Daily Mail - Daily Mail Weekend Magazine
FILMS OF THE WEEK
PETER RABBIT
(2018) PG ●
Sunday, 5.10pm, Ch4 ★★★★ Like Paddington Bear before him, Peter Rabbit is a classic character of children’s literature who’s been computer-animated into a world where human actors also tread. The join is seamless, and makes for a lively and very funny adventure as Peter and his bunny family bounce around an idealised version of the English countryside – and into the arms of their best human friend, Bea (Rose Byrne, above, with Benjamin and Peter). Cheeky and energetic, Peter is aptly voiced by James Corden, and isn’t fond of taking life too seriously. However, when he acquires a new nemesis in rabbit-hating stuffed shirt Thomas (Domhnall Gleeson), Peter comes out all carrots blazing, and the stage is set for an epic clash of man vs nature – with added dynamite.
THE LAVENDER HILL MOB
(1951) U ● Thursday, 3.15pm, BBC2 ★★★★ Cracking Ealing comedy from
T.E.B. Clarke and Charles Crichton – the same writer and director behind Hue And Cry (1947) and The Titfield Thunderbolt (1953) – this is another tale of the little man taking on the wealth and might of the Establishment. Alec Guinness is the mild-mannered, fastidious bank clerk who hatches a plan to steal gold bullion from the
Bank of England, with a little help from a dodgy businessman (Stanley Holloway, above, with Guinness) and two lackeys
(Alfie Bass and Sid James). The scheme is ingenious, but will it succeed? It’s hard to imagine crooks being quite as genial in this day and age and, while it’s unlikely that they will turn out to be master criminals, these are thieves we can all root for.