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| Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle Photo: Sony Pictures Releasing |
Jumanji Welcome to the Jungle, 6.30pm, Film, Tuesday, September 9
Dwayne Johnson was making waves at Venice Film Festival last week with The Smashing Machine, Benny Safdie’s biopic of UFC fighter Mark Kerr, with words like “awards season” bandied about. Anyway, here’s a chance to catch him when he was still mostly being referred to as “The Rock” and serving up universal fare. Made in the same vein as Robin Williams’ earlier hit, four teens find themselves trapped in a game and in very different avatars… with the only problem that could prove fatal. Despite the death threat, this is essentially a family-friendly adventure movie with a decent dose of comedy that lets Johnson, Jack Black, Kevin Hart and Karen Gillan enjoy themselves.
Sound of Metal, 10.45pm, BBC3, Thursday, September 11
Jennie Kermode writes:The ever-reliable Riz Ahmed received multiple, well deserved award nominations for his role in this film , but his inspired performance is just one among many reasons to watch it. He plays a heavy metal drummer touring with his singer/guitarist girlfriend. They're both addicts who have stayed clean by supporting one another and they have an intense, passionate relationship, but their lives are turned upside down when the drummer discovers that he's going deaf. Coerced into rehab on an isolated farm, he initially does all he can to resist the embrace of the Deaf community there (its members all played by deaf actors in a film which is informed throughout by real Deaf people's experiences) but ultimately the change of pace alters the way that he relates to many aspects of life. Brilliant sound design will immerse you completely in a vivid story about communication, identity and independence
Fremont, 12.20am, Friday, September 12
One of those small but well crafted films that had a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it release in cinemas, this is a sweet midnight snack of a film. The action centres on Donya (Anaita Wali Zada), a translator from Afghanistan, who is now trying to forge a new life in San Francisco’s Bay Area. She works in a fortune cookie factory alongside Joanna (Hilda Schmelling) but leads a largely isolated life. Unable to sleep, she is also seeing a shrink (Gregg Turkington) and, after a sudden promotion, she decides to send a message out into the world that leads to unexpected consequences. Gently absurd but also heart-warming, Fremont makes the radical suggestion that an average life can be just as fulfilling as any other sort. It also features a lovely cameo from The Bear’s Jeremy Allen Wright. Read what Babak Jalili told us about the film.
Antebellum, 11.30pm, Sky Mix, Saturday, September 13
Jennie Kermode writes: Five years ago, when Antebellum was made, most white people in the US didn't take seriously the idea that there were those among them who longed for the return of slavery. Gerard Bush and Christopher Renz's combination of political thriller and action film reads very differently now. Janelle Monáe plays Veronica, a successful academic and public speaker who nevertheless has nightmares about being enslaved, even before she is directly threatened with it by a white man whom she faces in a debate – all too common an experience for high profile African Americans even before the right was as emboldened as it is now. One kidnapping later, and the matter no longer seems merely academic. Drawing on William Faulkner's warning that "the past is not dead - it's not even past," the film invites viewers to look differently at time and space, to recognise that our identities are not defined by either, and to reckon with the power of dangerous ideas. It was a warning and it is a response, a rallying cry. Monáe brings guts, glamour and wit to the central role, and Gabourey Sidibe, as the best friend who knows exactly what she wants, is a delight.
The Lost City, 9pm, Film4, Saturday, September 13
A throwback to the sort of comedy romance/adventure films that were popular in the Eighties - think Romancing The Stone - Adam and Aaron Nee's film might not be the most memorable one you watch this year, but it's a lot of fun while it lasts. Sandra Bullock stars as a reclusive writer who is reluctantly penning romance novels when she finds herself kidnapped by a billionaire (Daniel Radcliffe, having an enormous amount of fun) and thrust into a jungle adventure with her loveable lunk of a cover star Alan (Channing Tatum). The script zips along and Bullock and Tatum have plenty of spark. Brad Pitt's hair metal cameo turn as a mercenary who tries to help the pair is an added treat.
No Bears, BBC iPlayer, streaming now
Including Hit The Road in this week’s selection, reminded me that you can see his dad’s quirky hybrid drama that sees Jafar Panahi play a version of himself. He stars as a director who, due to a travel ban (something Panahi was also under until at the time) who is in a border town directing a docufiction film remotely. A playful outing that skewers ideas of tradition and rules, while also examining notions of freedom and fear. A film in which reality's little absurdities also make themselves felt with a dreadful bite.
Our short selection this week is Pouters, directed by Paul Fegan.
