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| Cary Grant in North By Northwest |
Everything Everywhere All At Once - 11.35pm, Film4, Monday
Amber Wilkinson writes: This multiverse-hopping slice of fun sees Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert blend humour and action with a tale of familial love. The unlikely set-up centres on a launderette owner (Michelle Yeoh) who, while grappling with filing her taxes, is unexpectedly enlisted into a world-saving mission by a man who looks like, but is not, her husband (Ke Huy Quan). It’s a challenge that needs to be done in a lot more than triplicate. While craftily using the idea of parallel universes to further the plot, the Daniels also have a hell of a lot of fun - which is nothing if not infectious. It might be slightly flattered by its seven-Oscar haul but this is a solid slice of inventive popcorn entertainment with lovely central performances from Yeoh and Quan.
State Of Play, 9pm, Legend Xtra, Tuesday
A US take on a highly acclaimed BBC TV series made six years previously, State Of Play was greeted with trepidation by many viewers, but they needn’t have worried. Versatile Glaswegian director Kevin Macdonald understood the material. He’s one of those rare talents who can ratchet up the tension in a one-to-one conversation but also deliver a visceral action sequence, and we get a good dose of both those things here. As was clear when he spoke with us about The Mauritanian, he has a good grasp of the geopolitics underlying the plot of this tense conspiracy thriller, which stars Russell Crowe as a journalist with a nose for trouble and Ben Affleck as an ambitious young congressman. Helen Mirren, Bill Nighy and Jeff Daniels also contribute their skills.
The Legend Of Zorro - 9pm, Great! TV, Wednesday
Dashing, daring and always up for a bit of derring-do, Zorro is a role that Antonio Banderas was born to play, and although this sequel may not quite live up to its sequel, it’s still a lot of fun to watch him swashbuckling his way through another set of dastardly villains as the thinly-disguised inspiration for one of the world’s favourite pussycats. This adventure begins in the proper style of the genre, with our hero drowning his sorrows following his divorce from Catherine Zeta Jones’ glamorously clad heiress, Elena, whilst she is raising their son, who, at ten, is the perfect age for being kidnapped by bad guys. Director Martin Campbell packs in ever much-loved cliché overlooked before, including a terrific fight on top of a moving train, as the master of cutlass calligraphy comes to the rescue.
Don’t Look Now - 10.45pm, BBC4, Thursday
A riveting exploration of a couple’s attempts to hold onto themselves and one another after the death of their little girl, this is one of the finest works by the late, great Nicolas Roeg, and an absolute must-see for anyone who is serious about cinema. Donald Sutherland plays the architect who tries to find solace in restoring a church but becomes obsessed by the sight of a red hooded figure who recalls his lost child. Julie Christie is his wife, putting her faith in a pair of elderly sisters who might provide a link to the dead. Most of the action takes place in Venice, whose maze of twisting streets, narrow alleyways and canals reflects the mental trap in which the couple are caught. The air is perpetually saturated with moisture, the city never more beautiful. The chemistry between the leads is electric, their interaction tender, a weight of emotion captured in the smallest detail.
Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa - 11.30pm, BBC3, Friday
When a treacherous takeover at a local radio station gives way to a full blown hostage crisis, middle-aged DJ Alan Partridge (Steve Coogan), who had been fearful that his star was fading, spies an opportunity. Inserting himself into the middle of it, hopelessly unskilled negotiator though he may be, he strives to save his own job on the morning show, by winning the trust of Colm Meaney’s loveable but highly unstable gun-toting nightshift DJ Pat McFadden – all to a soundtrack of cheerfully inappropriate pop hits. If you’ve enjoyed watching Partridge on TV, this is surprisingly successful at delivering more of the same, only with higher stakes, while newcomers will find it a great introduction. It’s remarkably successful at capturing the spirit of the local radio world.
North By Northwest - 2.15pm, BBC2, Saturday
Alfred Hitchcock's pacy thriller stars Cary Grant as an innocent man forced to go on the run after he’s mistaken for a secret agent. Seeing no other way to get his life back, he tries to track the said agent down, and along the way finds a possible ally in a mysterious stranger called Eve (Eva Marie Saint, who died last week at the age of 102). Just who he can trust is uncertain, however, as he faces danger at every turn, from the iconic crop duster chase centrepiece to a scuffle on Mount Rushmore at the end. Despite all his resentment and blaming of other people, Grant makes him likeable, and he and Saint engage in some finely scripted banter. It’s a classic for a reason, stunning shot and always worth a watch.
Children Of Men - 11.40pm, BBC1, Sunday
Widely considered one of the best films of this century to date, Alfonso Cuarón’s adaptation of PD James’ novel only gets more resonant with passing time. Its depiction of a crumbling, post-pandemic UK in which refugees are monstered and abysmally treated is full of tiny observations now so much a part of our present that younger viewers may miss them. There are few young characters due to a plague which has left humanity infertile and gradually losing any sense of common purpose. Through all this staggers Clive Owen’s Theo, a bereaved dad with an activist ex (Julianne Moore) who inadvertently finds himself responsible for a young immigrant woman (Claire-Hope Ashitey) with a secret worth more than her life. There are great supporting turns from Chiwetel Ejiofor and Michael Caine, and feats of cinematography that are simply breathtaking to see. It’s a film that will break your heart, but you’ll want to watch it again.
