The Herald - The Herald Magazine
PICK OF TV MOVIES
SATURDAY
Captain Marvel (2019) (C4, 9.25pm) Premiere
Vers (Brie Larson) is a member of an elite military unit called Starforce, valiant protectors of the Kree empire. During one heated battle, Vers escapes the clutches of the Skrull and crash-lands on 1995 Earth where
Nick Fury (Samuel L Jackson), a low-ranking member of S.H.I.E.L.D, discovers a link between Vers and deceased US air force pilot Carol Danvers. As the fate of mankind hangs in the balance, Fury accompanies Vers on a quest for painful answers, which leads to Danvers’ flying partner Maria Rambeau (Lashana Lynch). Captain Marvel is a solid origin story for one of Marvel Comics’ most powerful heroes, who plays a pivotal role in the cataclysmic events of Avengers: Endgame. The most impressive digital trickery is reserved for turning back the clock on Jackson’s younger, freshfaced Fury.
I Blame Society (2020) (Film4, 11pm) Premiere
Gillian Wallace Horvat directed, co-wrote and stars in this darkly comic thriller. Struggling would-be film-maker Gillian is tired of having her ideas and scripts rejected, but when someone suggests she might make a good murderer, it gives her an idea for a fake documentary about how she would go about killing her friend’s unpleasant girlfriend. What starts as a mockumentary sparks a real murder spree, with Gillian documenting her own every move. It may be a bit rough around the edges, but I Blame Society is also daring and frequently very funny, with some sharp bits of Hollywood satire thrown in.
EASTER SUNDAY
E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982) (ITV2, 3.25pm)
The childhoods of an entire generation were moulded by three simple words: “E.T. phone home”.
The memories (and the tears) come flooding back from the opening frames of Steven Spielberg’s masterpiece. Forty years after its initial release, E.T.: The ExtraTerrestrial has lost none of its power to entertain and enchant. If cinematic aliens land on Earth now, they tend to be huge, snarling beasties intent on domination, not some sweet creature capable of loving a human child, played to perfection by Henry Thomas. For that reason alone we should keep this timeless classic close to our hearts. But more than that, E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial reminds us of the power of cinema to transport us away from the monotony of everyday life, to a world of magic and possibility.
The Beguiled (2017) (BBC1, 12.10am)
Eleven-year-old Amy (Oona Laurence) goes foraging for mushrooms in the woods in Civil War-torn Virginia and stumbles upon an injured Union soldier, Corporal John McBurney (Colin Farrell). She helps him to stagger to the nearby girls’ school where teacher Miss Martha Farnsworth (the excellent Nicole Kidman) oversees the education of the remaining charges with the help of Edwina Morrow (Kirsten Dunst). With each passing day, John charms his wary, affectionstarved hosts, gradually pitting them against each other in a competition for his attentions. Based on the novel by Thomas P Cullinan, which was previously filmed in 1971 with Clint Eastwood as McBurney, Sofia Coppola’s The Beguiled is a fable of female empowerment that largely delivers on the intoxicating promise of the title.
EASTER MONDAY Beauty and the Beast (2017) (BBC1, 2.30pm)
Strong-willed bookworm Belle
(Emma Watson) rebuffs the amorous advances of preening Gaston (Luke Evans), who wonders how he’ll know when he is in love. Before Gaston can find out, Belle trades places with her inventor father Maurice (Kevin Kline) as the eternal prisoner of an accursed Beast (Dan Stevens) in his crumbling stronghold. The gloom of incarceration is lifted by the kindness of enchanted servants, including flirtatious candlestick Lumiere (Ewan McGregor) and clinking teapot Mrs Potts (Emma Thompson) - and by her growing bond with her captor. Beauty and the Beast is a ravishing live-action remake of the 1991 Disney animation, and if Bill Condon’s picture doesn’t quite scale the dizzy heights of its predecessor, it comes delightfully close.
Official Secrets (2019) (BBC2, 10pm) Premiere
A British spy risks her freedom “to stop a war and save lives” in the slowburning thriller Official Secrets. Based on the true story of whistleblower Katharine Gun, who leaked top-secret information to the press in 2003 as Tony Blair prepared to take Britain to war in Iraq, director Gavin Hood’s picture bristles with indignation at a political
establishment willing to manufacture a narrative to justify military intervention. Knightley brings steely determination, fragility and naivete to her role, portraying her mild-mannered informant as a reluctant heroine, who risks being crushed in the gear wheels of a well-oiled government machine, even if the fire in Gun’s belly fails to ignite Hood’s conventional dramatisation.
TUESDAY
My Best Friend’s Wedding (1997) (Film4, 6.40pm)
Julia Roberts gives one of her best performances in this enjoyable romantic comedy, which puts a slyly subversive spin on the genre. Food critic Julianne (Roberts) realises that her friend Michael (Dermot Mulroney) is the love of her life - unfortunately, this only dawns on her after he tells her he’s about to marry beautiful heiress
Kimmy (Cameron Diaz, who is an equal match for Roberts in the charm stakes). So, Julianne schemes to stop the wedding, even roping in her sceptical friend George (a scenestealing Rupert Everett) to help, but her plotting threatens to turn her from a plucky rom-com heroine into an outright villain.
WEDNESDAY
Under Siege (1992) (ITV4, 9pm)
Steven Seagal’s best movie by quite some distance is a slick action blockbuster in the Die Hard mould. Set aboard a battleship, the fun begins when a terrorist climbs on board, determined to steal its arsenal of nuclear weapons. But of course, they didn’t count on the cook (an all-fighting, bacon-grilling Seagal) who attempts to thwart their plans along with a semi-naked stripper (Erika Eleniak).
It’s ridiculous but wildly entertaining thanks to Andrew Davis’s direction and a cracking pace. Tommy Lee Jones is excellent as the villain and would reunite with Davis (and a host of other actors from this movie) to Oscar-winning effect in The Fugitive.
THURSDAY
King Kong (1933) (BBC4, 10pm)
A film producer and his crew visit a remote island where they encounter a 50ft ape which takes a shine to their leading lady - but taking the creature back to America turns out to be a bad idea. Original scream queen Fay Wray gives a memorable performance as the object of Kong’s affections, while Robert Armstrong and Bruce Cabot also star in this unmissable classic monster movie, most famous for the memorable final stand atop the Empire State Building. The stop-motion effects may look more charming than scary now, but this classic monster movie still towers above the dull 1976 remake and Peter Jackson’s enjoyable, if overlong, 2005 version.
FRIDAY
The Imitation Game (2014) (BBC1, 10.40pm)
Alan Turing (Benedict Cumberbatch) sits in a police interrogation room with Detective Nock (Rory Kinnear), facing a charge of indecency with a 19-yearold unemployed man. In flashback, Alan arrives at Bletchley Park where a group of the country’s keenest try to break the Enigma code. Hugh Alexander, John Cairncross and Peter Hilton work alongside Turing, but he ploughs his own furrow and raises eyebrows by recruiting Joan Clarke (Keira Knightley) to the team. The Imitation Game is a handsomely crafted tribute to a prodigy, whose invaluable contribution to the war effort was besmirched by bigotry. Oscar-nominee Cumberbatch is mesmerising, trampling over the egos of fellow code breakers without any concern for their feelings.
Creed II (2018) (STV, 10.45pm) Premiere
After Creed proved there was still life in the Rocky franchise, Michael B Jordan and Sylvester Stallone return for this enjoyable, if undeniably lesser, sequel. More than 30 years after his epic showdown with Rocky Balboa (Stallone) in Rocky IV, boxer Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren) is living in ignominy, haunted by defeat and the breakdown of his marriage to wife Ludmilla (Brigitte Nielsen). In search of redemption, Ivan trains his only son Viktor, moulding his offspring into a perfect physical specimen and a fearsome contender for the heavyweight championship belt in the possession of Rocky’s protege, Adonis Creed (Jordan). Jordan and Stallone ease back into their comfortable roles.