The Herald - The Herald Magazine
PICK OF TV MOVIES
SATURDAY
Once Upon a Time...In Hollywood (2019) (C4, 9pm)
Effortlessly blending laidback hangout comedy, nail-biting tension and shocking violence, Quentin Tarantino’s recreation of 1969 Los Angeles is one of his best movies. Leonardo DiCaprio is on great form as actor Rick Dalton, whose star has faded since the days when he was the lead in the TV Western Bounty Law. Still accompanied by his stunt doubleturned-right-hand man Cliff (an Oscar-winning Brad Pitt at his most charismatic), he’s struggling to stay relevant in a changing Hollywood – unlike his new next-door neighbours, rising actress Sharon Tate (the luminous Margot Robbie) and her husband, director-of-the-moment Roman Polanski (Rafal Zawierucha). There are also eye-catching supporting roles for Margaret Qualley as a hippy, Julia Butters as a precocious child actor and Mike Moh as Bruce Lee.
Pain and Glory (2019) (BBC4, 9pm)
Spanish writer-director Pedro Almodovar brings a personal touch to this beautifully calibrated, semiautobiographical memory maze, which reunites him with leading man Antonio Banderas. The best days of filmmaker Salvador Mallo (Banderas) are behind him as he stumbles, literally and figuratively, through middle age with crippling back pain. When a local cinema hosts a screening of one of his most celebrated films, Salvador nervously extends the hand of friendship to its handsome star, Alberto Crespo (Asier Etxeandia). Their awkward reunion sparks vivid memories of a bucolic childhood in Paterna, where nineyear-old Salvador (Asier Flores) orbited his mother Jacinta (Penelope Cruz). Banderas delivers one of the most compelling performances of his illustrious career, peeling back layers of regret and despair.
SUNDAY
Big (1988) (C5, 4.20pm)
Twelve-year-old Josh (David Moscow) is humiliated when he’s turned away from a fairground ride for being too short, and makes a wish to be big – which is granted when he wakes up the next morning in the body of a 30-year-old man (Tom Hanks). With the help of his best mate Billy, the newly grown-up Josh moves to New York and gets a job at a toy company, where his enthusiasm impresses his boss and cynical executives. But is
Josh really ready for all the complexities of adult life? Hanks, who picked up his first Oscar nomination for his performance, is absolutely pitch perfect in this funny, bittersweet fantasy.
Ali (2001) (BBC2, 10pm)
Will Smith is currently being tipped for an Oscar for his performance as the father of Venus and Serena Williams in King Richard, but some of his fans think he should already have a statuette in his trophy cabinet for this earlier sporting biopic. Directed by Michael Mann, it follows 10 years in the life of iconic boxer Muhammad Ali, from his 1964 bout fight with Sonny Liston (when he was still known as Cassius Clay to his 1974 ‘Rumble in the Jungle’ against George Foreman. Along the way, it takes in his conversion to Islam, friendship with Malcolm X and refusal to fight in the Vietnam War. There’s strong support from Jon Voight as Howard Cosell, but this is undoubtedly Smith’s film.
MONDAY
The Devil Wears Prada (2006) (Film4, 6.45pm)
New graduate Andy Sachs (Anne Hathaway) lands a plum job as second assistant to the fearsome Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep), esteemed editor of Runway magazine. Andy hopes the position will be a steppingstone to serious political journalism and is unprepared for the immense challenges that lie ahead, catering to her tyrannical boss’s every whim. David Frankel’s smartly tailored adaptation of Lauren Weisberger’s international best-seller is delicious. Streep glides through every frame in swathes of Galliano, Valentino and, of course, Prada, armed to her polished teeth with a dizzying array of knockout one-liners. As despicable as Miranda may be, Streep expertly reveals the chinks in her villainess’ designer-label armour, showing glimmers of vulnerability beneath the impeccably coiffed facade.
Shakespeare in Love (1998) (BBC2, 11.15pm)
John Madden’s glorious romantic comedy collected seven Academy Awards including Best Picture. Gwyneth Paltrow, who was one of the winners, is on sparkling form as Viola, a young woman who yearns to be an actor – but the conventions of the day dictate that only men are allowed on stage. Her luck changes when she meets young Will Shakespeare
(Joseph Fiennes), who is suffering from writer’s block. When Viola and Will meet, the chemistry is instant and so begins a passionate affair, with
Viola disguising herself as a man to achieve her dreams and Will using their affair as the inspiration for his latest play, Romeo & Ethel: The Pirate’s Daughter. Written by Marc Norman and Tom Stoppard, Shakespeare in Love is awash with clever literary references and a keen sense of humour that is impossible to resist.
TUESDAY
Went the Day Well? (1942) (Talking Pictures TV, 4.05pm)
German paratroopers infiltrate a small English village disguised as a platoon of Royal Engineers. The villagers are eager to help them at first, but when they realise they’ve been duped, they must pull together to thwart the enemy. This propaganda thriller from the Ealing Studios based on a story by Graham Greene is excellent and not to be missed. While the acting is at times a little stiff, the relationships are on the
whole believable, and this is up there with some of the best wartime films, thanks to some brave, well-handled scenes.
WEDNESDAY
Red (2010) (Film4, 9pm)
Former Black Ops agent Frank Moses (Bruce Willis) has retired from active duty and now carves out a mundane existence in suburbia, where the highlight of his day is flirting on the phone with customer services agent Sarah (Mary-Louise Parker). When a gun-toting death squad razes his home, Frank goes on the run with Sarah and heads to Louisiana to reunite with old friend Joe Matheson (Morgan Freeman), then on to a secret bunker to re-enlist conspiracy theorist Marvin Boggs (John Malkovich). As the body count rises, the ex-agents and Sarah add sniper Victoria (Helen Mirren) to their ranks and unravel the mystery of an old mission in Guatemala. An A-list cast and tongue-in-cheek humour enliven Robert Schwentke’s explosive action comedy.
Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994) (Film4, 11.35pm)
A clumsy English fop (Hugh Grant) seems destined to always be the best man at weddings and never get married himself. However, he finally finds the stirrings of true romance after a one-night stand with a beautiful American (Andie MacDowell). After going their separate ways, he realises he wants to be with her – but fate seems to intervene at every turn. The first collaboration between writer-director Richard Curtis and actor Grant was the movie that put them both on the map. This hilarious romantic comedy makes full use of Grant’s natural charm and boasts a superb cast, which also includes John Hannah, Charlotte Coleman, Kristin Scott Thomas and Simon Callow. What’s more, Rowan Atkinson pops up in a laugh-out-loud cameo.
THURSDAY
Black and Blue (2019) (Film4, 9pm)
After serving a tour of duty in Afghanistan with the US Army, Alicia (Naomie Harris) returns to her native New Orleans to take a job as a police officer. She discovers she’s viewed with mistrust by the people’s she’s supposed to be helping, especially in the poor neighbourhood where she grew up. But Alicia also becomes an outsider in the force after she witnesses three fellow officers killing a trio of unarmed drug dealers. When the corrupt cops realise she recorded the crime on her bodycam, they give chase... The mix of action thriller and social commentary is occasionally uneasy, but Harris holds it all together.
FRIDAY
Lady Bird (2017) (BBC3, 9.15pm)
Although Lady Bird isn’t strictly autobiographical, writer-director Greta Gerwig draws on fond memories of her Californian hometown for a beautifully observed study of mother-daughter relationships and youthful exuberance in turn of the 21st-century Sacramento. This exquisite coming-of-age comedy drama is a near perfect confluence of direction, writing and performance, which elicits tears and laughter in generous equal measure. Gerwig has a sharp ear for the ebb and flow of pithy conversations between friends and family and her script is infused with unabashed warmth for the well-drawn characters. Oscar nominees Saoirse Ronan and Laurie Metcalf are delightful as the spunky title character and her hard-working mother.