The Herald - The Herald Magazine
PICK OF THE BEST FILMS
SATURDAY Pitch Perfect (2012) (Channel 4, 9pm)
Beca (Anna Kendrick) arrives at Barden College convinced that getting an education will only delay her dreams of becoming a music producer. Her father promises to fund a career in Los Angeles if she makes a genuine effort to get involved in campus life, so she reluctantly signs up with female a cappella group, the Bellas. Beca thinks the group needs to update its repertoire, but while she finds an ally in fellow new girl Fat Amy (Rebel Wilson), tensions soon emerge. Glee meets Bring It On with the sassy swagger of Clueless in Jason Moore’s unabashedly feel-great comedy about an all-girl singing group hoping to pitch slap their rivals at a national competition.
The Inbetweeners Movie (2011) (Channel 4, 11.10pm)
Posh boy Will McKenzie (Simon Bird) and his friends Simon (Joe Thomas), Jay (James Buckley) and Neil (Blake Harrison) are now 18 years old and can escape the clutches of their school headmaster Mr Gilbert (Greg Davies). Determined to enjoy one last hurrah before university, they head off on a holiday to Crete, where the hormonally charged young men meet Alison (Laura Haddock), Jane (Lydia Rose Bewley), Lisa (Jessica Knappett) and Lucy (Tamla Kari), sparking romance under the Mediterranean sun. Big-screen versions of British sitcoms haven’t always worked, but writers Damon Beesley and Iain Morris are in fine, potty-mouthed form.
SUNDAY Nativity! (2009) (BBC Two, 5.20pm)
This feelgood festive movie is set in overcast Coventry (cue series of boos from Paisley Buddies), where teacher Paul Maddens (Martin Freeman) reluctantly takes charge of the nativity play at St Bernadette’s primary school as a farewell gift to outgoing headmistress Mrs Bevan (Pam Ferris). To help Paul in this hour of need, he is assigned an odd classroom assistant, Mr Poppy (Marc Wootton). With first rehearsals looming, Paul bends the truth in Mr Poppy’s earshot, who repeats the lie to the kids: “A big Hollywood company are coming here to see our nativity and we’re all going to be famous!” Soon, the entire city, including the mayor (Ricky Tomlinson), is abuzz with news about the little nativity play with huge ambitions. Gravity (2013) (ITV2, 7.15pm) Sandra Bullock and George Clooney head the cast of this Oscar-winning sci-fi drama. She plays medical engineer Dr Ryan Stone, who journeys into space for the first time alongside Commander Matt Kowalski (Clooney), a veteran on his final mission. Out of the blue, they are ordered to abort the mission and return to their shuttle. Unfortunately, space debris destroys the craft and kills another crew member, leaving Stone and Kowalski drifting through the void. The rest of the film charts their desperate battle for survival. A modern classic, this is a delight for the senses, although it does lose something when not viewed on the big screen.
MONDAY
Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004) (Film4, 9pm) Ron Burgundy (Will Ferrell) is the five-time Emmy Award-winning anchorman on the top-rated KVWN Channel 4 news in San Diego in the 1970s. Every night, the city tunes in to see Ron distil the headlines of the day in his usual easy-going manner. Tempers flare and egos are severely bruised when station manager Ed Harken (Fred Willard) hires ambitious journalist Veronica Corningstone (Christina Applegate) as Ron’s co-presenter. Ron’s adoring news team – sports reporter Champ Kind (David Koechner), dim-witted weatherman Brick Tamland (Steve Carell) and field reporter Brian Fantana (Paul Rudd) – resent Veronica’s challenge to the macho status quo and plot to halt her meteoric rise. Like This Is Spinal Tap, it’s a highly quotable comedy that somehow gets better the more you watch it.
TUESDAY Carol (2015) (Film4, 9pm)
Shrinking violet Therese Belivet (Rooney Mara) works in the toy section of Frankenberg’s department store. She has an adoring boyfriend, Richard (Jake Lacy), but her humdrum life lacks excitement until glamorous housewife Carol Aird (Cate Blanchett) sashays into the store looking for a Christmas present. Their chance encounter eventually leads to a passionate affair, which prompts Carol’s estranged husband Harge (Kyle Chandler) to seek sole custody of their daughter. Elegantly adapted by Phyllis Nagy from the novel The Price of Salt by Patricia Highsmith, Carol is a masterful period romance anchored by Mara and Blanchett’s flawless embodiment of the star-crossed protagonists.
WEDNESDAY Chicken Run (2000) (BBC One, 3.35pm)
Ginger (voiced by Julia Sawalha) is a fearless fowl who is planning a daring escape from the clutches of evil farm owner, Mrs Tweedy (Miranda Richardson). Help arrives in the feathered form of a cocky American rooster called Rocky (Mel Gibson), who claims to be able to fly. Unfortunately, time is at a premium, and Rocky isn’t quite what he appears, so poor Ginger has to concoct an elaborate back-up scheme to save them all from the chop. Chicken Run is a technical masterclass from Aardman Animations, playing out the plot of The Great Escape with a cast of Yorkshire fowl.
THURSDAY Django Unchained (2012) (5*, 10pm)
German bounty hunter Dr King Schultz (Christoph Waltz) gives slave Django (Jamie Foxx) his freedom in return for helping to identify the murderous Brittle brothers, who have a price on their heads. When Dajngo later learns his wife Broomhilda (Kerry Washington) has fallen into the clutches of plantation owner Calvin Candie (Leonardo DiCaprio), his new friend pledges his assistance on a suicidal rescue mission. This blood-soaked western energises a simple tale of redemption with Quentin Tarantino’s characteristic flair behind the lens and on the page.
FRIDAY Puss in Boots (2011) (BBC One, 3.40pm)
The story begins with the young Puss (voiced by Antonio Banderas) being abandoned at an orphanage where kind Imelda (Constance Marie) raises the kitten as her own. Initially picked on by the boys, Puss learns to fight to survive and he helps protect fellow outcast Humpty Alexander Dumpty (Zach Galifianakis). Many years later, the surrogate brothers join forces with pickpocket Kitty Softpaws (Salma Hayek) to steal magic beans currently in the possession of murderous outlaws Jack (Billy Bob Thornton) and Jill (Amy Sedaris), as they try to find the Golden Goose.