Zootropolis, The Fall and Young Frankenstein: Your Week In Film (July 25-31)

Animal Magic: Zootropolis is smarter than the average animation

UK TV, Radio, DVD, Blu-ray, VOD and cinema picks for the next seven days...

Monday 25th: Rabbit cop Judy Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin) teams up with conman fox Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman) to unearth a massive conspiracy in Zootropolis (VOD, DVD and Blu-ray), an utterly charming anthropomorphic adventure from Disney. Under the ubiquitous 'You can be anything you want to be' life lessons, there are laughs aplenty, some seriously impressive world building and surprisingly adult themes (when was the last time you saw a 'kids' film' tackle racial profiling?). Byron Howard and Rich Moore's movie is also beautifully written and animated, and packed full of memorable scenes. Not sure why its original US title - Zootopia - was changed for the British market though. We pretty much invented puns over here, you know. Somewhat bleaker is The End Of The Tour (VOD and DVD). Jason Segel and Jesse Eisenberg are both terrific in a sharp, character-led drama about David Foster Wallace, the acclaimed author of Infinite Jest. Segel, who you will know and probably dislike from bad US sitcoms (How I Met Your Mother) and worse US movies (Sex Tape), is a revelation as the troubled author as he slowly but surely opens up to Eisenberg's pushy journalist. I haven't seen Chet Baker biopic Born To Be Blue yet but will give it a mention here as the film is getting a simultaneous multi-platform release. You can see Robert Budreau's movie - which stars Ethan Hawke as the American jazz trumpeter and vocalist - on VOD, DVD, Blu-ray and in cinemas from today. I dream of a time when all new films can be viewed in the same way. Elsewhere, there's The Complete Buster Keaton Short Films 1917-1923 (Blu-ray), a lovingly-assembled four-disc boxset featuring all 32 of the silent movie legend's shorts, plus a ton of extras. Stanley Kubrick's glorious Dr. Strangelove Or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying and Love The Bomb (Blu-ray) is the latest release to be given the swanky Criterion Collection treatment. "Gentlemen, you can't fight in here! This is the War Room!"

Treasure Jest: The End Of The Tour is a sharp drama

Tuesday 26th: The Wolfpack (22:10, Sky Atlantic) is the head-spinning true story of the Angulos, six brothers raised in a small apartment in Manhattan’s Lower East Side and only very rarely allowed to venture into the outside world by their insanely overprotective parents. Isolated from society, the boys seek refuge in movies, building elaborate props and costumes as they re-enact favourite scenes from the likes of Reservoir Dogs and The Dark Knight. But what happens when they’re all grown up and no longer need follow their parents' diktats? Director Crystal Moselle’s documentary was one of last year's best, even if some journalists accused it of playing fast and loose with the facts of the Angulos' situation. Cary Grant and Grace Kelly star in Alfred Hitchcock's To Catch A Thief (14:25 and 04:00, Sky Cinema Select). The comedy/thriller from 1955 may be one of Hitch's lighter films, but it has charm and wit to burn, plus two leads at the top of their game. Online subscription service MUBI is showing On The Waterfront from today. Marlon Brando is the ex-boxer taking a stand against corrupt union bosses in Elia Kazan's powerful 1954 drama which won eight Oscars.

Real Steal: Hitchcock's To Catch A Thief

Wednesday 27th: Well, this is embarrassing. Despite being a fan of both Matt Damon and director Paul Greengrass (It took me about two days to get over United 93 after first seeing it), I've never caught ANY of the Bourne films. Let's call it The Bourne Insufficiency. The latest in the high-octane action series - simply titled Jason Bourne - is in cinemas from today and I clearly have some catching up to do. Also on release from today is The Fall, a documentary that reunites runners Zola Budd and Mary Decker 30+ years after their infamous clash in the 3000 metres final at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. Budd - a white South African parachuted into the British team to get round the then-in-force sporting boycott of apartheid - accidentally tripped her American rival during the race and was so mortified she lost the will to go for gold herself. The film is also being shown on Sky Atlantic on Friday (21:00) and repeated on Sunday (12:00). John C Reilly is taken under the wing of Philip Baker Hall's professional gambler in Paul Thomas Anderson's superb Hard Eight (Netflix UK). Everything runs smoothly until he falls in love with Gwyneth Paltrow's cocktail waitress. The ensemble cast - which also includes Samuel L Jackson and Philip Seymour Hoffman - is impressive, Anderson revels in the low-key, sleazy world of casinos and motel rooms, and the twists are worth waiting for. 

Natural Bourne killer: Damon and Greengrass reunite 

Thursday 28th: Steven Spielberg's debut feature Duel (Horror Channel, 10:00) from 1971 sees Dennis Weaver's mild-mannered businessman relentlessly terrorised by the psychotic driver of a truck. It's been called 'Jaws on the highway' and that's a pretty good description of a smart chase movie full of tension and thrills. Jason Bourne director Paul Greengrass gives presenter Francine Stock a masterclass in how to direct a thriller in this week's The Film Programme (16:00, BBC Radio 4).

Fury road: Dennis Weaver is in big trouble in The Duel

Friday 29th: Ryan O'Neal is the titular Barry Lyndon in Stanley Kubrick's 10th film, a slow but rewarding 18th Century-set drama which returns to cinemas today. The extravagant period piece (which won four Oscars) sees O'Neal's young Irish rogue shoot a love rival in a duel before embarking on a series of 'misfortunes and disasters', as he battles his way from nothing to become part of the English aristocracy. Long seen as one of Kubrick's lesser works, it seems to have enjoyed something of a critical renaissance in recent years, possibly helped by the likes of Martin Scorsese heaping praise upon it. And quite right too. Also in cinemas is The Commune (VOD and cinemas), a 'bittersweet comedy' from Festen director Thomas Vinterburg; Pixar animation sequel Finding Dory, and Author: The JT LeRoy Story, a documentary recounting the intriguing tale of Laura Albert, a 40-year-old Brooklyn woman who created a 'public avatar' (the titular LeRoy) who quickly became a successful author. More complex and interesting than a mere hoax, Albert used the fake persona to write about painful events from her life she'd have found difficult to discuss under her own name. The Guardian Film Show was a popular weekly video review of new releases that ran for several years on the newspaper's website, until it was controversially canned in a round of cost cutting earlier this year. They tried a daily podcast after that which was pretty awful but now the spirit of the Film Show has returned in the form of The Guardian Film Review. A regular weekly podcast, it's the same as the original show, only presenter Xan Brooks is noticeable by his absence and its audio not video. Still, some fine critics are still on board, including the learned Peter Bradshaw and caustic Catherine Shoard, which makes it worth a listen. Edith Bowman and Robbie Collin sit in for the regular presenters on Kermode And Mayo's Film Review (14:00, BBC Radio 5 Live). Finding Dory star Ellen Degeneres is their guest. MUBI wrap up their season dedicated to Nicolas Winding Refn with My Life, a documentary made by the Danish director's wife, Liv Corfixen, which documents the making of Only God Forgives.

Rogue one: Ryan O'Neal is Barry Lyndon 

Saturday 30th: Versus: The Life And Films Of Ken Loach (21:10, BBC Two) is a celebratory documentary charting the 50-year career of the much-acclaimed British director of Kes, The Wind That Shakes The Barley and the forthcoming I, Daniel Blake. The 80-year-old filmmaker's Sweet Sixteen (23:40, BBC Two) - about a young boy trying to raise the cash to help his mum escape a pair of abusive relationships - follows later in the evening. Elsewhere tonight there's Clint Eastwood's classic revenge western Unforgiven (22:50, ITV4), Arnie fights an alien badass tougher than ALF and E.T. combined in Predator (21:00, Film 4), and the Wachowskis give us Bound (23:10, Film4), a thoroughly enjoyable lesbian crime caper starring Gina Gershon and Jennifer Tilly.

Too much, too young: Ken Loach's Sweet Sixteen

Sunday 31st: Mel Brooks' joyously demented Young Frankenstein (16:40, Movie Mix) is easily your best bet today. For what it's worth, the plot goes like this: neurosurgeon Frederick (Gene Wilder) is the American grandson of Victor von Frankenstein and, having inherited his dead relative's castle, travels to Transylvania. There he encounters hunchback assistant Igor (Marty Feldman) and quickly realises his grandfather's work on reanimating the dead wasn't quite as crazy as he'd first thought. Madness and hilarity ensue. Endlessly quotable ("Fronkensteen"), gloriously silly and laugh-out-loud funny, it's probably only second to The Producers as Brooks' finest moment. 

Monster fun: Wilder in Mel Brooks' Young Frankenstein

UK box office Top 10
1. Ghostbusters R
2. Ice Age 4: Continental Drift 
3. The Secret Life Of Pets
4. The Legend Of Tarzan R
5. Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie
6. Secret Cinema: Dirty Dancing
7. Now You See Me 2
8. Central Intelligence 
9. Independence Day: Resurgence 
10. The Conjuring 2: The Enfield Case

R = Recommended

All information correct at time of publication

Chronic, Barry Lyndon and Couple In A Hole: Your Week In Film (April 11-17)

The Jungle Book opens in cinemas from Friday

TV, Radio, DVD, Blu-ray, VOD and cinema picks for the next seven days...

Monday 11th: Chronic (DVD and VOD) sees Tim Roth consign the likes of United Passions and Grace Of Monaco to the dustbin of history as he turns in his finest performance for many years. In Michel Franco's powerful but off-kilter character study, the Reservoir Dogs actor plays a palliative care nurse working with patients in Los Angeles. He's an odd, and clearly disturbed man, who gets altogether too close to those he looks after, whilst struggling to forge meaningful relationships in his personal life. It's this dislocation that Roth and writer/director Franco are keen to poke about in and they do so very effectively. If you are so inclined, I noticed the likes of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Sisters, Black Mountain Poets and Krampus are all available to buy digitally from today. Being old and out of touch, I much prefer proper hard copies myself and will therefore be certain to check out the Blu-ray delights of horror/comedy sequel Bride of Re-Animator, CIA conspiracy thriller Three Days Of The Condor and cracking Steve Martin comedy Three Amigos. Still not sated? Curzon Home Cinema are showing the excellent Couple In A Hole (see Last 5 Films I Saw, below), the documentary Hitchcock/Truffaut, and Andrei Tarkovsky's Ivan's Childhood. 

Tim Roth is back to his best in Chronic

Tuesday 12th: Ryan O'Neal is the titular Barry Lyndon (21:00, TCM) in Stanley Kubrick's slow but rewarding 18th Century-set drama. The extravagant period piece (which won four Oscars) sees O'Neal's young Irish rogue shoot a love rival in a duel before embarking on a series of 'misfortunes and disasters', as he battles his way from nothing to become part of the English aristocracy. Long seen as one of Kubrick's lesser works, it seems to have enjoyed something of a critical renaissance in recent years, possibly helped by the likes of Martin Scorsese heaping praise upon it. And quite right too.

Barry Lyndon is Scorsese's favourite Kubrick film

Wednesday 13th: There's a double bill of Alfred Hitchock thrillers from today on Netflix UK, with James Stewart starring in both films. In Vertigo (voted the best movie of all time by Sight & Sound), he's an acrophobic San Francisco private detective led a merry dance by Kim Novak and all is most certainly not as it seems. In Rear Window, he's a wheelchair-bound photographer who witnesses a murder and, deciding to investigate, puts himself and sweetheart Grace Kelly in mortal danger. Elsewhere, in a very good day for classic films, there's Billy Wilder's WWII prison camp black comedy Stalag 17 (13:35, Film 4) and Michael Powell's controversial and disturbing Peeping Tom (22:50, Horror Channel). 

Vertigo: The greatest movie of all time?

Thursday 14th: Overlong, self-indulgent and shambolic, Magnolia (Amazon Prime Video) is the only one of Paul Thomas Anderson's films I find it hard to get along with. The cast, including Julianne Moore, Tom Cruise and Jason Robards, are all terrific though and, for that reason alone, it's worth several hours of your time. Rather more straightforward is charming undead comedy Zombieland (21:00, Film 4) which contains surely one of the finest cameos in recent movie history. Jon Favreau talks to Francine Stock on The Film Programme (BBC Radio 4, 16:00) about his new film, The Jungle Book (in cinemas Friday).

Magnolia: Shambolic but worth your time (just about)

Friday 15th: After a few weeks away, Mark Kermode and Simon Mayo return to the helm of Kermode and Mayo's Film Review (BBC Radio 5 Live, 14:00). Jon Favreau turns up to plug The Jungle Book again. Cinema bids a fond farewell to Alan Rickman as the late actor's final film - Eye In The Sky - hits your local multiplex today. A sophisticated thriller that takes a long, hard look at the morality of modern warfare, it stars Helen Mirren and Aaron Paul. If you're after something a little more 'arthouse', there's The Brand New Testament, the tagline to which is surely the best of this or any week: 'Did you know that God is alive and lives in Brussels with his daughter?' I didn't but I certainly do now...

The Brand New Testament: May contain traces of gorilla

Saturday 16th: Kirk Douglas is Vincent van Gogh in  Lust For Life (13:00, BBC2), Vincente Minnelli's beautiful and moving biopic of the painter. In couldn't-be-starker contrast, Film 4 boasts a vampire double bill of the original Fright Night (22:55) and Werner Herzog's Nosferatu The Vampyre (01:05). Both are a blast.

Sunday 17th: Swashbuckling thrills and spills aplenty await you in the endlessly entertaining The Princess Bride (13:15, Channel 5), while Bend It Like Beckham (15:15) is a pure 'Rachel Of The Rovers' tale about a girls' football team. Oh, and a channel I've never heard of - True Entertainment - is showing Woody Allen's sublime Bullets Over Broadway (21:00). John Cusack stars as a Broadway playwright forced to cast a gangster's moll in the lead role of his play, but Chaz Palminteri steals the show as the hood with the soul of a poet.

Kirk Douglas is Vincent Van Gogh in Lust For Life

The Last 5 films I Saw

1. Couple In A Hole (2015): Tom Geens' bravura drama about the terrible impact of grief on a husband and wife. Paul Higgins (The Thick Of It) and Kate Dickie (The Witch) are both superb. It's in cinemas and available on demand (Curzon Home Cinema, Amazon Prime Video and BFI Player). If you only see one film this week etc...
2. Jane B. for Agnes V. (1988): French new wave director Agnes Varda's illuminating and thoroughly entertaining portrait of actor/singer/muse Jane Birkin.
3. Grandma (2015): Irascible septuagenarian Lily Tomlin scraps and bullies to raise enough cash to fund her grand-daughter's abortion. A brave, likable film, even though the 'tough old boot with a heart of gold' trope has been done to death at this point.

4. Future Shock! The Story Of 2000AD (2014): Enjoyable warts 'n' all documentary about the long-running British weekly sci-fi comic. Gets a bit gushy towards the end though.

5. Nasty Baby (2015): 'Mumblecore' drama about a gay Brooklyn couple trying to conceive a child with their friend/surrogate (Kristen Wiig). An odd mix of intriguing and irritating.

Couple In A Hole: Just see it (you'll thank me, honestly)

UK box office top 10

1. Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice R
2. Eddie The Eagle
3. Zootropolis R
4. Kung Fu Panda 3
5. My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2
6. 10 Cloverfield Lane
7. London Has Fallen
8. The Boy
9. The Divergent Series: Allegiant
10. High-Rise R

R = Recommended

All information correct at time of publication