roald Dahl’s Fantastic Mr Fox.
Set in Japan, it sees self-serving Megasaki
politician Mayor Kobayashi (voiced by Kunichi Nomura) decree that the only way to eradicate virulent snout fever is to exile canines to a remote island, where Megasaki dumps its residential waste. However, the Mayor’s 12-year-old ward Atari (Koyu Rankin) defies the law by stealing a plane and flying to the island to reunite with his beloved pet Spots.
Atari crash-lands and befriends a disparate pack of mangy mutts including Chief (Bryan Cranston), King (Bob Balaban), Boss (Bill Murray), Rex (Edward Norton) and Duke (Jeff Goldblum).
MONDAY
Bringing Up Baby (1938) BBC2, 1p.m.
Palaeontologist Dr David Huxley’s (Cary Grant) ordered life is thrown into confusion when he meets madcap heiress Susan Vance (Katharine Hepburn) and her pet leopard, Baby.
Before he knows what’s happening, David finds himself escorting the dangerous duo to the country home of Susan’s wealthy aunt, which is a bit inconvenient, as he’s supposed to be getting married to his severe assistant – and impressing a museum donor.
Despite flopping at the box office on release (what were the audiences of 1938 thinking?) Bringing Up Baby is now rightly regarded as one of the finest screwball comedies ever made. Grant and Hepburn are simply superb, legendary director Howard Hawks handles the comedy beautifully, and the supporting cast is crammed with terrific character actors.
TUESDAY
Shallow Grave (1994) Film4, 9p.m.
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.
They 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 the trio, and the presence of all thatlot – not to mention a dogged detective – soon has the former 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.