The life and death of Amy
Rick Stein’s Taste of Shanghai 7.30pm, Prime The English celebrity chef’s latest food adventure takes him to one of the biggest cities in the world as he finds out whether the Chinese city, having almost doubled in size over the last 20 years, has managed to hang on to its culinary roots. The Drop 10.20pm, TV3 Tom Hardy, Noomi Rapace and James Gandolfini star in this 2014 crime-drama about a bartender who finds himself at the centre of a robbery gone awry and entwined in an investigation that digs deep into his neighbourhood’s past. ‘‘The terrific cast and punchy dialogue make it particularly worth seeing, bringing energy to a deliberatelypaced tale,’’ wrote USA Today‘ s Claudia Puig. The Great British Bake Off 7.30pm, Prime It’s past halfway in the competition, and the challenges are getting more and more difficult. This week, the remaining six bakers take on European cakes. For their signature challenge, the bakers are asked to bake yeast-leavened cakes – a tricky cross between cake and bread. Then Mary Berry sets the bakers their most demanding technical challenge yet, in which they must make a Swedish princess torte, before the showstopper has them tackling a contemporary version of the Hungarian dobos torte.
AMY
Saturday, 9.25pm, Sky Channel 035 Screening as part of Sky’s threeday Song & Dance Pop-Up Channel, this 2015 documentary on the life and death of Amy Winehouse offers plenty of food for thought.
Using his same ‘‘in their own words’’ method that saw 2010’s Senna become a new benchmark in documentary cinema, director Asif Kapadia captures the intimate highs and lows of a musically talented Jewish girl from North London.
While fortunate that Winehouse, her family and friends documented so much of her personal life, Kapadia has done a tremendous job of crafting a patchwork of audio interviews and archival footage that is both a celebration of her short life and music and condemnation of both her lifestyle and the goldfish bowl we all put her in. Time and You’ve Been Trumped 8.30pm, Maori TV In a case of either adroit or terrifying timing, Maori TV is airing this Donald Trump-baiting 2011 documentary on the night again we see a shy but charismatic Amy describe both publicly and privately how she’d prefer just to sing without the trappings of fame, while also lamenting the moment her life changed forever – at age nine, before America goes to the polls to elect the 45th President of the United States. This sees a group of proud Scottish homeowners take on the celebrity tycoon as he buys up one of Scotland’s last when her parents separated.
Fans of her music are in for a treat here, with many previously unheard recordings on display, as well as the stories behind the lyrics of hits like Love is a Losing Game and Rehab. - James Croot wilderness areas to build a golf resort. ‘‘Mr. Trump comes across as an insensitive, lying bully who will do whatever it takes to realize his dream,’’ wrote The New York Times‘ s Stephen Holden. Need for Speed 8.30pm, Duke Inspired by the video game series, Aaron Paul and Dominic Cooper star in this 2014 action movie about a street racer, framed by a business associate, who joins a cross country race with revenge on his mind. ‘‘It’s the cars, and the mega-horsepowered action, that matter most. With its driver-POV spinouts, wrong-way chases, and multi-lane median jumps, the movie is a roaring revel of an automotive fantasy,’’ wrote Philadelphia Inquirer‘ s Steven Rea. 11.22.63 9.35pm, Prime Free-to-air debut for this James Franco starring eight-part adaptation of Stephen King’s novel about a high school history teacher who travels back in time to stop the assassination of JFK. ‘‘Pretty much all of the success in 11.22.63 comes from Franco being able to take the concept from bizarre to believable, ‘‘ wrote The
s Tim Goodman. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire 7pm, TV2 Mike Newell’s 2005 dark and lengthy fourth instalment in the boy wizard franchise. This is the one where Harry comes face-toface with Ralph Fiennes’ youknow-who and Robert Pattinson. ‘‘With the cast getting looser and the mind games kinkier, it’s hard to resist, ‘‘ wrote Rolling Stone‘ s Peter Travers.