Films day-by-day
Road to Perdition
Sky Select HD, 4.25pm 4Sex OOO Violence OOO Language OOOTom Hanks is cast against type as Michael Sullivan, a taciturn Mob hitman
who goes gunning for his former boss’s son after he murders his wife and son,
while Paul Newman and Daniel Craig give it their all as the Mob boss and his
trigger-happy son. The film, based on a comic book by Max Allan Collins,is visually stunning (the cinematography won an Oscar) and impeccably
directed by Sam Mendes, but it is hard not to think that its simplistic revenge
story doesn’t really need such epic treatment. 2002, 15, 119MINCRIME THRILLER
Sunday 4 August
HORROR THRILLER
The Awakening
BBC1 HD, 12m’t (not BBC1 Wal) 4
Sex OOO Violence OOO Language OOOThis classy period ghost story takes place
in 1921 England when the nation is still
mourning the victims of the Great War.
Rebecca Hall’s author sets out to expose
the phoney spiritualists who are exploiting
the grief-stricken with fake séances and
other psychic shams. But when Dominic
West’s schoolmaster implores her to
investigate a haunting at a boys’ boarding
school, she finds her rationalism
challenged by a series of increasingly
uncanny events. 2011, 15, 107MINALSO ON SATURDAY
Ralph Breaks the Internet
Sky Premiere HD, 10am & 6pm 4
It’s game on again for Ralph.The Good Dinosaur
BBC1 HD, 3.30pm (not Scotland) 4
When dinosaurs rule the Earth.Jurassic World
ITV HD, 8pm 4
Chris and Bryce get a taste of Park life.Berlin Syndrome
Film4 HD, 10.45pm 3
Teresa Palmer is stuck indoors.Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
C4 HD, 11.05pm 4
Hail Caesar!■ Full listings start on p33
REAL-LIFE DRAMA
Freeheld
AMC HD, 12noon 3Sex OOO Violence OOO Language OOOThis bittersweet fact-based drama
starring Julianne Moore and Ellen
Page chronicles a landmark equal rights
battle in recent US history – the struggle
of a terminally ill New Jersey cop
(Moore) against a bigoted establishment
to have her pension paid to her female
partner (Page). The storytelling is a tad
conventional but the performances are
fine, with Michael Shannon (as Moore’s
police colleague) vying with the stars for
top acting honour. 2015, 12, 101MINBIOPIC
First Man
Sky Select HD, 8pm 4Sex OOO Violence OOO Language OOORyan Gosling reunites with La La Land
director Damien Chazelle for a reflective
yet exhilarating biopic of the first man on
the moon, Neil Armstrong. We all know
the outcome, of course, but you will find
your heart in your mouth all the same as
events build towards the history-making
Apollo 11 mission in 1969. Gosling digs
deep as the buttoned-up astronaut, with
Claire Foy rock solid in support as his
wife. The film leaves us with a sense of
mystery as well as awe. 2018, 12, 114MINCOMEDY THRILLER
Brothers’ Nest
Sky Premiere HD, 11.45pm/
Sky Premiere+1, 12.45am 4Sex OOO Violence OOO Language OOOIn rural Australia, two brothers (played
by real-life siblings Shane and Clayton
Jacobson) have a sinister goal – the
murder of their elderly stepfather (Kim
Gyngell), thereby preventing their dying
mother (Lynette Curran) from leaving him
the family home in her will. This excellent
dark comedy casts a cool eye on the
absurdities of human folly and greed, with
a powerful emotional undertow. Also on
Monday-Wednesday. 2018, 15, 94MINALSO ON SUNDAY
About a Boy
ITV HD, 1.30pm 4
Hugh Grant shows his paternal side.Oklahoma!
BBC2 HD, 1.45pm 5
Oh, what a beautiful movie.Gone with the Wind
Sky Drama HD, 4.10pm 5
Actually, Clark Gable does give a damn.Chronicle
Film4 HD, 7.20pm 3
Three students have an uplifting experience.The Dressmaker
C4 HD, 11pm 4
Kate Winset sews the seeds of discontent.■ Full listings start on p43
Tom had been
mixing with
shady characters
for too longBefore We Go
Film4 HD, 5.05pm/Film4+1, 6.05pm 4Sex OOO Violence OOO Language OOOChris Evans took a break from his superhero duties as Captain America
in the Marvel Cinematic Universe to direct and star in this intimate and
determinedly low-key romantic drama about two strangers set adrift together
one night in Manhattan. Alice Eve is winningly abrasive as the woman whoselife goes into freefall when she gets her purse stolen and misses her train at
Grand Central Station, while Evans is perfectly cast as the nice-guy busker
who offers to help her out. 2014, 12, 91MINROMANTIC DRAMA
Saturday 3 August
SCI-FI ADVENTURE
Transformers:
Age of Extinction
C4 HD, 8pm/C4+1, 9pm 3Sex OOO Violence OOO Language OOOReplacing Shia LaBeouf, Mark Wahlberg
is the new leading man in this fourth sci-fi
blockbuster based on the shape-
changing toys. He plays a widowed
amateur inventor who gets drawn into the
ongoing battle between good and bad
alien robots. Cue lots of director Michael
Bay’s customary metal-crunching
slow-mo destruction. The pricey effects
and action can’t make up for the
forgettable story, though. 2014, 12, 165MINPERIOD DRAMA
Brooklyn
BBC1 HD, 10.20pm
(BBC1 Wales, 11.10pm) 4Sex OOO Violence OOO Language OOOOscar-nominated Saoirse Ronan comes
of age as an actress with her deeply
affecting portrayal of a young Irishwoman
torn between countries and lovers in this
romantic drama. Ronan’s Irish emigré to
1950s New York is wooed by Emory
Cohen’s plumber, before circumstances
take her back to Ireland, where the
attentions of Domnhall Gleeson’s eligible
suitor present her with a heart-
wrenching choice. 2015, 12, 112MINChris turned out
to be a bit of a
superhero for Alice