The Front Runner
Sky Hits HD, 10.10pm 3
Sex OOO Violence OOO Language OOO
Hugh Jackman turns on the charm to play US senator Gary Hart in this
fact-based political drama. Good-looking and charismatic, Hart was the
runaway favourite for the 1988 Democratic presidential nomination – until
his campaign was sunk by reports of an extramarital affair with blonde model
Donna Rice (Sara Paxton). The film successfully engages us in the nitty-gritty
of political campaigning, but it rather oversells the idea that the Hart was a
great lost leader undone by tabloid muck-raking. 2018, 15, 113MIN
POLITICAL DRAMA
A Bug’s Life
Sky Disney HD, 1.20pm & 8pm 5Sex OOO Violence OOO Language OOOA magical animated adventure from Pixar about a brave ant, Flik (voiced by
Dave Foley), who enlists a troupe of performing bugs from a flea circus to
battle the evil grasshopper Hopper (Kevin Spacey) and his gang, who are
stealing his colony’s food. The computer-generated images are a delight, thestory’s a joy and the vocal cast bring their characters vividly to life. Witty and
colourful, it is topped off with an exciting last reel, as Flik puts his plan to
drive the grasshoppers away into action. 1998, U, 94MINANIMATED ADVENTURE
Wednesday 2 October Thursday 3 October
ANIMATED COMEDY
Isle of Dogs
Sky Hits HD, 2.40pm 4
Sex OOO Violence OOO Language OOO
If you have a taste for quirky movies then
you will lap up this bizarre stop-motion
animated adventure from Wes Anderson,
maker of the similarly offbeat Roald Dahl
adaptation Fantastic Mr Fox. The action
takes place in a futuristic Japan where
dogs have been banished from the city
of Megasaki and sent to Trash Island after
an outbreak of canine flu. The oddball
capers that ensue when a 12-year-old
boy mounts a rescue attempt are
irresistibly charming. 2018, PG, 101MIN
COMEDY DRAMA
American Beauty
Sky Drama HD, 10.15pm 5
Sex OOO Violence OOO Language OOO
British stage director Sam Mendes made
an unforgettable screen debut with this
caustic, award-winning satire of America’s
middle classes. Kevin Spacey has never
been better than he is here as Lester
Burnham, a cynical family man whose
midlife crisis precipitates an even greater
tragedy as he throws away his career, his
family and his life in a desperate act of
rebellion against suburbia. Mendes
skilfully juggles the film’s mixture of
humour and tragedy. 1999, 18, 122MIN
ACTION THRILLER
Faster
Sony Movies, 11.15pm/
Sony Movies+1, 12.15am 3
Sex OOO Violence OOO Language OOODwayne Johnson’s ex-con gets out of
prison, picks up a fast car and, several
murders later, finds himself on the road
with two cops (Billy Bob Thornton and
Carla Gugino) and a recreational hit man
(Oliver Jackson-Cohen) on his tail. This
tightly packaged thriller delivers exactly
what it promises with no sub-plots or
superfluous characters to distract you,
and Johnson certainly looks the part as
a tough man of action. 2010, 15, 98MINALSO ON WEDNESDAY
The Jungle Book
Sky Disney HD, 6.30pm 5
Seeing this cartoon is an absolute necessity.Sorry Angel
Sky Premiere HD, 10.10pm 2
C’est la vie!Hellboy II: The Golden Army
Sky Superheroes HD, 10.30pm 4
Ron Perlman takes on the Underworld.All About Nina
Sky Drama HD, 12.20am 3
The joke’s on Mary Elizabeth Winstead.Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
C4 HD, 1am 4
Thomas Mann gets a new perspective.QFull listings start on p73
TEEN COMEDY
American Pie
ITV2 HD, 9pm/ITV2+1, 10pm 4Sex OOO Violence OOO Language OOOA calculating teen comedy that ruthlessly
exploits the average adolescent’s
obsession with sex in the tale of a group
of male friends who enter into a pact to
lose their virginity before they graduate
from high school. The film isn’t really
interested in exploring the realities of
adolescent fumblings, but instead
presents a series of raunchy sketches
interspersed with some winsome
romance. For all that, though, it is
genuinely funny at times. 1999, 15, 96MINREAL-LIFE DRAMA
The Insider
Sky Drama HD, 10.30pm 5Sex OOO Violence OOO Language OOOFew films in the last two decades have
exerted such a grip as this epic legal
drama from director Michael Mann.
Russell Crowe – all specs, thinning hair
and middle-age spread – plays real-life
whistle-blower Jeffrey Wigand, who
found his life turning into a nightmare
when he agreed to expose corruption in
the US tobacco industry. Al Pacino is no
less effective as Lowell Bergman, the TV
reporter who ended up throwing Wigand
to the lions. 1999, 15, 157MINTHRILLER
The Colony
Sony Movies, 11.50pm/
Sony Movies+1, 12.50am 3
Sex OOO Violence OOO Language OOOSet against the backdrop of the 1973
coup that brought Chilean dictator
Augusto Pinochet to power, this political
thriller stars Emma Watson and Daniel
Brühl as a couple who fall foul of a brutal
religious cult that is in cahoots with the
regime. Despite some plot contrivances,
the pair’s plight is genuinely gripping
but a more realistic treatment of the
subject might have been even more
chilling. 2015, 15, 110MINQFull listings start on p83
ALSO ON THURSDAY
The Book Thief
Film4 HD, 6.15pm 3
Sophie Nélisse turns the pages.Bohemian Rhapsody
Sky Drama HD, 8pm 4
Rami Malek is the champion.The Meg
Sky Action HD, 9pm 3
Jason Statham has a big problem.44 Inch Chest
5Spike, 10 pm 3
You don’t cross Ray Winstone.Don’t Go
Sky Premiere HD, 10.10pm 3
Can Stephen Dorff turn back time?I t l o o ke d a s i f H u g h
would be making the
headlines tomorrowYou just had to turn
over a new leaf to
make friendsFAMIL
Y^ CHO
ICE