Film choice
Oz the Great and Powerful (2013) BBC ONE, 3.00PM ★★★
James Franco is miscast as a sideshow magician borne by tornado from sepia-tinted Kansas to a colourful wonderland in Disney’s Wizard of Oz prequel. He’s hailed as the wizard who will bring peace to the kingdom, but the role calls for an elaborate showman, and Franco is as drowsy as a field mouse. Thankfully, Sam Raimi conjures up some fun 3D jumps and lush backdrops to fill the gap.
Maps to the Stars (2014) BBC TWO, 10.00PM; NI, 11.00PM ★★★★
David Cronenberg’s satire about “making it” in Hollywood is nightmarishly compelling, and his best film since 2002’s Spider; it’s a rumbling thundercloud of dark laughs and churning horror, with a cast of characters so incestuously interconnected that it’s hard to fathom who is linked to whom, and how. Julianne Moore excels as an actress past her best.
The Skin I Live In (2011) BBC TWO, 11.45PM; NOT NORTHERN IRELAND ★★★
Pedro Almodóvar’s bizarre thriller is constructed to induce kinky shudders, and he delivers them with ghoulish flair. Antonio Banderas stars as a Frankensteinian plastic surgeon who has concocted an illegal revolutionary synthetic skin treatment which he tests out in secret. Banderas delivers tormented reserve, rather than mad-scientist shtick, but it’s still hard to take seriously.