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Pick of the week
Wicked
If you consider yourself a musical agnostic, Wicked might be best enjoyed on a television screen. Consumed in one sitting – so long, so many songs performed at such an unwavering high intensity – any undecideds might find themselves overwhelmed by the sheer onslaught of the thing. But if you’re ready for the whole plunge, Jon M Chu’s Wizard of Oz prequel remains a total extravaganza. The performances are fantastic; especially Ariana Grande, whose years spent toiling down the Disney Channel mines manifest themselves in a remarkable lightness of touch. The ambition is faultless. And if you aren’t moved by the walloping final performance of Defying Gravity, you might be dead inside.
Friday 11 July, 10am and 8pm, Sky Cinema Premiere
King Richard
Until the end of time, King Richard is destined to be known as Will Smith’s meltdown film – he won an Oscar for his performance, directly between slapping Chris Rock and being banned from the Oscars for a decade – which is a shame, because it deserves to stand on its own merits. A biopic of Richard Williams, the man who drove his daughters Venus and Serena to become the world’s best tennis players, the film enjoys a rocketship trajectory that starts in the backstreets of Compton and ends at the top of the world. And, yes, even with all his baggage, Smith gives a career-best performance.
Saturday 5 July, 10:20pm, BBC One
Die Hard 2
Is Die Hard 2 the best Die Hard film? Absolutely not. Judged against the elegance of its predecessor, this seems as if it was made by crayon-wielding toddlers. However, once you critically disengage, it is a concentrated dose of sheer fun, full of hilariously gratuitous swearing – “No pictures, you pinko bitch,” is a personal favourite, but you will have your own – and a disregard for human life so comprehensive that it borders on the psychopathic. That Bruce Willis retains his unstoppable charisma while murdering an airport full of baddies is testament to the man’s talent.
Sunday 6 July, 10:30pm, BBC One
The Wicker Man
Don’t worry, this isn’t the Nicolas Cage one with the bees. This is Robin Hardy’s superlative 1973 original, in which Edward Woodward travels to a remote Scottish island full of pagans and slowly comes to learn he’s in over his head. A masterpiece of folk horror, brimming with uncomfortable eeriness, The Wicker Man has left a long and impressive legacy. There is more than a fighting chance this was scheduled to capitalise on the popularity of 28 Years Later. If that’s the case, it’s a very smart move, because the fingerprints of this are all over that.
Tuesday 8 July, 11.50pm, BBC Two
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Don’t Look Now
BBC Two’s week of trying to creep everyone out before bed continues with this, the scariest film ever made. Nicolas Roeg’s 1973 Daphne du Maurier adaptation is a disorientating swirl of creeping dread. Donald Sutherland and Julie Christie play a grief-stricken couple who travel to Venice and find themselves plagued by malevolent clairvoyants and terrifying sightings. The final sequence, in which Sutherland follows a figure through the city, is as nightmarish as anything you will ever see.
Wednesday 9 July, midnight, BBC Two
Brick
Philip Koch, last seen directing Netflix’s sadly truncated Tribes of Europa sci-fi series (which was cancelled after one season), returns here with a horror thriller with a chilling premise. Matthias Schweighöfer and Ruby O Fee play a couple who wake up to find their entire apartment building has been encased in a huge wall made of an unidentified material. Is it a trap, or was it put there to protect them? Will their neighbours help them escape, or are they in on the secret as well? If Stephen King was an influence (and it certainly seems that way) he should be proud.
Thursday 10 July, Netflix
Zombies 4
If you’re a full-grown adult with unfiltered access to the broad sweep of horror, Disney’s Zombies franchise might have passed you by. But if you’re a child – interested in horror enough to want to dip your toes in, but not quite ready for outright gore – Zombies is like manna from heaven. It’s High School Musical, in essence, but with a vaguely supernatural bent. Previous instalments have introduced werewolves and aliens, and this time we get vampires. Featuring songs such as Don’t Mess With Us and Kerosene, it’s lightweight fluff, but highly enjoyable fluff.
Friday 11 July, Disney+
