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PICK OF NEXT WEEK’S TV MOVIES
SATURDAY
Lucy (2014) Channel 4, 9pm American student Lucy (Scarlett Johansson) is enjoying her new life in Taiwan until her boyfriend persuades her to deliver a briefcase on his behalf. The recipient turns out to be Korean drug lord Mr Jang (Choi Min-sik). He knocks Lucy unconscious and when she awakes, she discovers the mob has surgically implanted a deadly blue drug called CPH4 in her abdomen and she is being press-ganged into working as their mule. But then the crystals leak into Lucy’s system, endowing her with superhuman abilities such as telepathy and telekinesis. Directed by Luc Besson, Lucy was one of the biggest hits of 2014, and the profusion of action sequences and acrobatic fights certainly holds the attention even if the plot loses its grasp on neurological theory. True Grit (2010) BBC Two, 10.45pm Mattie Ross (Hailee Steinfeld) is 14 years old when a coward by the name of Tom Chaney (Josh Brolin) shoots and kills her father. The teenager seeks out marshal Rooster Cogburn (Jeff Bridges) and hires him to help her track down Chaney, while a Texas Ranger called LeBoeuf (Matt Damon), who has been on Chaney’s trail for some time, joins the hunting party. Adapted from the novel by Charles Portis, Joel and Ethan Coen’s reworking of True Grit is a tale of retribution layered with the brothers’ trademark black humour. It’s clear from his first appearance, shifting nervously in a courtroom witness stand, that Bridges is not paying homage to John Wayne’s signature role in the 1969 movie, while Steinfeld is a revelation as the plucky daughter on a quest for vengeance.
SUNDAY
While We’re Young (2014) BBC Two, 10pm Josh Srebnick (Ben Stiller) is a filmmaker who cannot muster the energy or enthusiasm to complete a documentary that has consumed the past 10 years of his life. He is stuck in a rut with his wife Cornelia (Naomi Watts), who offers support when she isn’t producing the pictures of her father, legendary director Leslie Breitbart (Charles Grodin). By chance, Josh and Cornelia meet aspiring twenty-something filmmaker Jamie (Adam Driver) and his girlfriend Darby (Amanda Seyfried), whose lust for life is infectious – but is there more to the younger couple than meets the eye? While We’re Young is an acutely observed comedy drama, which confidently dissects middle-aged malaise. Dark Skies (2013) Channel 5, 11.10pm Unemployed architect Daniel Barrett (Josh Hamilton) and his estate agent wife Lacy (Keri Russell) live in the suburbs with their boys, Jesse and Sammy. The wife is woken in the middle of the night and discovers the contents of the fridge strewn across the floor and the back door open. She surmises that an animal must have gained entry but can’t fathom why the meat in the fridge was untouched. The Barretts witness more strange occurrences and as these events increase in frequency and ferocity, including the mass suicide of flocks of birds, Daniel and Lacy struggle to protect their children from harm.
MONDAY
The Sheriff of Fractured Jaw (1958) Film4, 2.50pm Stiff-upper-lipped Englishman Jonathan Tibbs (Kenneth More) inherits a gun business and decides he could make a fortune selling his wares in the Wild West. However, he proves more of a hit than he could have imagined when he inadvertently foils an attack on a stagecoach and is asked to become the sheriff of a frontier town. The residents think they’re getting a crack shot, so how will they react when Jonathan turns out to be a diffident British gent? This comedy Western makes the most of its fish-out-ofwater premise. It also helps that while on paper More and the pneumatic Jayne Mansfield seem an odd combination, on film they work very well together as Tibbs and the saloon owner who catches his eye.
TUESDAY
Boyhood (2014) Film4, 9pm Shot in fits and starts over the course of 12 years, Boyhood is a film of dazzling ambition from writerdirector Richard Linklater. It follows Mason Jr (Ellar Coltrane), who begins the film by moving house with his mother Olivia (Patricia Arquette) and precocious older sister, Samantha (Lorelei Linklater). Major pop culture and political events including the publication of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and Obama’s presidential campaign bookmark Mason Jr’s childhood as he blossoms into a sullen and awkward teenager. Arquette is the emotional heart and she delivers a warm performance. Coltrane starts the film slightly wooden in front of the camera, but grows in confidence and stature.
WEDNESDAY
Young Adult (2011) Film4, 10.55pm Juno writer Diablo Cody and director Jason Reitman reunite for this pitch-black comedy. Former highschool queen bee Mavis Gary (Charlize Theron) is now a hard-drinking writer who makes her living penning a series of Sweet Valley High-style teenage novels that is about to discontinued. Desperate for inspiration for the final book, Mavis is distracted by an email from her teenage boyfriend Buddy Slade (Patrick Wilson) and his wife Beth (Elizabeth Reaser) announcing the birth of their daughter. Convinced this is a sign from the universe, Mavis travels to her hometown of Mercury, determined to show Buddy that even though he may be under the impression that he’s happily married, he really belongs with her.
THURSDAY
Girlhood (2014) Film4, 11.05pm For her compelling third feature, writer-director Celine Sciamma tackles another coming-of-age story, but this time her protagonist is considerably older and wrestling with issues of identity, sexuality and race in the neighbourhoods of Paris. Sullen teenager Marieme (Karidja Toure) lives at home with her squabbling parents and her younger sister. She yearns to escape and express herself, and that opportunity arises when a gang of three girls led by Lady (Assa Sylla) invites Marieme to join the ranks. Slipping a kitchen knife into her pocket, Marieme finds the freedom she craves as part of the gang.
FRIDAY
Fury (2014) Channel 5, 9pm Eight weeks after he enrols in the US Army as a clerk typist, Norman Ellison (Logan Lerman) is assigned the position of assistant driver in a tank christened Fury under the command of Sergeant Don “Wardaddy” Collier (Brad Pitt). The veteran began the war in Africa and moved to Europe, killing numerous Germans along the way. Aided by the rest of the tank’s crew, Collier gives Norman an initiation he will never forget on a series of missions led by Captain Waggoner (Jason Isaacs). Directed with testosterone-fuelled swagger by David Ayer, Fury is an atmospheric picture of the hell of war, studded with polished dialogue that doesn’t always ring true.