Movie picks
SATURDAY
American Made, Ch4, 11.20pm Tom Cruise stars in director Doug Liman’s comedy thriller charting the improbable but true story of an airline pilot who ends up working undercover for the CIA in the 1980s.
Barry Seal (Cruise) is bored with shuttling commercial passengers around the skies, so when the CIA approaches him to serve his country by engaging in covert activities, he sees it as an exciting opportunity to shake things up.
Before long, he’s criss-crossing the continent in a super-quick plane, ducking US Customs, knee-deep in guns, drugs and money, and juggling three bosses - the DEA, CIA and Pablo Escobar. And all this with a growing family at home. Definitely a sustainable career move, right?
SUNDAY
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, Ch4, 11pm
Oscar, Golden Globe and Baftawinning dark comedy drama from writer/director Martin Mcdonagh starring Frances Mcdormand and Woody Harrelson, about a mother who just wants the cops to finally solve her daughter’s murder. But how to do it? Three precisely worded billboards on the road into town, that’s how.
It’s been months since Mildred
Hayes’s (Mcdormand) daughter was raped and murdered and Chief Bill Willoughby (Harrelson) has made no arrests in the small town of Ebbing, Missouri. But how can a grieving mother get the police to do their job?
Driving into town, she sees three dilapidated billboards and an idea forms — she’ll shame the cops into action. But, instead of supporting Mildred and directing their righteous anger against the police, the townsfolk get in a twist about the billboards.
This sets off a chain of events that sees Mildred drilling a little hole in the dentist, kicking high schoolers in the crotch and lobbing the odd Molotov cocktail.
The theory is that the longer you keep a case in the public eye, the better the chances of getting it solved. But will it end in justice for Mildred’s daughter?
MONDAY
Let Him Go, Film4, 9pm Network premiere of this American neo-western directed by Thomas Bezucha starring Kevin Costner and Diane Lane.
After tragically losing their only son, retired sheriff George (Costner) and his wife Margaret (Lane) leave their ranch to save their former daughter-in-law Lorna (Kayli Carter) from her abusive partner.
Two years after her husband’s death, Lorna reluctantly remarries to help support her son Jimmy.
Still grieving the loss of their only son, George and Margaret help their daughter-in-law and grandson move into their new home before saying goodbye. But out shopping one day, Margaret spots Lorna, Jimmy and new husband Donnie and is horrified when she witnesses Donnie’s violent and aggressive behaviour.
Reeling from her discovery, Margaret visits their flat but finds it empty. So, she determines to save Lorna and Jimmy from their abuser. But can she get George to help? And if so, where should they start their search?.
FRIDAY
Snatch, Film4, 11.25pm Fast-paced crime comedy from director
Guy Ritchie with an ensemble cast including Brad Pitt, Jason Statham and Benicio del Toro, and featuring many of the themes and cast members of his first feature, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.
Two criminal gangs collide when the proprietor of a stolen diamond, gangster Franky Four Fingers (del Toro) arrives in London to sell the stone. Things get complicated when Franky goes to place a bet for a friend at the ruthless Brick Top’s (Alan Ford) bookie business. His visit does not go to plan, and when the diamond changes hands, a violent struggle for the priceless piece ensues.