7 TV FILMS OF THE WEEK
1 ISLE OF DOGS Tonight, Channel 4, 6.05pm
THIS offbeat buddy comedy on two and four legs marked writer-director Wes Anderson’s stop-motion animation debut. Set in Japan, it sees selfserving Megasaki politician Mayor Kobayashi (voiced by Kunichi Nomura) decree that the only way to eradicate virulent snout fever is to exile canines to a remote island, where Megasaki dumps its waste. However, the Mayor’s Atari (Koyu Rankin) defies the law by stealing a plane and flying to the island to reunite with his pet Spots. He befriends a pack of mangy mutts including Chief (Bryan Cranston), King (Bob Balaban) and Boss (Bill Murray).
2 RED SPARROW Tomorrow, Film4, 9pm
DOMINIKA EGOROVA (Jennifer Lawrence, left) is a prima ballerina at the Bolshoi Theatre. After an injury her uncle Vanya (Matthias Schoenaerts), deputy director of the Russian Intelligence Service, press-gangs his niece into a secret project, which turns attractive recruits into assets to strike at Western governments.
3 SHALLOW GRAVE Tuesday, Film4, 9pm
THREE flatmates (Kerry Fox, Ewan McGregor, left, and Christopher Eccleston) find a lodger to share their Edinburgh pad, but he dies of an overdose on his first night, leaving a suitcase full of cash. They keep quiet about his death and pocket the money, but disposing of the body has a traumatic effect on one of the trio.
4 DRIVE Wednesday, Sony Movies, 9pm
DRIVER (Ryan Gosling, left) performs stunts in big-budget films. When not on a set, he works as a mechanic and performs illegal jobs, which invariably involve high-speed getaways. When a heist goes wrong, Driver is marked for death. There are romantic complications too when he falls for neighbour Irene (Carey Mulligan).
5 EDUCATING RITA Thursday, BBC4, 9pm
BORED Liverpool hairdresser Rita (Julie Walters) enrols in an Open University English course. Her tutor is Frank (Michael Caine, pictured with Walters), a hard-drinking poet who is initially sceptical, but comes to see his new pupil’s frank opinions and natural intelligence as a breath of fresh air.
6 UPGRADE Friday, Film4, 9pm
GREY TRACE (Logan Marshall-Green, left) and his wife Asha (Melanie Vallejo) are attacked on their way home from delivering a car to tech entrepreneur Eron Keen (Harrison Gilbertson). Asha is killed and Grey paralysed. Keen offers Grey an experimental computer chip implant so he can walk again and have his revenge.
7ABOUT TIME Saturday, Channel 5, 1.50pm
BITTERSWEET rom-com. After he turns 21, Tim (Domhnall Gleeson) learns that he hails from a long line of male time travellers, who can correct past mistakes. He uses this skill after bungling his first meeting with Mary (Rachel McAdams, pictured with Gleeson). However, every correction risks ripples through times.