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| Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One Photo: Paramount Pictures |
Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning, Netflix, from Sunday, May 11
With The Final Reckoning premiering at Cannes later this month before wide release, now is a good time to catch up with Cruise's previous instalment of the spy franchise. Cruise, of course, still looks preternaturally fresh as Ethan Hunt, but he's bringing an increasing world weariness to the role as the baggage of his character has loaded up down the years. Not that that gets in the way of great stunts, mind, with the hunt for a dangerous weapon leading to an incredible bike stunt (more on which, here) not to mention a fight on a train which feels traditional and fresh simultaneously.
Raging Bull, 10.30pm, BBC2, Monday, May 5
Robert De Niro's work may have been decidedly patchy in the past decade or so but this classic is a reminder of just how great he can be at his most intense. He inhabits the hulking figure of Jake La Motta in Martin Scorsese's tale of the self-destructive boxer, who can't keep his violence in check, working for the first but not the last time against Joe Pesci, who plays as La Motta's brother-cum-manager Joey, in the role that brought him to prominence. There's an operatic quality to the action both inside and outside the ring, with cinematographer Michael Chapman (reteaming with Scorsese after Taxi Driver) using the crisp black and white to great effect both inside and outside the ring.
The Sting, 2.30pm, Legend (Freeview Channel 41), Tuesday, May 6
They'd already proved a tough double-header to beat in director George Roy Hill's Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid and the twin wattage of Robert Redford and Paul Newman at the top of their game shines just as brightly in this slick comedy drama from the same director, this time written by David S Ward. The pair play con artists Henry (Newman) and Johnny (Redford) who hatch an elaborate sting to liberate a load of cash from mobster Doyle (Robert Shaw). Everything has the click of satisfaction in this film, from the mechanic of the sting itself to the Depression-era production design and the piano score from Scott Joplin – something the Academy acknowledged with seven Oscars, including Best Film.
Calm With Horses, MUBI, streaming now
Cosmo Jarvis cemented his name internationally with Disney+ show Shogun but he already had a CV full of interesting roles in indy films like this. His nuanced central performance anchors this debut feature from Nick Rowland about a gangland enforcer who gets trapped in a moral maze. Arm (Jarvis) finds himself increasingly torn between doing the bidding of Dympna (Barry Keoghan, bringing his A game as usual), who calls the shots in his criminal clan – and his responsibilities towards his autistic son and ex (Niamh Algar). The film is also notable for its moody and bleak exterior cinematography from Piers McGrail.
The Night Of The 12th, 9pm, Film4, Wednesday, May 7
In this true crime procedural laced with the poison of toxic masculinity, Dominik Moll dissects the murder of Clara (Lula Cotton-Frapier). As Yohan (Bastien Bouillon) and Marceau (Bouli Lanners) investigate, the fact that Clara had a number of sexual partners means her life is being put on trial by sexism even though she was the victim. Rather than go down the thriller route, Moll crafts a gritty drama that is sombre rather than sensationalist and which skewers society's prejudices along the way.
Miss Potter, 9.55am, 5Star, Saturday, May 10
Chris Noonan's handsomely mounted biopic takes us into the world of Beatrix Potter who battled against the restrictions of her class and snobbish mother. Renee Zellweger is well cast as the writer who, though in her 30s, refuses to marry and persists in pursuing a career that none of her family believes in. As romance blossoms with publisher Norman Warne (Ewan McGregor), the film remains anchored in the real world, but Noonan also does a good job of sporadically bringing Beatrix's imagination to life with animation. A wholesome celebration of a life that also acknowledges Beatrix's conservationist leanings.
Riders Of Justice, 1.10am, Film4, Sunday, May 11
This ink black comic thriller stars Mads Mikkelssen as damaged goods dad Markus who is told that his wife's death in what he believed was a tragic accident was, in fact, nothing of the sort. Markus doesn't need much of a nudge to be out for blood. Undercutting the Death Wish element of the plot is the fact that he has a statistician (Nikolaj Lie Kaas) and his two geek buddies along for the ride, which brings a high level of absurdity – especially as Markus is trying to hide what he is up to from his daughter Mathilde (Andrea Heick Gadeberg). There's plenty of violence in Anders Thomas Jensen's film but also a surprising amount of emotional turbulence running beneath it.
This week's short selection is Tord & Tord, directed by Niki Lindroth von Bahr. Read more about her distinctive animated films on her official site.
