TV FILMS of the week
1 Sicario Saturday, Channel 4, 11.35pm
Kate Macer (Emily Blunt) is part of the FBI’S Special Weapons and
Tactics team, who are at the forefront of the war against drugs. A government agent named Matt Graver (Josh Brolin) asks Kate to join his top-secret task force, which intends to cripple a drugs cartel from the top down. Kate willingly signs up and learns that she will be venturing onto Mexican soil, but as the bullets fly, her conscience is left spattered in blood. Sicario gradually tightens the screws on our frayed nerves until we’re begging for mercy. At the blackened heart of the film is a tour-de-force performance from Blunt.
2 While We’re young Sunday, great! movies, 10.50pm
This comedy drama finds film-maker Josh Srebnick and his wife Cornelia (Ben Stiller, Naomi Watts, left) stuck in a rut. They meet twentysomething aspiring film-maker Jamie (Adam Driver) and his girlfriend Darby (Amanda Seyfried), whose lust for life is infectious – but is there more to the younger couple than meets the eye?
3 Jerry Maguire Monday, Film4, 9pm
Rom-com starring Tom Cruise, left, as the eponymous sports agent who suggests his firm take on fewer clients but offer them a better service. The idea gets him fired and forces him to set up his own business – but the only people standing by him are a lovelorn accountant (Renée Zellweger) and a footballer (Cuba Gooding Jr).
4 eaten by lions Tuesday, bbc2, 11.15pm
Half-brothers Omar and Pete (Antonio Aakeel and Jack Carroll, pictured) are orphaned at a young age. Their grandmother takes them in, but when she dies, the boys embark on a haphazard road trip to the bright lights of Blackpool to track down Omar’s biological father. Eaten by Lions is a bittersweet, multicultural buddy comedy.
5 Judy Wednesday, bbc1, 10.35pm
In this biopic, Judy Garland (an Oscar-winning Renée Zellweger, left) is embroiled in a battle with her third husband for custody of their children. Crippled by debt, Judy agrees to a five-week run of shows at a London nightclub. Unfortunately, flighty fiancé Mickey Deans (Finn Wittrock) distracts Judy when she should be rehearsing.
6 annie hall Thursday, bbc4, 9pm
Woody Allen may be a controversial figure, but his Oscar-winning rom-com remains an impressive and influential achievement. The writer-director stars as neurotic New York comedian Alvy Singer, who reflects on his relationship with aspiring singer Annie (Allen’s real-life ex Diane Keaton, pictured with Allen, who was born Diane Hall).
7 a Simple Favour Friday, bbc3, 9pm
Single mum and food blogger Stephanie (Anna Kendrick, left) strikes up a friendship with PR director Emily (Blake Lively). When Emily asks Stephanie to pick up her son from school while she deals with an emergency, she gladly obliges. The publicist never returns and Stephanie turns amateur sleuth to unravel the mystery.