The Herald - The Herald Magazine
THIS WEEK’S BEST FILMS
SATURDAY
Atomic Blonde (2017) (Channel 4, 9pm)
In 1989 Berlin, KGB spy Yuri Bakhtin shoots dead an MI6 agent on the snow-laden streets and steals a microfilm containing the names and locations of active field agents. MI6 chief Eric Gray (Toby Jones) and his gruff CIA counterpart Emmett Kurzfeld (John Goodman) pressgang elite British spy Lorraine Broughton (Charlize Theron) to locate Bakhtin and retrieve the microfilm.
Bridget Jones’s Diary (2001) (Channel 5, 10pm)
Thirtysomething Bridget Jones (Renee Zellweger) struggles with her age, weight, job and lack of a serious relationship. Deciding to turn things around, she makes a New Year’s resolution to take control of her life, and starts by keeping a diary in which she will always tell the complete truth. However, she soon finds herself torn between her charming though disreputable boss (Hugh Grant) and a disagreeable, but handsome, acquaintance (Colin Firth) who she just can’t stop running into.
SUNDAY
Tomorrowland: A World Beyond (2015) (BBC2, 4pm)
At the 1964 New York World Fair, young inventor Frank Walker fails to impress judge David Nix with his misfiring jetpack. However, the boy does catch the eye of an enigmatic girl called Athena, who gives Frank a lapel pin that magically grants him access to a parallel dimension called Tomorrowland. Many years later, Frank is a grizzled recluse, haunted by the past. But then a spirited young woman called Casey Newton, who has glimpsed this futuristic realm by touching her own lapel pin, gatecrashes Frank’s life at
the most inopportune moment.
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013) (STV, 10.50pm)
The Desolation of Smaug picks up where An Unexpected Journey concluded, with plucky hobbit Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman), wise wizard Gandalf the Grey (Ian McKellen) and the company of dwarves led by Thorin Oakenshield (Richard Armitage) running for their lives. As the adventurers head towards the Lonely Mountain to
reclaim the lost gold from dragon Smaug, they encounter a shapeshifter called Beorn, who aids them on the quest.
MONDAY
The Girl on the Train (2016) (Film4, 9pm)
Following an acrimonious divorce from her cheating husband Tom, Rachel Watson (Emily Blunt) takes regular train journeys past her old house where he is now settled with his mistress Anna (Rebecca Ferguson) and their baby. One morning, Rachel stares bleary-eyed out of the train window and glimpses Megan in a clinch with another man. Adapted from Paula Hawkins’ novel, The Girl on the Train is a smart psychological potboiler anchored by a strong performance from Blunt.
Get Carter (1971) (ITV4, 9pm)
Jack Carter (Michael Caine) isn’t a happy man. He’s not the sort you should cross either. When his brother is killed in their hometown of Newcastle, Jack journeys north to take revenge. Vindictive, ruthless and determined to get his man, he investigates the area’s underworld, uncovering a complex case of lies, backhanders and double-dealings involving a series of unsavoury characters.
TUESDAY
A Man for All Seasons (1966) (Sony Movies Classics, 3.10pm)
Based on Robert Bolt’s play, it stars Robert Shaw as Henry VIII who wishes to divorce Catherine of Aragon so he can marry Anne Boleyn (Vanessa Redgrave). However, this leads to a clash with his chancellor, Sir Thomas More
(the Oscar-winning Paul Scofield, reprising his stage role), who refuses to support the annulment or Henry’s plan to make himself head of the Church of England.
Sisters (2015) (Film4, 10.50pm)
Bucky Ellis (James Brolin) and his wife intend to downsize the family home to a compact retirement apartment. Their daughters, Maura (Amy Poehler) and Kate (Tina Fey), make a cross-country odyssey to their
childhood home to clear out their shared bedroom before new owners take possession. A wave of heady nostalgia washes over Maura and Kate and they decide to bid farewell to childish things by throwing one final party and inviting all of their high school chums.
WEDNESDAY
Carlito’s Way (1993) (ITV4, 10pm)
Newly released jailbird Carlito Brigante (Al Pacino) pledges to stay away from a life of crime. He leaves behind the murky world of drug dealing and invests his money in a nightclub, determined to become a successful businessman. However, it’s not long before the Puerto Rican’s shady lawyer has him twitching at the temples, and a string of former ‘associates’ don’t help either.
Run All Night (2015) (5STAR, 11.05pm)
For more than 30 years, hit man Jimmy Conlon (Liam Neeson) has outfoxed tenacious Detective John Harding (Vincent D’Onofrio) and slayed targets at the behest of mob boss Shawn Maguire (Ed Harris). Alcohol is Jimmy’s solace from his transgressions, which have cast him adrift from his son Mike, who works as a limousine driver. One fateful night, Mike witnesses Shawn’s reckless son Danny killing an Albanian thug. Inevitably, Jimmy becomes embroiled in this deadly game of cat and mouse and he tries to protect Mike from the thugs out to silence him.
THURSDAY
Jarhead (2005) (Sony Movies, 10.50pm)
Based on Anthony Swofford’s memoirs as a Marine on active service during the Gulf War, Jarhead is a harrowing account of a conflict hidden from the world.
Told through the eyes of the young Swoff, played with muscular vigour by Jake Gyllenhaal, Sam Mendes’s film is a breath-taking recreation of the military operation in Operation Desert Storm. The director and his crew bring home the horrors of the conflict in startling images: soldiers wandering through the night-time desert, the sky blushed red and orange by the plumes of the blazing oil wells; an oil-slicked horse cantering out of the darkness.
St Vincent (2014) (Film4, 11.10pm)
A modern-day Scrooge is moved by the plight of a young boy in Theodore Melfi’s touching and frequently uproarious comedy. There are neither jingling bells nor ghostly visitations in St Vincent – the only spirits are swigged from a bottle – but Dickens’ underlying theme of the redemption of the human spirit rings true in this valentine to Bill Murray. The star is in riotous form in Melfi’s delightful film, deploying splitsecond comic timing to devastating effect as he reveals a beating heart of gold beneath the shambolic appearance of his penny-pinching curmudgeon. His irascible old coot might gamble, smoke and drink to excess, and seek physical pleasure in the company of a heavily pregnant Russian prostitute, but we fall head over heels for Murray’s virtuoso portrayal.
FRIDAY
Baby Driver (2017) (Sony Movies, 9pm)
Director Edgar Wright’s Baby Driver is a high-octane crime caper which gleefully burns rubber to a toe-tapping soundtrack. Ansel Elgort plays Baby, who has suffered from tinnitus since he was involved in the horrific car accident that killed his parents. To drown out the ringing, he listens to music at a deafening volume, which allows him to focus on his duties as a getaway driver for criminal mastermind Doc (the now-disgraced Kevin Spacey).
Snatched (2017) (Channel 4, 10pm)
Self-absorbed dreamer Emily Middleton (Amy Schumer) is unceremoniously dumped by her boyfriend shortly before a non-refundable trip to Ecuador. Unable to persuade one of her female friends to accompany her on the South American odyssey, Emily turns instead to her sensible mother Linda (Goldie Hawn).
While the matriarch befriends fellow holidaymakers Barb and Ruth, thrill-seeker Emily sparks a boozy romance with handsome stranger James (Tom Bateman). One night of passion leads to disaster and notorious crime lord Morgado (Oscar Jaenada) holds Emily and her mother hostage for
$100,000.