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Pick of the week
Fountain of Youth
Guy Ritchie channels his inner Indiana Jones – by way of Lara Croft and The Da Vinci Code – in this light-on-its-feet adventure about the hunt for the mythical wrinkle-banishing spring. John Krasinski brings an amiable charm to Luke Purdue, an art thief with a grand plan that involves the reluctant help of his curator sister Charlotte (Natalie Portman) and the deep pockets of the “embarrassingly” rich but terminally ill Owen Carver (Domhnall Gleeson). There are coded messages in old master paintings, the raising of the Lusitania and, inevitably, ancient Egyptian tombs in their action-heavy global quest, with Krasinski and Portman sharp and funny as the bickering siblings. Simon Wardell
Out now, Apple TV+
Through a Glass Darkly
A family on holiday on a Swedish island find their lives reaching crisis point in Ingmar Bergman’s brilliantly brooding 1961 drama. Gunnar Björnstrand’s writer David is reunited with his adolescent son Minus (Lars Passgård), grownup daughter Karin (an exceptional Harriet Andersson) and her husband, Max Von Sydow’s Martin. Karen is in remission from a schizophrenic episode, but as her mental state deteriorates again, the quartet’s private despairs about love, God and creativity surface in traumatic fashion. SW
Saturday 24 May, 6.45am, Sky Cinema Greats
Shrek
DreamWorks’ gag-a-minute 2001 animation took a wrecking ball to classic fairytales and ended up writing its own enduring fable (three sequels and counting). Mike Myers tries out his Scottish accent as the titular grumpy green ogre, who is blackmailed by evil ruler Lord Farquaad (John Lithgow) to rescue a trapped princess, Cameron Diaz’s Fiona, from a dragon. With Eddie Murphy on great form as Shrek’s comic relief sidekick Donkey and a wealth of parodic cameos – from Pinocchio to the Three Blind Mice – you’ll watch this happily ever after.
Sunday 25 May, 5.05pm, ITV2
The Importance of Being Earnest
Oscar Wilde’s scintillating dialogue transfers well from stage to screen in Anthony Asquith’s definitive 1952 version of his drawing-room comedy. Michael Redgrave and Michael Denison are the two young men whose romantic designs on Joan Greenwood and Dorothy Tutin’s English roses lead them into a pseudonymous tangle. But despite the comic skills of Greenwood and Margaret Rutherford as governess Miss Prism it’s Edith Evans’s intimidating Lady Bracknell who rules the roost. “A handbag?” will never sound the same again.
Monday 26 May, 11.10pm, Talking Pictures TV
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Captain America: Brave New World
As the first big-screen outing for Anthony Mackie’s Captain America, this Marvel instalment would benefit from some knowledge of previous superhero events. The plot also pivots round the Wolverine-tested metal adamantium, which is a source of conspiracy and conflict. But with actors of the calibre of the noble Mackie, plus Giancarlo Esposito and Tim Blake Nelson as the Cap’s new foes, and Harrison Ford as dubious new US president Thaddeus Ross, the performances should more than compensate.
Wednesday 28 May, Disney+
The Big Heat
She may only have a supporting role, but Gloria Grahame’s sparky, witty turn as a gangster’s girlfriend is the principal joy of Fritz Lang’s propulsive 1953 crime drama. Headline name Glenn Ford is a solid presence as honest cop Dave Bannion, whose investigation into the suicide of a fellow officer leads him to a city mob boss. Bannion’s persistent dog-with-a-bone riles the criminal’s psychotic right-hand man Vince (Lee Marvin), with the latter’s girl Debby (Grahame) among the collateral damage as the detective edges closer to the truth.
Wednesday 28 May, 6.10am, Sky Cinema Greats
Bono: Stories of Surrender
The U2 frontman’s one-man show, based on his memoir, is now a film courtesy of Andrew Dominik – who has form in the field of rock star confessionals, notably about Nick Cave. It is an intimate, engrossing piece, shot in crisp black-and-white with sparse lighting. Bono is a confident raconteur, as he relays anecdotes from his life – meeting his future wife and starting the band in the same week; Live Aid and his political campaigning; chatting in the pub with his dad – candidly and self-deprecatingly, while excerpts from U2’s songs act as commentary on his experiences.
Friday 30 May, Apple TV+
