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| Queen & Slim |
Reign Of Fire - 9pm, Legend, Monday, January 26
Christian Bale and Matthew McConnaughey are both actors who do a lot of thrillers and genre work but are capable of delivering exquisitely attuned, sensitive performances. Watch them throw all that out of the window in favour of high octane action in this spectacularly silly British/Irish dragonfest. Bale plays a man whose construction worker mother inadvertently awoke the beasts from their centuries of slumber when digging around beneath a London underground statin. Now the world is covered in ash and humanity clings on by a thread with him as one of its leaders, Terminator Salvation-style. Enter a squad of macho Americans looking to save the world, and our heroes have to learn to work together to pull it off. It’s unmitigated nonsense and a lot of fun.
Defiance - 11pm, BBC2, Tuesday, January 27
Based on a book which is, in turn, based on a true story, this tribute to those who resisted the Nazis features an impressive cast, among them the then unknown George MacKay. It follows four brothers whose 1941 discovery of a mass grave, shortly after their father is murdered, prompts them to rise up in defence of their community, but leads to strife as they disagree over the ethics of engaging in violence. The focus is more on interpersonal action than on wider events, but their position at the locus of several major events allows for a wider perspective on the developing war, and the film follows their separate journeys as they try to save as many fellow Jews as they can. The film is enhanced by James Newton Howard’s Golden Globe-nominated score.
Queen & Slim - 11.15pm, BBC3, Wednesday, January 28
When an unexpected traffic stop turns violent due to police racism, two people who were just getting to know each other on a blind date suddenly find themselves on the run together. One of the best thrillers of 2019, this film features knockout performances from Daniel Kaluuya and Jodie Turner-Smith, whose characters have to navigate their developing bond under intense pressure as everything that was familiar about their lives is ripped away. Slim pulled the trigger but he’s a nice boy out of his depth. Queen, like many other African Americans, has thought through this scenario before, so quickly takes charge. Both are transformed by the experience, taking on an iconic quality for one young admirer but, themselves, more interested in staying alive, as the danger they face grows ever more extreme. It’s a fiercely political film with a lot to be angry about, yet also shot through with romance.
A Man Called Otto - 9pm, Film4, Thursday, January 29
Though not quite attaining the quality of previous adaptation A Man Called Ove, this take on Fredrik Bachman’s best-selling book still entertains as it gives viewers the chance to see a different side of Tom Hanks, who sets aside his usual affability to play a man doing his best to ward off the world with a wall of resentment and bitterness. He’s a lonely widower who wants to be left alone to indulge his misery, but new neighbour Marisol (Mariana Treviño) is a community-minded woman whose barrage of requests for help, offers of support, presents and more gradually breaks down his barriers, driving him into a fury before he begins to realise that he might still have room in his heart for other people. There are few surprises but it’s a sweet story good for driving away the mid-week blues.
Bird - 11pm, BBC2, Friday, January 30
A frustrated tweenage girl (Nykiya Adams) meets an eccentric stranger (Franz Rogowski) and forms a friendship which helps her to navigate her troubled home life in this typically gritty, immersive work from Andrea Arnold. Viewers might immediately think of Fish Tank, but here the focus is different and the atmosphere more varied as Bird expands the girl’s horizons, changing her perspective on the violence she’s habituated to, and helping her to imagine a real future. At the same time, he’s a vulnerable character, and a lot comes to depend on her courage and relentlessness. It’s grimly realistic but has moments of magic, addressing the pressures caused by poverty, mental illness and a general lack of hope, yet finding a power within its heroine which is full of promise.
Local Hero - 1.20pm, Film4, Saturday, January 31
Amber Wilkinson writes: Ask anyone to name their favourite Scottish films and, chances are, you'll end up with at least one Bill Forsyth film in this mix and it could well be this one. Three years after his success with Gregory's Girl, he returned with a bigger budget to tell the tale of an oil executive (Peter Reigert) who finds himself stuck in Scotland attempting to buy up a beach for a refinery. Needless to say, he gets more than he bargained for, finding himself won over by the charms of the place, while the locals prove savvy in terms of what they want in return for their land. Beyond the gentle comedy, which hits all the right notes, there's a wistfulness and lyricism here that elevates the film's emotions without bogging them down or succumbing to tartan and shortbread tweeness.
The Sea Beast - Netflix, Sunday, February 1
Settle down with the kids on Sunday, or just give yourself a treat, and enter a world of sailors of sea monsters where nothing is quite what it seems. Growing up in a kingdom surrounded by ocean, orphan girl Maisie (voiced by Zaris-Angel Hator) dreams of avenging herself on the monster she thinks responsible for her parents’ death, but when she hooks up with celebrated hunter Jacob (Karl Urban), an unexpected encounter on a desert island abruptly changes her perspective. Can she set things to rights? There’s a lot of action here, including some scary battles and underwater sequences, but they’re well balanced so that even sensitive children won’t be scared for too long, and there’s lots to get excited about. Just one word of warning: when you meet the baby monsters, be careful not to overdose on cute.
