The Herald - The Herald Magazine
Seven-day TV listings guide and pick of the week’s films
SATURDAY Spy (2015) (Channel 4, 9pm)
The better of today’s two Melissa McCarthy comedies co-stars Jude Law as suave secret agent Bradley Fine, who completes some of the CIA’s most dangerous missions thanks to the quick thinking and hi-tech gadgetry of deskbound analyst Susan Cooper (McCarthy). When Bradley and other agents, including British bruiser Rick Ford (a very funny Jason Statham, gamely sending up his hardman image), are compromised, Susan puts herself forward for active duty to infiltrate the inner circle of arms dealer Rayna Boyanov (Rose Byrne). Spy is a terrifically entertaining caper and McCarthy throws herself into her role with gusto.
Red Tails (2012) (BBC1, 11.45pm)
During the Second World War, US Army brass want to shut down the 332nd squadron of African American fighter pilots under the command of Colonel AJ Bullard (Terrence Howard) and Major Emanuelle Stance (Cuba Gooding Jr). Thankfully, Colonel Jack Tomlinson (Lee Tergesen) throws his support behind the airmen. As the conflict escalates, the pilots, known as the Tuskegee Airmen, are gifted a daring mission to provide cover for an Allied beach landing. Inspired by a true story, Red Tails pays tribute to the fighter pilots who risked their lives when their racially divided country regarded them as second-class citizens.
SUNDAY The Simpsons Movie (2007) (Channel 4, 4.50pm)
When Homer (Dan Castellaneta) undermines attempts to clean up Lake Springfield by dumping a silo full of pig waste in it, the government decides the only way to avert an ecological disaster is to encase the entire city under a giant dome. The Simpsons escape to
start a new life in Alaska, but when they discover that the next stage of the government’s plan involves wiping out their home town, they realise they must return. The sitcom had already been on the air for nearly 18 years by the time this film came out, but anyone who feared its moment had passed or that the writers would struggle to pad it out to feature length was proved wrong. The animation is great, the script is sharp and the voices are as perfect as always.
Blades of Glory (2007) (BBC1, 12.10pm)
At the conclusion of the world figure
skating championships, sworn rivals Chazz Michael Michaels (Will Ferrell) and Jimmy MacElroy (Jon Heder) clash on the winner’s podium and are subsequently stripped of their medals and banned from the sport for life. However, Jimmy discovers there is a loophole in the skating rulebook: he can compete in the pairs event. Aided by his coach (Craig T Nelson), he reluctantly works with Chazz to form the world’s first same-sex skating partnership, competing against devious current champions Stranz and Fairchild Van Waldenberg (then real-life couple Will
Arnett and Amy Poehler). It’s slow to get going, but once the unlikely double-act slips into the eye-catching costumes, Blades of Glory twists and spins to great comic heights.
MONDAY Matilda (1996) (Sony Movie Channel, 2.55pm)
Director-producer Danny DeVito pulls off this Roald Dahl adaptation with a great sense of childish glee. He also stars as shady car salesman Harry Wormwood, whose gifted and neglected young daughter Matilda (Mara Wilson) is packed off to Crunchem Hall, run by the whip-wielding principal from hell Agatha Trunchbull (Pam Ferris). Faced with a woman who throws pig-tailed pupils towards spiked iron fences, Matilda finds an ally in Miss Honey, a caring teacher who notices something special about Matilda. Huge, anarchic fun, DeVito has retained all the outrageous, non-PC chaos of the book, and draws top turns from his cast.
Tangerine (2015) (Film4, 11.15pm)
Sean Baker’s vivid, low-budget comedy drama charts the emotionally wrought journey of self-discovery of a transgender sex worker. Sin-Dee Rella (Kiki Kitana Rodriguez) serves 28 days behind bars and returns to her old haunt, where she touts for business with sassy best friend Alexandra (Mya Taylor). It’s Christmas Eve, a time of goodwill to all men, except for Sin-Dee’s boyfriend and pimp Chester, who has apparently been cheating on her with a biological woman. Sin-Dee vows to track down Chester and his mistress and take them both to task.
TUESDAY A Beautiful Mind (2001) (Film4, 6.20pm)
Ron Howard’s biopic of mathematics genius John Nash is undeniably powerful, with a fiercely intelligent screenplay, evocative production
design and tour-de-force performances although, for a film about a mathematician, it sometimes feels like less than the sum of its parts. Crowe plays the renowned academic John Nash, who formulated a revolutionary game theory during the late 1940s. At the height of his celebrity Nash was suddenly struck down with paranoid schizophrenia. With the support of his wife Alicia (an Oscar-winning Jennifer Connelly), Nash battled against the illness and went on to win the 1994 Nobel Prize for economics.
X-Men: First Class (2011) (E4, 9pm)
This exhilarating, action-packed prequel based sees Erik Lehnsherr (Michael Fassbender) hunting down power-hungry globetrotter Sebastian Shaw (Kevin Bacon). Aided by telepath Charles Xavier, shape-shifter Raven Darkholme and five gifted mutants, Erik must stop Shaw, who intends to spark nuclear war aided by mutant sidekicks.
WEDNESDAY Ender’s Game (2013) (Film4, 6.45pm)
A hostile alien race called the Formics invades Earth and is repelled at the last minute by International Fleet Commander Mazer Rackham (Ben Kingsley), who sacrifices his life to bring down the mothership. The International Military prepares for the next attack by scouring the globe for the best young minds and bringing the raw recruits together at Battle School, including Ender Wiggin (Asa Butterfield). Endless simulations sort the wheat from the chaff, hoping to identify one brilliant child capable of leading the resistance when the Formics return. Ender’s Game is a stirring tale of heroism aimed at young adults.
The Bling Ring (2013) (Channel 4, 12.40am)
Inspired by a true story, Sofia Coppola’s drama follows a group of bored, fame-hungry Los Angeles teenagers who find a way to taste the celebrity lifestyle by robbing stars’ houses. However, when the cops finally catch up with them, it seems the burglars are about to enjoy some media notoriety of their own. The premise sounds like a great starting point for a satire about our celebrity culture, so some viewers may be frustrated that Coppola largely neglects that angle in favour of a more detached, non-judgmental view. However, her approach does have its compensations: the film looks gorgeous and Emma Watson is a revelation as a character about as far removed from Harry Potter’s Hermione as it’s possible to get.
THURSDAY The Artist (2011) (BBC4, 10pm)
In 1920s Hollywood, George Valentin (Jean Dujardin) is a huge star – he’s so famous, chorus girl Peppy Miller (Berenice Bejo) gets her big break just by being pictured bumping into him at a premiere. So when talking pictures arrive, George sees no reason to change his style, convinced the audiences will still turn up to see him in silent movies. Instead he finds himself left behind while Peppy’s star continues to rise. The Artist is a (mostly) silent French film in black and white –but there’s a reason that The Artist went on to become an Oscar-winning hit: it’s a genuine crowd-pleaser. Dujardin is hugely charming and the film has so much joie de vivre, it’s impossible to resist.
The Incredible Hulk (2008) (ITV4, 10pm)
Following his exposure to gamma radiation and physical transformation, scientist Bruce Banner (Edward Norton) hides in Brazil, hoping to evade General Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross and the military. Unfortunately US forces track him down and he escapes by the skin of his teeth, killing all of Ross’s men except for highly-skilled Emil Blonsky, who yearns to possess the same ferocity and strength as the Hulk. So the military inject low-level gamma into Blonsky’s deep muscle and bone marrow, the catalyst for his metamorphosis into the snarling Abomination.
FRIDAY Alien (1979) (Film4, 9pm)
Hunter and prey are blasted into deep space in the seminal 1979 sci-fi horror, which pits the crew of an industrial vessel against an ever-growing alien threat, brought onto the ship attached to doomed John Hurt. Ridley Scott’s stylish, much-imitated assault on the nerves is brilliantly sustained and truly terrifying, while Sigourney Weaver is perfect as one of sci-fi’s few true heroines.
Whitney: Can I Be Me (2017) (BBC2, 11.05pm)
Whitney Houston’s death prompted an outpouring of grief and questions about the factors that led to her drowning. Documentary filmmakers Nick Broomfield and Rudi Dolezal set out in search of answers, tracing the rise of Houston from singing in her church choir to chart supremacy. The narrative pays particular attention to the enmity between Houston’s best friend and confidante, Robyn Crawford, and her husband Bobby Brown.