This week's television lineup offers a diverse array of films, from Bradley Cooper's biting comedy-drama to a tense bomb disposal thriller. Here are the seven best films to watch on TV this week.
Pick of the Week: Is This Thing On?
Inspired by the true story of how John Bishop became a comedian, Bradley Cooper's new film is a witty drama exploring marriage and midlife crisis. Will Arnett stars as Alex, a New York financier separated from his wife Tess (Laura Dern), feeling lost and lonely. One evening, he signs up for a bar's open-mic night to avoid the entrance fee and is unexpectedly energized after venting about his life on stage. His newfound joie de vivre as he pursues standup-as-therapy rubs off on ex-volleyball star Tess, who has lost her own drive after becoming a mother. The film offers a satisfyingly messy and nuanced dissection of a relationship, with a host of real-life acts making the comedy club scenes zing. Available now on Disney+.
Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan: Ghost War
The John Krasinski-led espionage thriller may always live in the shadow of Mission: Impossible, but this fun feature-length outing caters well to the endless appetite for spycraft tales. Krasinski's CIA analyst Jack Ryan offers a contrast to the haunted Ethan Hunt: a more relaxed spook with a sturdy moral compass and a British understatement. Here, Ryan teams up with Sienna Miller's MI6 agent to pursue Max Beesley's rogue black ops operative from London to Dubai. Available now on Prime Video.
My Favourite Cake
Maryam Moghadam and Behtash Sanaeeha, directors of this glorious film, were given suspended sentences for obscene content and propaganda against the Iranian state. On the surface, this bittersweet story of a 70-year-old Tehran widow (Lili Farhadpour) and her encounter with an elderly taxi driver (Esmaeel Mehrabi) seems inoffensive. But it proves subversive in a country where women's lives are severely circumscribed, and where simple pleasures like talking, dancing, and eating together become radical acts. Saturday 23 May, 9pm, BBC Four.
Sleep
In the tradition of far east horror movies with a nod to The Exorcist, Jason Yu's 2023 Korean film is an insomnia-inducing treat. Soo-jin (Jung Yu-mi) is expecting a baby, but her actor husband Hyun-soo (Lee Sun-kyun) develops REM sleep behavior disorder, involving scratching his face, eating raw meat, and worse. It's a case of scientific rationality versus supernatural faith as Soo-jin becomes convinced he is possessed by a malevolent ghost. But are the psychological stresses of new motherhood at the root of her fears? Saturday 23 May, 11.40pm, Film4.
Robot Dreams
Earth, Wind & Fire's September will never sound the same after seeing Pablo Berger's poignant animation. In a 1980s New York populated solely by animals, a lonely dog buys a robot and finds the friend he needs for rollerskating in the park (to September) and trips to the seaside. But when his metal mate seizes up on the amusement park beach on the last day of the season, the canine must abandon it. The ebbs and flows of friendship play out in the robot's musical fantasies as it rusts. Monday 25 May, 4.35pm, Film4.
One to One: John & Yoko
Kevin Macdonald and Sam Rice-Edwards's documentary covers 18 months in the lives of John Lennon and Yoko Ono after moving to New York in 1971, offering a riveting snapshot of a febrile period in US history (Vietnam, Nixon). Pivoting around a benefit gig the ex-Beatle organized for institutionalized mentally ill children, it mixes home movies, contemporary TV footage, and remarkable private phone calls to follow the couple as they dip into political causes and fashion a new life away from Britain. Thursday 28 May, 9pm, Sky Documentaries.
Fuze
Two of the bookies' favorites to be the next James Bond go head to head in David Mackenzie's tense, rug-pulling thriller. Aaron Taylor-Johnson stars as no-nonsense army bomb disposal major Will Tranter, called to defuse a second world war bomb in central London. Meanwhile, a gang of robbers, including Theo James's cocky South African criminal Karalis, are drilling into a nearby bank. Mackenzie is a skilled choreographer of events, so the many double-crosses and murky motivations keep the film ticking along entertainingly. Friday 29 May, 6.15am, noon, 8pm, Sky Cinema Premiere.
