TV Times – 10 August 2019

OUR PICKS OF THE WEEK

Films

The Drop

C4 12midnight - 1.55am ★★★★

THRILLERThis gripping tale

revolves around a Brooklyn bar that

serves as an underworld money drop.

Tom Hardy’s lonely bartender works

here, but his rescue of a puppy draws

him into the life of Noomi Rapace’s

wary waitress. Making his debut as

a screenwriter, novelist Dennis

Lehane (author of Mystic River and

Gone Baby Gone) blends gritty urban

noir with a fable-like story of sin and

redemption. The end result is a

successful mix of claustrophobic

atmosphere and twisted plotting.

Dir: Michaël R Roskam 2014, 15, 115min

SEX ) VIOLENCE @ LANGUAGE @

Apollo 13

ITV 1.50pm - 4.30pm ★★★★
TRUE DRAMA‘Houston, we
have a problem!’ With these
matter-of-fact words, there started
an epic space rescue saga that
proves every bit as gripping in
director Ron Howard’s film
reconstruction as it did in real life.
The performances are all A1: Tom
Hanks, Kevin Bacon and Bill Paxton
as the crew, Ed Harris at Mission
Control, Kathleen Quinlan as Hanks’
wife and Gary Sinise as the astronaut
whose last-minute defection
(through contact with measles)
proved a godsend when he was able
to bring his expertise to parts of the
rescue mission. Despite its length,
the story moves crushingly along,
allowing almost no respite from its
tension. Dir: Ron Howard 1995, PG, 160min
SEX ) VIOLENCE ) LANGUAGE )

Clouds of

Sils Maria

BBC2 11.55pm - 1.55am ★★★★

DRAMAThis beguiling

meditation on acting and ageing

finds three contrasting performers

each at the top of their game. Juliette

Binoche, Kristen Stewart and Chloë

Grace Moretz play, respectively, a

celebrated movie star, her savvy

assistant, and a young Hollywood

hotshot. It’s talky, but the interplay

between the women is mesmerising.

Dir: Olivier Assayas 2014, 15, 120min

SEX ) VIOLENCE ) LANGUAGE £

Shoplifters

Sky Cinema Premiere 10.00pm - 12.10pm ★★★★★

SatellitePREMIERE WORLD CINEMA

Japanese director Hirokazu Koreeda (Like Father, Like

Son and After the Storm) once again proves himself a

worthy heir to the great Japanese master Ozu with

another exquisitely judged, emotionally complex and

deeply compassionate family drama. The story

revolves around an unconventional three-generation

clan of petty criminals who take in a neglected little

girl from their Tokyo neighbourhood and induct her

into their shoplifting trade. Dir: Hirokazu Koreeda 2018, 15, 130min

SEX @ VIOLENCE ) LANGUAGE )

SUNDAY

SATURDAY

WEDNESDAY

Big Hero 6

BBC1 2.00pm - 3.30pm ★★★★

ANIMATIONLooking like a

walking marshmallow and moving

with a dainty waddle, lovable robot

Baymax is the best thing about this

family-friendly Disney animation

based on a Marvel Comics series.

The tubby inflatable automaton gives

the film its heart and humour as ‘a

personal health care companion’ who

gets pushed into a more actively heroic

role by teen tech prodigy Hiro Hamada

(voiced by Ryan Potter) when a

supervillain in a kabuki mask starts

running amok in his home town. There

are all the expected whizzy flying

scenes and fisticuffs, but this is also a

touching tale of friendship wrapped up

in some sumptuous visuals inspired

by Japanese Manga comics.

D i r s : D o n H a l l , C h r i s W i l l i a m s 2 0 1 4 , P G , 9 0 m i n

SEX ) VIOLENCE ) LANGUAGE )

SATURDAY SATURDAY

A man

and his

dog: Hardy

A happy

family with

sticky fingers

Mountain high:

Binoche and

Stewart

Breathe in: Hiro

and Baymax

Trouble on

board: Paxton

FILM

OF^ THE

WEE

K^

28 TV TIMES