Ideal for film fans

Gutsy premieres mingle with wholesome flicks for cinema lovers

OUT OF DARKNESS (2022) *** (SKY CINEMA PREMIERE, SATURDAY 1.20PM & 10PM) PREMIERE

Scottish director Andrew Cumming makes his feature film debut with a survival thriller set 45,000 years ago. During the Stone Age, Adem (Chuku Modu) leads a tribe of early humans in search of a new land to call home. The six-strong party includes Adem’s pregnant mate Ave (Iola Evans), warrior Geirr (Kit Young), elder Odal (Arno Luning), youngster Heron (Luna Mwezi) and outcast Beyah (Safia Oakley-green). It is a time of brutality and superstition, and the group work together to hunt and survive the treacherous terrain. But Adem and his party are being stalked by something that lurks in the darkness. When young Heron is snatched and other members of the party are threatened, the tribe fractures and resourceful loner Beyah holds the key to vanquishing a relentless foe.

THE EQUALIZER 3 (2023) **** (SKY CINEMA PREMIERE, SUNDAY, 11.25AM & 8PM)

Bookended by bloodbaths, The Equalizer3 completes the trilogy which reunited two-time Oscar winner Denzel Washington with his Training Day director Antoine Fuqua to portray a government assassin-turned-vigilante made famous on the small screen by Edward Woodward. The titular crusader is badly hurt during a highstakes job in Sicily and loses consciousness on the outskirts of the picturesque fishing village of Altamonte. The American regains his strength and humanity in the close-knit community and befriends the locals. Alas, sadistic crime boss Vincent Quaranta (Andrea Scarduzio) is targeting Altamonte fo r a lucrative development and despatches younger brother Marco (Andrea Dodero) to terrorise the residents into submission.

JURASSIC WORLD: FALLEN KINGDOM (2018) *** (ITV1, MONDAY, 3PM)

Mount Sibo, the volcano which towers over Isla Nublar, growls with molten fury. Benjamin Lockwood (James Cromwell), former business associate of John Hammond, implores Jurassic World’s manager Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard) to oversee a daring rescue mission. She persuades old flame Owen Grady (Chris Pratt) to return to paradise to transplant the stricken wildlife to a new home, aided by her Dinosaur Protection Group colleagues. However, there are dark forces working against the rescuers, including duplicitous Dr Henry Wu (BD Wong). There are thrills and entrails spills, and director JA Bayona choreographs the carnage with flashes of directorial brio, but the blood-curdling screams are largely second-hand.

WORDS ON BATHROOM WALLS (2020) **** (BBC3, TUESDAY, 9PM)

Based on the young adult novel by Julia Walton, Words on Bathroom Walls strikes a pleasing balance between honouring and subverting the conventions of a comingof-age story. Director Thor Freudenthal’s moving drama is a call to arms for compassion and understanding for those who are suffering in isolation. Screenwriter Nick Naveda addresses the lead character’s schizophrenia with sensitivity and wry humour, employing visual cues as a cinematic shorthand for a complex and potentially frightening condition. Charlie Plummer deftly navigates the inner turmoil and mood swings of his alienated 17-year-old who struggles to hide his recent diagnosis when he falls for a classmate.

THE SHAPE OF WATER (2017) **** (FILM4, WEDNESDAY, 11.45PM)

Set in 1962 Baltimore, The Shape of Water is a swoon-inducing, Oscar-winning reimagining of the Beauty and the Beast fairy tale between a “princess without a voice” and a carnivorous merman. Mute Elisa (Sally Hawkins) works as a cleaner at a top-secret US government site. One day, Colonel Richard Strickland (Michael Shannon) shepherds a large metal container into one of the laboratories. Inside is a beguiling aquatic creature (Doug Jones). Elisa becomes emotionally attached to the otherworldly arrival, using sign language and music to communicate. They eventually fall in love and the cleaner hatches a hare-brained plan to liberate her web-footed paramour. Hawkins is simultaneously luminous and heartbreaking, speaking volumes without saying a word.

THE LADY IN THE VAN (2015) ***** (BBC4, THURSDAY, 9PM)

Playwright Alan Bennett (Alex Jennings) moves into a house in Camden – and soon after, a cantankerous woman called Miss Shepherd (Maggie Smith) settles in the same street in her ramshackle vehicle.

Alan foolishly agrees to let her take up temporary residence on his driveway. Months turn into years and the playwright despairs as he becomes Miss Shepherd’s guardian. Teasingly billed as ‘a mostly true story’, The Lady in the Van is an entertaining screen adaptation of Bennett’s award-winning 1999 stage work. Smith reprises her theatre role as the eponymous tramp, unleashing an array of withering putdowns that would surely have her imperious dowager in Downton Abbey clucking with approval.

THERE’S SOMETHING ABOUT MARY (1998) **** (ITV2, FRIDAY, 9PM)

The Farrelly brothers’ riotous comedy stars Ben Stiller as loveable schmuck Ted, who misses out on a prom date with his highschool crush Mary (Cameron Diaz) after a rather unfortunate bathroom incident. Thirteen years later, Ted is still obsessed with Mary and sets out to track her down with the help of slimy claims adjuster Pat Healy (a very funny Matt Dillon), who also falls for Mary and does everything he can to prevent her and Ted ever meeting again. The gross-out setpieces are hilarious, while Stiller and Diaz add genuine sweetness.