Pick of the weekThe Running Man<\/p>\n
Edgar Wright\u2019s new adaptation of Stephen King\u2019s dystopian thriller is a conscious antidote to the 1987 Schwarzenegger version. The protagonist, Ben Richards, isn\u2019t a hard-bitten cop but a construction worker who learns how to be an action hero, while in Glen Powell we get a less beefy, more relatable star. The Orwellian near-future setting is familiar: a US where \u201cthe Network\u201d broadcast violent TV shows to pacify the masses. Ben enters the titular life-or-death challenge to pay for his young daughter\u2019s medicine, hoping to evade hunters for 30 days and win a fortune. But the game is rigged\u00a0\u2026 A fun action flick that would rather blow things up than hang around debating the moral issues.<\/p>\n
Connections \u2026 Sally Field stars as Tova in Remarkably Bright Creatures. Photograph: Courtesy of Netflix<\/p>\n
Based on the bestselling novel by Shelby Van Pelt, Olivia Newman\u2019s drama is full of hugs and learning. That the hugs come from a Giant Pacific octopus is the main quirk in an otherwise reassuring yarn touching on old age and family, grief and regret. Sally Field is the film\u2019s strong centre as Tova, a no-nonsense cleaner at the aquarium where Marcellus \u2013 the cephalopod who narrates the story \u2013 lives. But the perceptive Marcellus has spied a hole in the widow\u2019s heart. Can he help heal it, by way of rootless young musician Cameron (Lewis Pullman)?
Out now, Netflix<\/p>\n
Field of DreamsPitching an idea \u2026 Kevin Costner (left) stars in Field of Dreams. Photograph: Universal\/Melinda Sue Gordon\/Allstar<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you build it, he will come.\u201d This is merely the first of several ghostly commands Iowa farmer Ray Kinsella (Kevin Costner in solid everyman form) hears that inspire him to build a baseball ground in his cornfield, then go on a series of barely comprehended quests across the country. These involve a disgraced baseball star (Ray Liotta), James Earl Jones\u2019s disillusioned radical writer and a small-town doctor (Burt Lancaster). Phil Alden Robinson\u2019s delightful film uses fantasy elements to explore missed opportunities and faded hopes \u2013 and how we go about fixing them.
Saturday 9 May, 6pm, ITV4<\/p>\n
The HitcherThe chase \u2026 Rutger Hauer (left) terrorises C. Thomas Howell in The Hitcher. Photograph: AJ Pics\/Alamy<\/p>\n
Rutger Hauer brings his devil-may-care charm to Robert Harmon\u2019s supremely efficient thriller about a teenager who picks up a serial killer on a desert highway. \u201cMy mother told me never to do this,\u201d says C Thomas Howell\u2019s Jim Halsey when he pulls over for Hauer\u2019s hitch-hiker John Ryder one stormy night. Clearly you should always listen to your mother, as John proceeds to butcher anyone the kid comes into contact with. A gripping cat-and-mouse game played out across gas stations, motels, diners and miles of empty road.
Saturday 9 May, 9pm, 1.10am, Legend Xtra<\/p>\n
The Iron ClawUnbelievable \u2026 Jeremy Allen White, Harris Dickinson, Michael Harney and Zac Efron in The Iron Claw. Photograph: Brian Roedel<\/p>\n
If this weren\u2019t a true story, you\u2019d be forgiven for scoffing at the implausibilities that pile up in Sean Durkin\u2019s poignant biopic. Telling the tale of the Von Erich family of wrestlers in Texas, it is a parade of triumph and tragedy in a sometimes pitiless sport. The focus is on eldest son Kevin \u2013 a stunningly muscle-bound Zac Efron \u2013 who strives for success but finds his dad Fritz (Holt McCallany) grooming his brothers David (Harris Dickinson) and Kerry (Jeremy Allen White) for world title shots instead.
Sunday 10 May, 10pm, BBC Two<\/p>\n
SisuAbsolute gold \u2026 Jorma Tommila stars in Sisu. Photograph: PR undefined<\/p>\n
He barely says a word in the whole film, but when your role is to off Nazis in a variety of grisly ways there\u2019s not much call for banter. Aatami Korpi (Jorma Tommila) is a gold prospector in 1944 Lapland as the German army retreat from Finland. But he\u2019s also known as the Immortal, due to his unstoppable killing spree against the Russians when he was a commando \u2013 which is where a small German platoon go wrong when they steal his find of the precious metal. Bloody violence ensues in a satisfyingly propulsive 2022 chase thriller from Jalmari Helander that has already spawned a sequel.
Monday 11 May, 9.30pm, Film4<\/p>\n
Track 29Mindless \u2026 Gary Oldman (right) plays Martin who makes his mother Linda\u2019s (Theresa Russell) life hell in Track 29. Photograph: Moviestore Collection Ltd\/Alamy<\/p>\n
As masters of psychosexual drama, writer Dennis Potter and director Nicolas Roeg would seem perfect bedfellows. This 1988 collaboration doesn\u2019t quite hit the spot but is disquieting and edgy enough for devotees of both. A mysterious young English man, Martin (Gary Oldman), appears at the door of bored, boozy doctor\u2019s wife Linda (Theresa Russell), claiming to be the son taken away from her after a teenage pregnancy. He is infantile, volatile and demanding, and brings out Linda\u2019s suppressed guilt at her loss. But is he just a figment of her tortured mind?
Thursday 15 May, 1.20am, Film4<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Pick of the weekThe Running Man Edgar Wright\u2019s new adaptation of Stephen King\u2019s dystopian thriller is a conscious…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":945792,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3935],"tags":[77,3943,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-945791","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-movies","8":"tag-entertainment","9":"tag-movies","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116538307179471200","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/945791","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=945791"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/945791\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/945792"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=945791"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=945791"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=945791"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}