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A whole raft of new films have dropped on ITVX this week, including this coming-of-age charmer from Rick Famuyiwa, who has recently been directing and producing The Mandelorian. Three adorable school nerds, Malcolm (Shameik Moore), Jib (Tony Revolori) and Diggy (Kiersey Clemons) find themselves mixed up with drugs. With a similar energy to John Hughes' teen movies but with just a fraction more edge, Famuyiwa keeps the comedy coming, while also employing some sharp plot manoeuvring to ensure there's barely a dull moment.
'71, Netflix, streaming now
Black Watch playwright Gregory Burke invites us to spend a night at the 'hellmouth' that was Belfast Falls Road in 1971, as seen through the eyes of young British squaddie Gary Hook (Jack O'Connell) on his first tour of duty. Things go wrong fast and he finds himself trapped in no-man's land with all hell breaking loose. Burke is interested in people not politics, keeping the focus on the sudden outbreaks of inhumanity and humanity in the madness, expertly crafting his thriller from the swirling fog of war, while O'Connell and first-time director Yann Demange keep us bolted to the squaddie's naked fear.
Chevalier, Disney, streaming now
This biopic of Chevalier de Saint-Georges Joseph Bologne although rather bloodless in terms of emotions, is nevertheless a well-polished costume drama that charts the rise of the composer (Kelvin Harrison Jr) thanks, not least, to the attentions of Marie Antoinette (Lucy Boynton). Although the central forbidden romance between Bologne and Marie-Josephine (Samara Weaving) never achieves the passion that the composer so clearly possessed, it offers a fresh angle on the period.
The Silent Enemy, 3pm, Talking Pictures TV, Wednesday, August 9
There might be a fair bit of poetic licence at work but this dramatisation of the plucky Brits going up against Italian frogmen in the war is a solid effort from director William Fairchild. It charts how Lionel "Buster" Crabb (Laurence Harvey) trained up to take part in a secret and unauthorised mission to neutral Spain to work out how the Italians are managing to be so successful. Notable for its underwater sequences - and for the appearance of Sid James in a straight dramatic role as the chief petty officer who is, indeed, extremely petty.
Highlander, 11.45pm, BBC1, Saturday, August 12
Jennie Kermode writes: A French Canadian (Christopher Lambert) playing a Scotsman, a Scotsman (Sean Connery) playing a Spaniard, and Clancy Brown playing, well, Clancy Brown, with added leather-jacketed scenery chewing, this tale of inexplicable supernatural derring-do helmed by music video impresario Russel Mulcahey and scored by Queen, is one of a kind. It follows a centuries-long contest between immortals bent on chopping off one another’s heads in a quest to win something suspiciously like the internet. There’s action, romance, mystery and some unforgettable lines.
Photograph, 2.55am, BBC2, Sunday, August 13
Romance blooms across the class divide thanks to a camera in Ritesh Batra's slow-burn drama. The camera in question belongs to Rafi (Nawazuddin Siddiqui), a street photographer struggling to make ends meet in Mumbai. One day he takes a snap of rich young woman Miloni (Sanya Malhotra), using it to concoct a story of romance for the gran pressuring him to wed. It's a clever set-up that sees him end up convincing Miloni to play along for the day - after which things get complicated. Batra carefully constructs his film around a strong sense of longing - from the simple pleasures of kulfi to the prospect of a fresh start. Warm hearted and generous to its characters, his film builds to a moving climax. "Every movie you make, you learn something more about yourself and about the business," Batra told us.
Custody, Film4, 1.55am, Monday, August 14
I personally might not have given this film the most glowing review on its release but my reservations about whether it is a bit overstretched at feature length are in the minority - so perhaps you should make your own minds up. Xavier Legrand's film focuses on the custody battle between Miriam (Lea Drucker) and her violent husband Antoine (Denis Ménochet) over their 11-year-old son Julien (Thomas Gioria). If the subsidiary characters, arguably, could do with more depth, Legrand has no problem in generating and sustaining the tension thanks in no small part to Ménochet's menacing central turn and Gioria, whose body language screams with stress when he's around his dad. Legrand told us he wanted to make "a Greek tragedy for our times".
This week's short selection is Without You by Tal Rosner
