The Herald - The Herald Magazine
THIS WEEK’S BEST FILMS
the birth of Laura’s daughter
Lucie. Alas, Laura discovers she is terminally ill and won’t live to see her child’s first birthday. When she dies, David is devastated and Claire and Gilles promise to help him raise the child.
WEDNESDAY
Our Man in Havana (1960) (Film4, 2.30pm)
Jim Wormwold, a vacuum-cleaner salesman working in Cuba, is recruited by British Intelligence to act as an agent. Sadly, it turns out he hasn’t much of a talent for hoovering up information, but instead of resigning as a spy, he starts to invent tip-offs. This espionage satire isn’t in the same league as writer Graham Greene and director Carol Reed’s classic The Third Man, made 10 years earlier. However, judged on its own merits, it’s still an entertaining satirical spy drama, with a very classy cast.
The Edge of Seventeen (2016) (BBC2, 11.15pm)
Seventeen-year-old misfit Nadine Byrd (Hailee Steinfeld) has always been jealous of her good-looking and popular older brother, Darian (Blake Jenner). Nadine’s only friend is Krista, a fellow outcast who shares her disdain for conformity. Out of the blue, Nadine discovers that Krista is dating her brother Darian and this betrayal of the sisterly bond drives a wedge between the girls.
The emotional vortex intensifies as Nadine pines from afar for a handsome older boy.
THURSDAY
Only the Brave (2017) (Film4, 6.20pm)
When the going gets tough, the tough stick together in Joseph Kosinski’s flame-scorched drama, based on the true story of the
Granite Mountain Hotshots, who lost their lives as they fought a deadly 2013 wildfire in Arizona. Only the Brave wears its patriotic heart on its Stars & Stripesemblazoned sleeve but also contrives engaging human drive away from the inferno. Impressive special effects bring the wildfires to life but it’s an ensemble cast of award winners who effectively turn up the heat, led by Josh Brolin as the risk-taking crew chief and Miles Teller.
Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) (ITV2, 8.20pm)
Jack Skellington (voiced by Chris Sarandon, although his singing is by Danny Elfman, who also composed the songs) has grown tired of the same routine in Halloween Town every year, and after wandering through the woods he stumbles upon Christmas
Town. Impressed with the warmth and style of the festive season, he returns home and tries to explain the concept to the residents of
Halloween Town – with mixed results. Their failure to grasp the meaning of Christmas leads him to announce they will take over the holiday, and he begins by usurping the role of Santa Claus.
FRIDAY
22 Jump Street (2014) (5STAR, 9pm)
After their success in the first film, officers Schmidt (Jonah Hill) and Jenko (Channing Tatum) are investigating criminal mastermind The Ghost. When a sting to capture him goes bad, Captain Dickson
(Ice Cube) recruits the pair for another hare-brained undercover operation. This time, they must pose as college students and unmask the suppliers of a drug called WHYPHY. Tongue-in-cheek, self-referential playfulness abounds in Phil Lord and Christopher Miller’s uproarious action-packed comedy sequel, which adheres unabashedly to a winning formula and gleefully colludes with us for various in-jokes and sight gags.
Marguerite (2015) (BBC2, 11.15pm)
It was released before Florence Foster Jenkins, starring Meryl Streep and Hugh Grant, but writer-director Xavier Giannoli’s award-winning drama draws inspiration from the same true story of a wealthy woman who harboured delusions of being a talented opera singer. Marguerite Dumont (Catherine Frot) is a socialite of considerable financial clout, who is blissfully unaware of her lack of talent. Her husband tolerates her because he can benefit from her vast fortune, while her dutiful chauffeur Madelbos attempts to shield Marguerite from those who would hurt her with the harsh truth. Aided by respected vocal coach Atos Pezzini, Marguerite prepares to sing at one of the biggest concert halls in Paris.