Films day-by-day
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow
Sony Movie Channel, 6.45pm/Sony Movie Channel+1, 7.45pm 4Sex OOO Violence OOO Language OOOA wonderful slice of retro sci-fi hokum that pays homage to 1930s cinema as
Jude Law’s barnstorming aerial ace battles an invasion of giant robots with the
help of Gwyneth Paltrow’s kooky news reporter. Everything in the film, except
the actors and a few hand-held props, was brought to life through CGI. Moviebuffs will have fun spotting the numerous references to everything from Buck
Rogers and King Kong to Lost Horizon and The Wizard Of Oz, while Angelina
Jolie steals the show as a sexy British wing commander. 2004, PG, 107MINSCI-FI ADVENTURE
Friday 23 August
HORROR COMEDY
All Cheerleaders Die
Horror, 9pm/Horror+1, 10pm 3Sex OOO Violence OOO Language OOOMaking a blatantly trashy bid for cult
movie status, this deliriously over-the-
top horror comedy piles on the sex
and gore as a quartet of high-school
cheerleaders, killed in a car crash, rise
from the dead to take their revenge on
a bunch of swaggering jocks. With the
school’s gothy witch and a bag of
magic gemstones playing a key role,
the plotting is all over the place, but a
scuzzy energy and dark wit keeps the
film on the road. 2013, 15, 86MINMYSTERY CHILLER
The Little Stranger
Sky Sci-Fi & Horror HD, 9pm 4Sex OOO Violence OOO Language OOODomhnall Gleeson’s local GP reckons
there is a rational explanation when
things start going bump in the daytime
at a crumbling English stately home in
drab 1947 Warwickshire. This haunting
adaptation of Sarah Waters’ acclaimed,
Booker Prize-nominated novel is subtly
gripping and superbly acted – Charlotte
Rampling, Ruth Wilson and Will Poulter
also feature in the classy cast – and the
mystery will keep you puzzling to the
end, and beyond. 2018, 12, 111MINCRIME THRILLER
No Country for Old Men
Paramount HD, 9pm 4Sex OOO Violence OOO Language OOOAt its heart, the Coen brothers’ stunning
adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s novel
is a straightforward thriller – a Vietnam
veteran (Josh Brolin) goes on the run
with a case of money from a botched
drug deal, hotly pursued by an insane
hitman (Javier Bardem) and a world-
weary sheriff (Tommy Lee Jones). The
terse dialogue and superb performances
transform it into an apocalyptic portrait
of a rotting society fuelled by greed and
violence. 2007, 15, 122MINALSO ON FRIDAY
Aquaman
Sky Premiere HD, 12noon & 8pm 3
Surf’s up for Jason. See review, page 18.Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters
Film4 HD, 4.45pm 3
Logan Lerman can’t myth.Horrible Bosses
ITV2 HD, 9pm 3
Jason Bateman and co plot their revenge.Spy
Film4 HD, 9pm 4
Melissa McCarthy goes into action.American History X
ITV4 HD, 11pm 4
Edward Norton is white and wrong.FAMIL
Y^ CHO
ICEMUSIC DRAMA
Wild Rose
Available from Monday 4Sex OOO Violence OOO Language OOORising star Jessie Buckley plays Glaswegian single
mother Rose; fresh out of prison and burningwith the dream of making it to Nashville as a
country music singer. She has talent to burn and
a new mentor (Sophie Okonedo) urging her on.But her no-nonsense mother (Julie Walters) is
mindful of Rose’s duty to her two children. This
terrific music drama is both grittily down toearth and rousingly feelgood. 2018, 15, 100MIN
PREM
IEREON-DEMAND HIGHLIGHTS
Jessie had set her
heart on being a
country girl againThe pick of the
week’s films on
Sky, Virgin &
other platforms
Bel Canto
3
Miming to the ravishing singing
voice of Renée Fleming, Julianne
Moore plays a legendary prima
donna whose private embassy
concert for Ken Watanabe’s
Japanese tycoon is raided by
a guerrilla group, which takes
everyone inside hostage. this
romantic thriller doesn’t entirely
soar to the heights of grand
opera but it remains elegant and
touching. 15, 101MINThe Captor
3
A bizarre-but-true thriller that
explains the origin of the
psychological phenomenon
‘Stockholm Syndrome’. Ethan
Hawke plays a crook who raids a
bank in the city in 1973 and takes
three hostages in a bid to spring
his old cellmate (Mark Strong)
from prison. When negotiations
with the police stall, the hostages
(including Noomi Rapace) begin
to side with their captor. Absurd,
funny and touching. 15, 92MINDragged Across
Concrete
4
PREMIERE (Available from
Mon) With a reputation for
slow-burn narratives and brutal,
often eye-watering violence,
Brawl in Cell Block 99 director
S Craig Zahler helms this police
thriller. Mel Gibson and Vince
Vaughn star as embittered
old-school cops who attempt
to hijack the loot from a bank
robbery while under suspension
from the force. The level of
violence will leave many viewers
flinching. 18, 159MINGloria Bell
4
Julianne Moore is on glorious
form as a fifty-something
divorcée looking for love on the
retro dance floors of Los Angeles
in Chilean director Sebastián
Lelio’s classy Hollywood remake
of his own award-winning 2013
film. Brimming with compassion
for its heroine, the movie also
boasts some stonking 1970s and
1980s disco tunes and power
ballads. 15, 102MINMissing Link
3
A good-humoured comedy
adventure from the animation
studio behind Coraline, The
Boxtrolls and Kubo and the Two
Strings. Hugh Jackman voices a
19th-century explorer who is on
the hunt for a legendary beast in
America’s Pacific Northwest,
with Zach Galifianakis as the very
curious, bigfoot-like creature hefinds and Zoe Saldana proving a
worthy foil as a fearless fellow
adventurer. PG, 95MINPet Sematary
3
Time to dig up Stephen King’s
1983 bestseller for another go
at his spooky supernatural chiller.
This time Jason Clarke and Amy
Seimetz are the parents of two
young children, whose eccentric
neighbour (John Lithgow) tells
them about a forest clearing
nearby where deceased pets are
revived. The movie is effectively
eerie. 15, 101MINRed Joan
3
PREMIERE (Available from Mon)
Inspired by the true story of
unlikely KGB agent Melita
Norwood, this intriguing spy
thriller stars Judi Dench and
Sophie Cookson as young and
old versions of the idealistic
1930s Cambridge scientist-
turned-nuclear spy. The stars
sink their teeth with relish into the
role and go some way to
compensate for Trevor Nunn’s
plodding directing. 12, 101MINThe Sisters Brothers
4
French director Jacques Audiard
brings an outsider’s curious eye
to this most unusual Western
based on Patrick deWitt’s 2011
novel about a pair of fraternal
gunslingers for hire at the time of
the California Gold Rush. John CReilly and Joaquin Phoenix are
superb as the bickering pair, and
Riz Ahmed and Jake Gyllenhaal
are equally good as their quarry.
There are bursts of violent
gunplay plus moments of
unexpected comedy. 15, 122MINThe White Crow
4
Ralph Fiennes directs a gripping
biopic, which recreates the
moment when young Russian
ballet star Rudolf Nureyev
defected to the West during
the Kirov Ballet’s 1961 visit to
Paris. Fiennes also co-stars as
Nureyev’s dance instructor, but
he cedes centre stage to dancer
Oleg Ivenko, who captures
Nureyev’s fiery temperament
in the lead. 12, 127MINWild Rose
4
PREMIERE (Available from Mon)
See review, above. 15, 100MINWonder Park
3
PREMIERE (Available from Mon)
A highly imaginative young girl
(Brianna Denski) has dreamed
up an amusement park complete
with awesome rides and animal
mascots. But when her mother
(Jennifer Garner) falls ill, she puts
aside all thoughts of her creation- until she suddenly finds
.herself in Wonder Park itself. This
breezy and colourful animated
adventure for kids also has a
■ Full listings start on p93 more serious side. PG, 85MIN
Every now and
then, Jude and
Gwyneth paused
for a reality check