THIS WEEK’S BEST FILMS

SATURDAY Horrible Bosses (2011) *** (STV, 10.50pm)

Nick Hendricks (Jason Bateman) has been denied a promotion by his coldhearted boss Dave Harken (Kevin Spacey). Meanwhile, Kurt Buckman (Jason Sudeikis) is forced to stand by as the company he works for is run into ground by the owner’s cocainesnorting son Bobby (Colin Farrell), and dental nurse Dale Arbus (Charlie Day) is sexually harassed on a daily basis by his employer, Dr Julia Harris (Jennifer Aniston). So, when jailbird Dean Jones (Jamie Foxx) plants the idea of a chain reaction of seemingly accidental deaths, the three friends are intrigued. Horrible Bosses is a filthy-minded black comedy that borrows its central premise from Hitchcock’s Strangers on a Train, and the cast throw themselves at the material with admirable gusto.

Birdman (2014) ***** (BBC Two 11pm)

Art and real life playfully blur in Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu’s technically dazzling Oscar-winning comedy, which provides the role of a lifetime for Michael Keaton, nodding and winking to his own time as Batman. He stars as Riggan Thomson, who rose to fame playing a superhero called Birdman in three blockbuster films. Twenty years later, he masterminds a comeback by directing, writing and starring in a Broadway play. As opening night approaches, petty squabbles between Riggan and his cast – popular Broadway star Mike Shiner (Edward Norton), leading lady Lesley (Naomi Watts) and current squeeze Laura (Andrea Riseborough) – threaten to derail the vanity project. The leading man struggles to keep personal demons at bay, exacerbated by fractious exchanges with his daughter Sam (Emma Stone).

SUNDAY

Nanny McPhee (2005) *** (ITV2, 3.45pm)

Emma Thompson takes the title role in this charming family fantasy, which she also adapted from the Nurse Matilda books by Christianna Brand. Following the death of his wife, Mr Brown (Colin Firth) retreats from life. The only ray of hope in his gloomy existence is pretty scullery maid Evangeline (Kelly Macdonald), who takes care of the house alongside cook, Mrs Blatherwick (Imelda Staunton). While Mr Brown

is at work, he hires a nanny to take charge of his seven unruly children, who drive away every carer until the legendary Nanny McPhee (Thompson) arrives one evening. With a single tap of her magic walking stick, Nanny McPhee teaches the children a lesson in obedience they will never forget. Gradually, the children see the error of their ways.

Son of Saul (2015) ***** (BBC2, 11pm)

Laszlo Nemes directs and co-writes this harrowing Hungarian drama, which deservedly won the Academy Award as Best Foreign Language Film and details an unbearable day-and-a-half in the life of a tormented prisoner at the Auschwitz concentration camp. Saul Auslander (Geza Rohrig) has the horrific task of burning the bodies of the dead. One day, he is greeted by the corpse of a boy who bears an unnerving resemblance to his son. Convinced the body is his flesh and blood, Saul begs prison doctor Miklos (Sandor Zsoter) not to perform a post-mortem on the child so he can find a rabbi in the camp to give his son a proper Jewish burial. Meanwhile, fellow prisoner Abraham (Levente Molnar) attempts to light the spark of a revolt against their captors.

MONDAY

Home Again (2017) *** (Film4, 9pm) Premiere

Interior designer Alice Kinney

(Reese Witherspoon) laments the recent breakdown of her marriage to music executive Austen (Michael Sheen). She relocates to LA, to the home of her Oscar-winning director father, where she nurtures her daughters with help from her movie star mum, Lillian (Candice Bergen). Coincidence flings a trio of 20-something aspiring film-makers – director Harry (Pico Alexander), screenwriter George (Jon Rudnitsky) and actor Teddy (Nat Wolff) – into Alice’s rarefied world and they take up temporary residence in her guesthouse. Sexual tension percolates between Alice and

Harry until a jealous Austen returns. First-time director Hallie Meyers-Shyer cuts her film from the same luxurious fabric as The Holiday and It’s Complicated, which were written and directed by her mother, Nancy Meyers.

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Michael Keaton stars as Riggan Thomson, an actor who found fame as superhero Birdman and, 20 years later, planning a comeback with his own Broadway play