 |
| Captain Phillips |
Captain Phillips, 10.40pm, BBC1, Thursday
A year after the story of the takeover, by pirates, of the MV Rozen was brought to the screen in A Hijacking, Paul Greengrass brought the real-life hijacking of the the US cargo ship Maersk Alabama by Somali pirates to cinemas. Tom Hanks is the big name star, of course, and his performance does not disappoint. Phillips may have a surface calmness but we feel the fear lurking somewhere close by. He's matched by the concentrated performance from Barkhad Abdi as lead pirate Muse, whose character is fully fleshed out by Billy Ray's script. Greengrass had form for edge-of-seat tension with 9/11 film United 93 and he repeats the trick here as the situation escalates. Gripping from start to finish. Read what Greengrass and Hanks said about the film here.
The BFG, 3.45pm, BBC1, Sunday
Steven Spielberg was the perfect choice to take on Roald Dahl's tale of an orphan, Sophie (Ruby Barnhill), who finds herself befriending the giant of the title (created with one eye on the original book illustrations by Quentin Blake and played with a warm and soulful resonance by Mark Rylance). There's both a delight in the Scrumdiddlyumptious way that the BFG speaks and in the detailed motion-capture work used to bring him to life as this pair of unlikely heroes take on a handful of giants who are intent on eating human beans.
The Two Faces Of January, 11.45pm, BBC2, Tuesday
Jennie Kermode writes: A dream cast brings tenderness and soul to Hossein Amini's adaptation of Patricia Highsmith's melancholy thriller. Oscar Isaac, in one of his first leading roles, plays Rydal, a young man who makes his living by guiding tourists around Athens, with the odd bit of swindling and seduction along the way. He meets his match in elegant yet sociopathic con man Chester (Viggo Mortensen) and his much younger wife Colette (Kirsten Dunst). When the three leave the city in haste after Chester kills a private detective, their fortunes becomes increasingly bound up together. This is complicated by Rydal and Colette's mutual attraction, though it's between the two men that the sparks really fly. Rydal sees Chester as a surrogate father figure but it's plain that there's more to it than that, and as Colette finds herself squeezed out, her existence becomes increasingly precarious. beautiful, bleached cinematography presents Classical ruins in a whole new way and an orchestral score full of yearning and regret completes the picture. it's a must see for mystery fans who find themselves most intrigued by the human dimension.
The Rider, 1.45am, Thursday, Film4
Before Chloé Zhao started winning just about every award going with Nomadland, she made this lovely low-key character study of young rodeo star Brady (Brady Jandreau) who is facing up to major life changes after an accident. The sense of authenticity is bolstered by her nonprofessional cast, who feel like an organic part of the landscape. The Rider achieves its poignancy in small moments, the comfort of family - embodied by Brady's sister Lilly (Jandreau's real-life sister Lilly), who is on the autistic spectrum - and friendship, as we see his badly hurt pal Lane (Lane Scott) endure the rigours of rehabilitation. Immersive and moving, read what Jandreau and Zhao told us about the film in our interviews about autism and training horses, and the film's other themes.
What Ever Happened To Baby Jane, 9pm, BBC4, Thursday
Jennie Kermode writes: Robert Aldrich’s celebrated tale of two ageing sisters at war explores the damage done over many years as Jane (Bette Davis) has struggled to care for partially paralysed Blanche (played by her arch rival Joan Crawford), with their relationship deteriorating to the point where Blanche is essentially a prisoner in an upstairs room. In one terrifying sequence where she determines to try and escape down the stairs, Aldrich demonstrates that he knows exactly what this means, capturing the sense of danger posed by an ordinary domestic feature in a way that few directors have matched before or since. What tends to be overlooked by reviewers, however, is Jane’s mental disability. As her grip on reality disintegrates, Blanche tries to care for her, and is forced to face up to the responsibility she bears for contributing to this decline by way of an incident in their past. Though much of the film is played for laughs, with Davis exaggerating Jane’s madness, at its heart is an appreciation of the complexity of many real life care-focused relationships. The ending, in particular, also emphasises the way that most people turn a blind eye to such tragedies happening in their midst.
Amores Perros, 12.05am, Friday, Film4
While I personally think Mexican director Alejandro González Iñárritu went on to milk the idea of interlocking stories too much with the likes of the subsequent Babel (a view not shared by our reviewer), his debut nailed the concept. The film spins its web through three tales. In one, a teenage ne'er do well (Gael García Bernal, in the role that first garnered him some international attention) discovers his dog has fighting potential; the second shows a relationship unfolding in the wake of a car crash; while the third revolves around an ex-guerilla (Emilio Echevarria) who lives with a pack of strays. Brutal in its approach to the material - dog lovers, be warned, it looks bad even though the makers say none were hurt in the making of the film - the car crash becomes a touchstone for all three stories as they hurtle along, considering man's inner vicious dog tendencies while still offering up a surprisingly moral message.
Hellboy, 10.35pm, ITV4, Thursday
Slime and sorcery are to the fore in this tale of a cat-loving demon who – despite being summoned for the Nazis – is raised by John Hurt's professor to take on the bad guys instead. Director Guillermo del Toro keeps the pace racing along, which is handy because the story is decidedly thin, involving the return of Rasputin and a load of stuff you won't really care about. Surprisingly, that doesn't matter too much with characters this well drawn. Ron Perlman is in his element as Hellboy – Red to his friends – charming, vulnerable and world weary in equal measure, with Rupert Evans executing excellent straight man duties alongside him and David Hyde Pierce providing perfect (uncredited) vocals for Red's friend Abe Sapien ('played' on screen by Doug Jones).
This week's short is the very funny Nolan's Cheddar, which also features excellent animatronic work by John Nolan. You can read more about his animatronic work on his site. You'll have to pop across to YouTube to see it - well worth one-and-a-half minutes of anyone's time.
