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Pick of the week
The Amateur
Rami Malek lends his disquieting intensity to this surprisingly enjoyable spy thriller. He plays a mild-mannered CIA cryptographer sent on a bloodthirsty revenge quest after his wife is killed in a terrorist attack. What’s fascinating about this film is that, had the lead been any other actor, it would have devolved into generic pulp. But Malek, in the hands of director James Hawes, really leans into the character’s psychopathy. He has a dead-eyed stare throughout, the sort you’d usually expect to find on a film’s antagonist. Sure, this is a globe-trotting Bourne-style romp, but you’re never allowed to forget the ethical iffiness of, say, blowing someone up inside a swimming pool.
Out now, Disney+
Women Talking
Based on the 2018 novel by Miriam Toews, which was in turn based on true events, Sarah Polley’s Women Talking is startlingly unconventional. The story of a Mennonite community in remote Bolivia, whose women discover that they are being drugged and raped, Women Talking centres around the discussion of how they should react. Do they leave, do they fight back, or do they do nothing? With a world-beating cast (Rooney Mara, Jesse Buckley, Claire Foy and Frances McDormand), the film is light on action but will linger long after the credits roll.
Tuesday 22 July, 11pm, BBC Two
Emma
This 2020 Jane Austen adaptation was the directorial debut of photographer Autumn de Wilde, who brought all the experience of her old career to the table. The story of a wealthy woman who attempts to act as a matchmaker, with far-reaching consequences, has been told over and over again. What sets this version apart are the lively performances – from Anya Taylor-Joy, Josh O’Connor and Bill Nighy – and visuals that are modern enough to cut through all the period stuffiness.
Wednesday 23 July, 11pm, BBC Two
Tin Soldier
Well, this is a weird one. Tin Soldier is a film where Scott Eastwood attempts to infiltrate a cult and overthrow its leader. What makes it weird, however, is how heavily this is overshadowed by its supporting cast. Robert De Niro features in a typically underpowered late-stage role as a kind of military advisor. But even he recedes into the shadows next to Jamie Foxx, playing the aforementioned cult leader. He has huge hair. He has silly glasses. He has questionable facial hair. His name is The Bokushi. None of it makes any sense. It’s sort of incredible.
Wednesday 23 July, Prime Video
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Kraven the Hunter
Few recent films stumbled into cinemas as dead on arrival as Kraven the Hunter. Knocked by Sony’s repeated duff attempts to create a universe of Spider-Man baddies, none of which actually featured Spider-Man, the film was so poorly anticipated that the director was reduced to begging people to give it a chance. The good news is that Kraven the Hunter is actually a good film. It’s less silly than Madame Web and less wild than Morbius. Come expecting nothing more than a sturdy action film and you shouldn’t leave disappointed.
Friday 25 July, 10.50am, 8pm, Sky Cinema Premiere
Happy Gilmore 2
There is a huge portion of the world that treats Happy Gilmore like a foundational text. A 1996 sports comedy about a short-tempered ice hockey fanatic who finds a surprising affinity for golf, this is arguably the archetypal Adam Sandler performance; loud, profane, occasionally syrupy. Now, almost 30 years later, it’s time for the sequel. Here, Gilmore is forced out of retirement to pay for his daughter’s ballet school. Expect lots of shouting, a billion cameos and – most intriguing of all – a turn by Sandler’s Uncut Gems director Benny Safdie.
Friday 25 July, Netflix
Blade Runner 2049
If you need to get acquainted with the man who’ll lead James Bond into the future, this is a decent place to start. Denis Villeneuve’s sequel to Ridley Scott’s original is monumental in every way. It moves slowly but loudly, and every frame is a maximalist spectacle. Here Ryan Gosling plays a replicant who discovers that his kind are able to biologically replicate, leading him down a dark path that will take him to the fringes of society and make him question his own identity. If the next Bond is even a tenth as ambitious as this, we’re in for a total treat.
Friday 25 July, 11.25pm, BBC One
