Saturday (18/6) 14:45 BBC2 The African Queen (1951) (also Thursday 21:00 BBC4)
This 1950s classic, directed by the legendary John Huston, won Humphrey Bogart his only Oscar, playing opposite record 4 time winner Katherine Hepburn. The story follows the pair on a journey down an East African river to escape the invading forces of WW1. They hatch a plan to strike a blow against a German warship in their small steamboat, but to do so they need to survive gunfire, crocs, rapids and eachother. Filmed on location in Uganda and The Congo, this lighthearted adventure flick has a lively, infectious energy, mostly courtesy of the wonderful personality of the performances.
Monday (20/6) 23:15 BBC2 The Place Beyond the Pines (2012)
A thought provoking examination of nature vs. nurtute and the forces that shape us, across generations. Ryan Gosling plays tearaway Luke, pursued by Bradley Cooper's cop Cross after a bank robbery gone wrong, the aftermath of which will bring the legacies of both men much closer than expected. With great performances, beautiful cinematography and an utterly engrossing feeling of optimism through hardship, not to mention a small but memorable role from the late Ray Liotta. The final section may lose some of the gravitas from the previous but this is still a really underappreciated work from director Derek Cianfrance, who also made award winners Blue Valentine and The Light between Oceans.
Friday (24/6) 18:55 Great Moves The Way, Way Back (2013)
A well observed coming of age teen drama about Duncan, a shy boy who is brought out of his shell on a family holiday when he meets the childish but likeable Owen, played by Sam Rockwell, who introduces him to fun, and girls, which help him overcome issues within his family. A fairly typical teenager, he is bitter towards his mum and her boyfriend, played by Toni Collette and Steve Carrell. More proof, if it were needed, that Carrell is more than just an accomplished comedy performer.
Sunday (19/6) 00:40 Channel 4 Arrival (2016)
A wonderfully developed and contemplative alien invasion drama from one of the most revered directors of the modern age, Denis Villeneuve (Sicario, Blade Runner 2049). After extraterrestrial ships arrive and hover motionless over various locations on Earth, nothing seems to happen, so the military dispatch a linguistics expert to try to make contact and ascertain their intentions. The film used some of the more imaginary yet somehow believable designs of aliens, but the creatures and the invasion are not the focus of the film, that falls on Amy Adams and her life story, especially the journey of parenthood, which is expertly and sparingly delivered.
Sunday (19/6) 16:00 BBC1 Moana (2016)
This uses the tried and tested formula of a young mollycoddled princess, Moana, who yearns to break free, in this case to venture past the safety zone her father has put in place around their Polynesian Island. She embarks on a quest across the seascape to retrieve a fabled gemstone and reinstate equilibrium to a nearby haven island, alongside a demigod played by Dwayne Johnson and the semingly obligatory animal sidekick. Many of these later Pixar offerings lack the universal magic of their early works.. It is nice, colourful and with some modern themes, but it may not live too long in the memory.
Thursday (23/6) 23:40 Film4 My Beautiful laundrette (1985)
Stephen Frears (Philomena, The Queen) directs another tale of unflinching, real British life, this is perhaps still most notable as an early role for the then little known Daniel Day Lewis, but deserves to be heralded in its own right. The story takes risks in itself by focusing not only on race relations at the time but also on an unorthadox but heartfelt interracial gay couple, Omar and Johnny, trying to make good of a family business opportunity. They face discrimination in different forms in the streets of 1980s London from their families and others.
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