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| Pokemon Detective Pikachu Photo: Warner Bros |
Boiling Point, 10.40pm, BBC1, Monday, September 25
Chefs are famously short tempered and Philip Barantini’s 2020 potboiler will help you to understand why, as it follows – purportedly in a single take – the frantic behind-the-scenes action in a high end restaurant which is overbooked, understaffed and all out of time for apologies. With an unhappy inspector sneaking around the kitchen and an important food critic amongst the diners – accompanied by a famous TV cook who just happens to be the head chef’s old mentor – there is no room for anything to go wrong. Stephen Graham is on fine form in the lead, striking a careful balance between charisma and necessary aggression, actor and character both fully focused throughout. The effect is like watching a car chase where you know the stunts are all being done for real.
Lifechanger, 9.00pm, Horror channel Horror Xtra, Tuesday, September 26
Justin McConnell’s inventive festival hit marries a sinister Native American legend, brought into the modern world, with a touching interpersonal drama which explores themes of identity and the search for connection. A twisting, complicated thing, it finds its focus in Lora Burke’s unhappy heroine, a woman dealing with the aftermath of an unexpected and still unexplained loss who drowns her sorrows in a local bar where, unknown to her, she is watched over by an unlikely guardian. When the inevitable confrontation finally occurs, the film shifts gears and develops a new emotional delicacy, even as it seems that facing the truth can lead to nothing but tragedy. There are brief moments of visceral horror, but it’s the psychological impact which will stay with you.
Bohemian Rhapsody, 9.00pm, Film4, Wednesday, September 27
A troubled scriptwriting process, the careful elision of a lot of the stories which really set the band apart, and a director who reportedly went AWOL so often that the cast sometimes ended up directing each other – all the signs were that this film was going to be a disaster. Somehow it managed to get away with it all, thanks partly to the uncredited efforts of Dexter Fletcher at the helm, but mostly to the stellar central performance by Rami Malek. He might not look much like Freddie Mercury, but his success in capturing his spirit is astounding. Fears of straightwashing are fortunately unfounded, even if certain aspects of Freddie’s life are downplayed. Queen fans will love the musical scenes and film fans more widely will admire the excellent technical work.
Murder On The Orient Express, 10.35, Thursday, September 28
With A Haunting In Venice currently in cinemas, this is a great chance to look back at an earlier outing for Kenneth Branagh’s take on the Agatha Christie hero Hercule Poirot. He’s supported by a star-studded cast which includes a sleazy Johnny Depp and brittle Michelle Pfeiffer alongside greats like Judi Dench and Derek Jacobi, plus an impressive Daisy Ridley. There has been, as they say, a murder, and the famous Belgian is charged with trying to solve the mystery, a complicated business as almost everybody on the train has secrets. At 114 minutes it feels a little squeezed, but the puzzle is satisfyingly tricky and there’s plenty to admire in the cinematography and costuming, if you can look past that improbable moustache.
End Of Watch, 10.00, BBC3, Friday, September 29
Cruising through the streets of South Central Los Angeles, cops Taylor (Jake Gyllenhaal) and Zavala (Michael Peña) banter and bicker about everyday life with intermittent stops to intervene in small time robberies and messy domestic abuse situations. The dialogue in David Ayer’s second venture onto Training Day territory is beautifully observed and both actors are on peak form. The intense central friendship draws in viewers and makes the film compelling from the start, even though quite some time goes by before we get an inkling of what it’s building towards. Ayer’s direction is electric and the action sequences will have you on the edge of your seat. nothing here is especially new, but it’s brilliantly delivered.
Pokémon Detective Pikachu, 10.00pm, BBC3, Saturday, September 30
You catch ‘em, you fight ‘em, then you find out that they’re mostly sweet little creatures who mean no harm to anybody – now what are you going to do? Fight crime, as it turns out. In a world where Pokémon and humans live peacefully side by side, a former trainer discovers that he needs the help of an unusually verbose Pikachu (voiced by Ryan Reynolds) to try to track down his vanished detective father, whom he fears may have met with foul play. Although the mystery itself isn’t all that hard to figure out, there’s a lot of fun along the way, with an abundance of Pokémon in-jokes balanced by a well observed, witty script which ensures that the film is still accessible to the uninitiated. Super cute animation just adds to its charm.
Local Hero, 4.00pm, Film4, Sunday, October 1
One of Scotland’s best loved comedies gets an outing on Sunday, and you won’t want to miss it. Made in 1983 but no less relevant today, Bill Forsyth’s canny comedy stars Peter Riegert as an ambitious young executive from a big US oil company who volunteers to visit the denizens of a small Scottish fishing community and talk them into selling their homes and land. The problem he faces is that they’re smarter than he expected, better talkers than he is and, perhaps, in possession of something whose real value can’t be understood in cash terms – a fact which gradually dawns on him as he falls for the wife of the local hotel owner. There are no easy solutions in a film as poignant as it is witty, but you’ll have a great time watching it all the same, with supporting turns from Jenny Seagrove, Fulton MacKay and Peter Capaldi adding to the pleasure.
