TV FILMS of the week
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THE BEST EXOTIC MARIGOLD HOTEL Tonight, Channel 5, 3.20pm
Evelyn (Judi Dench) is coming to terms with the recent loss of her husband in this charming comedy drama. She abandons Britain for Jaipur and a retirement home called The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. There she meets cantankerous wheelchair user Muriel (Maggie Smith), waspish snob Jean (Penelope Wilton) and her husband Douglas (Bill Nighy); retired judge Graham (Tom Wilkinson); ladies’ man Norman (Ronald Pickup); and spinster Madge (Celia Imrie). On arrival, the travellers discover a building in disrepair and an inexperienced manager (Dev Patel), struggling to keep creditors off his back.
2
RED JOAN
Tomorrow, BBC2, 11.15pm
Joan (Dame Judi Dench, left) is charged with breaking the Official Secrets Act. As detectives try to extract a confession, Joan drifts into a fugue state, flashing back to 1938. Naive Joan (now played by Sophie Cookson) is persuaded to share intelligence with the KGB when she begins work on the atomic bomb programme. Red Joan is a tangled tale of wartime espionage.
3
STAR TREK BEYOND Tuesday, Film4, 6.40pm
Captain James T Kirk (Chris Pine, left) is considering relinquishing the bridge. He keeps his plans secret from the crew. During a visit to a Federation starbase, Kirk and the team respond to a distress call. The Enterprise subsequently comes under attack from Krall (Idris Elba). Star Trek Beyond is a familiar conflation of past, future and present that fails to set its phasers to stun.
4
BOOKSMART Wednesday, BBC3, 10pm
High school student Amy (Kaitlyn Dever) and best friend Molly (Beanie Feldstein, pictured with Dever) have forsaken partying to achieve their academic dreams. As graduation looms, Amy is destined for Columbia while Molly has been accepted into Yale. The gal pals are gob-smacked to learn that lazy peers have also secured places at coveted Ivy League institutions and resolve to make amends.
5
MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS Thursday, Film4, 9pm
Kenneth Branagh’s handsome reimagining of the snowbound murder mystery finds Poirot (Branagh, left) onboard the Orient Express with gangster Samuel Ratchett (Johnny Depp), who offers to pay the Belgian to ensure his safety. The detective declines, but then a murderer strikes. Suspects include Mary (Daisy Ridley), Caroline (Michelle Pfeiffer) and Hildegarde (Olivia Colman).
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STEP BROTHERS Friday, Film4, 9pm
Brennan (Will Ferrell, left) is 40 going on 14. He still lives at home with his mother Nancy (Mary Steenburgen). Nancy meets Robert (Richard Jenkins), who has his own adult son at home – Dale (John C Reilly) – and the lonely parents embark on a whirlwind romance. The humour won’t be to everyone’s tastes, but the rapport between Ferrell and Reilly powers the film.
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WHAT LIES BENEATH Saturday, 5Star, 9pm
A doctor’s wife (Michelle Pfeiffer, pictured) has recurring nightmares about a ghost who asks for help. Her psychiatrist encourages her to communicate with the spirit and while doing so she realises there is a connection to a local girl’s disappearance. She also uncovers some shocking truths about her own marriage. Harrison Ford also stars in this spooky and mysterious drama.