TV FILMS OF THE WEEK

1

DESPICABLE ME 3 Today, ITV, 5.20pm

GRU (voiced by Steve Carell) and wife Lucy (Kristen Wiig) are fired from the Anti-Villain League (AVL) by new head honcho Valeria Da Vinci (Jenny Slate). In the midst of this upheaval, Gru discovers the family history spun by his mother Marlena (Julie Andrews) is a fabrication and he has a twin brother called Dru (Carell again). The siblings reunite just in time to witness the rise of former child star-turned-master thief Balthazar Bratt (Trey Parker). The third chapter relies heavily on the franchise’s break-out stars, the googly-eyed yellow sidekicks the Minions, and there are giggles involving the stooges and their high-pitched gobbledygook.

2

ALLIED Tomorrow, Channel 4, 11pm

MAX VATAN (Brad Pitt), a Canadian intelligence officer, during the Second World War, parachutes behind enemy lines and joins forces with French Resistance fighter Marianne Beausejour (Marion Cotillard, pictured with Pitt), embedded in Casablanca. Sparks fly as a faux romance kindles deep desire. They reunite in London, and marry, but Max is then told Marianne is a spy.

3

TRAINING DAY Monday, ITV4, 10.30pm

LAPD Detective Sgt Alonzo Harris (Denzel Washington) operates above the law in the pursuit of justice. New recruit Jake Hoyt (Ethan Hawke, pictured with Washington) is assigned to train under Alonzo. Jake bears witness to his new mentor’s corruption and begins to question whether the LAPD is really the right place for him.

4

BEETLEJUICE Tuesday, 5*, 9pm

AFTER Adam (Alec Baldwin) and Barbara Maitland (Geena Davis) are killed in a car crash, they must haunt their former home. When obnoxious real-estate developer (Jeffrey Jones), his wife (Catherine O’Hara) and daughter Lydia (Winona Ryder) move in, the Maitlands fail to scare them away and turn to shady ‘bio-exorcist’ Beetlejuice (Michael Keaton, pictured) for help.

5

DADDY’S HOME 2 Wednesday, Film Four, 9pm

WILL FERRELL and Mark Wahlberg team up again in this sequel which doubles the number of dads by adding Mel Gibson and John Lithgow (all pictured). Most of the action takes place in a hunting lodge where the families are preparing the perfect Christmas, and it descends into childish squabbles and slapstick. Not as good as the first, but still a lot of fun.

6

CRANK Thursday, ITV4, 10.30pm

HIT MAN Chev Chelios (Jason Statham, pictured) is injected with a poison and the only way to delay death is to keep his adrenalin pumping. So Chev does everything he can to keep his heart rate up, gulping down caffeine and engaging in al fresco sex with his girlfriend Eve (Amy Smart). Crank is a hyper-violent assault on the senses with a disregard for good taste.

7

THE BIG SICK Friday, BBC2, 11.05pm

COMEDIAN Kumail (Kumail Nanjiani, playing a fictionalised version of himself) hones his craft while also working as a taxi driver. After a gig, Kumail meets and falls for audience member Emily (Zoe Kazan, pictured with Nanjiani). Soon after, she falls ill. As she lies in a coma, Kumail awkwardly bonds with her parents, Beth (Holly Hunter) and Terry (Ray Romano) in the hospital.