Top 7 Must-Watch Films on TV This Week

Pick of the week: Kinds of KindnessHot on the heels of his Oscar-winning “Poor Things,” Yorgos Lanthimos presents his new anthology film, “Kinds of Kindness,” which has a similarly surreal feel but starts more grounded in reality. The film features three tales, all starring the same actors—Emma Stone, Jesse Plemons, Willem Dafoe, among others—depicting wildly different characters.

In the first part, Plemons plays a man whose life is entirely micromanaged by his boss (Dafoe). The middle chapter follows a cop (Plemons) whose missing wife (Stone) returns under mysterious circumstances. The final story is about a sex cult searching for someone who can reanimate the dead. This off-kilter comedy of murky morality is played deadpan by a cast that excels in their diverse roles. This thought-provoking and humorous anthology is now streaming on Disney+.

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Flash Gordon

“Flash, I love you, but we only have 14 hours to save the Earth!” This line encapsulates the spirit of the riotously camp 1980 film “Flash Gordon.” Directed by Mike Hodges, this movie pays homage to the sci-fi comic strip and the Saturday matinee serials starring Buster Crabbe.

Sam J. Jones stars as the American football player who takes on Ming the Merciless, an alien emperor portrayed by Max von Sydow in an unexpectedly offbeat performance. The film features Brian Blessed with wings and a bombastic soundtrack by Queen. Catch this adventurous romp on ITV4, Saturday 31 August at 11.35am.

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Passport to Pimlico

A quintessential Ealing comedy, “Passport to Pimlico” tells the story of ordinary people standing up against bureaucratic authority in postwar London. A bomb explosion reveals a 15th-century royal charter that grants a small area of London to the Duchy of Burgundy. The residents quickly declare independence from rationing-hit Britain, leading to chaotic but heartfelt self-rule.

Stanley Holloway stars as an ironmonger navigating the tricky landscape of new-found independence. A charming film that celebrates British community spirit, it airs on BBC Two, Saturday 31 August at 1.15pm.

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The Swordsman

In Choi Jae-hoon’s gripping 2020 period adventure, “The Swordsman,” Jang Hyuk plays Tae-yul, a former bodyguard to the king who lives in rural isolation with his daughter. He is reluctantly drawn back into the struggles between empires when his daughter’s safety is threatened. Battling his failing eyesight, Tae-yul’s quest is filled with artistry in swordplay and emotional depth.

The film airs on Film4, Saturday 31 August at 1.15am.

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Apollo 13: Survival

Peter Middleton’s new documentary “Apollo 13: Survival” offers an intensely gripping take on NASA’s 1970 near-disastrous moon mission. Utilizing real crew recordings, the documentary adds a layer of tension hard to match through fictional dramatizations. Lead astronaut Jim Lovell’s famous words, “Houston, we’ve had a problem,” take center stage as the crew and mission control contend with dire circumstances 200,000 miles from home.

The film also highlights the mission’s impact on the astronauts’ families. This documentary is available on Netflix starting Thursday 5 September.

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Friendship’s Death

“Friendship’s Death,” directed by film theorist Peter Wollen, is a captivating drama featuring Tilda Swinton in one of her earliest roles. Swinton plays an extraterrestrial robot peace envoy who lands in 1970s Jordan amidst the conflict with the PLO. Sheltered by a journalist played by Bill Paterson, she engages in philosophical discussions about human existence.

Despite its minimalist setup mainly restricted to a couple of rooms, Swinton’s performance is magnetic. The film is scheduled to air on Sky Cinema Greats, Friday 6 September, at 6.05am and 2.10pm.

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RoboCop

Paul Verhoeven’s 1987 sci-fi classic “RoboCop” remains a sharp satire on societal commodification and a thrilling comic action flick. Set in a dystopian Detroit, the story follows police officer Alex Murphy (Peter Weller), who is killed in the line of duty and resurrected by Omni Consumer Products as a memory-wiped cyborg cop. However, fragments of his previous life start to resurface as he fights crime in the city.

Catch this enduring classic on Sky Cinema Greats, Friday 6 September at 11.30pm.

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