FILM OF THE WEEK
FOUR KIDS AND IT (Cert PG, 109 mins, Sky Cinema, Drama/Comedy/Fantasy/Romance, available now exclusively on Sky Cinema, available from August 3 on Amazon Prime Video/BT TV Store/iTunes/Sky Store/TalkTalk TV Store and other download and streaming services, also available from August 3 on DVD £12.99)
DAVID (Matthew Goode) spirits his children, 13-year-old Ros (Teddie-Rose Malleson-Allen) and eight-year-old Robbie (Billy Jenkins), away to a seaside cottage.
Ros clings to the hope that her divorced parents might reconcile. Instead, David's new girlfriend Alice (Paula Patton) arrives at the cottage with her brood: aspiring singer-songwriter Smash (Ashley Aufderheide) and cherubic Maudie (Ellie-Mae Siame).
The emotionally bruised moppets clash and battle lines are drawn when they encounter an ancient being called a Psammead (voiced by Sir Michael Caine), which lives in the sand of a secluded beach.
The benevolent creature promises to grant one wish each day. Ros, who has read a copy of Five Children And It by E Nesbit, is wise to the hidden caveats.
Regardless, Smash, Robbie and Maudie call upon the Psammead and arouse the suspicions of demented local laird Tristan (Russell Brand).
Four Kids And It is an energetic adaptation of Jacqueline Wilson's bestselling novel for children. Digital effects are slickly executed. Brand is firing on all cylinders as the well-to-do pantomime villain.
The gently effervescent mix of comedy, romance and wish fulfilment could be a tonic for families in need of fleeting diversions during lockdown.
INFAMOUS (Cert 15, 100 mins, Vertigo Releasing, Thriller/Romance, available from July 31 on Amazon Prime Video/BT TV Store/iTunes/Sky Store/TalkTalk TV Store and other download and streaming services)
SOCIAL media-obsessed diner waitress Arielle Summers (Bella Thorne) saves her tips as an escape fund from the "stupid speed trap town" in Florida where she lives with her mother (Marisa Coughlan).
When her roll of dollar bills disappears, an enraged Arielle goes on the warpath and the abusive father of her mechanic boyfriend, Dean (Jake Manley), takes a fatal tumble down the stairs.
The lovebirds go on the run, a traffic cop is accidentally shot dead during a routine stop and Arielle begins posting videos of their armed robberies on social media platforms.
"Fame equals money equals getting out of this town," she barks at her technologically shy beau as police forces across America hunt the trigger-happy fugitives.
Taking its blood-soaked lead from Bonnie & Clyde and Natural Born Killers, Infamous is a cautionary tale about crime and punishment in an age which measures personal worth in likes and followers.
Writer-director Joshua Caldwell orchestrates stylish crime sprees including one robbery shot in a single fluid take.
However, his script is a broken record, filling Arielle's mouth with variations on a theme of fame obsession to spark repeated arguments with Dean.
It's impossible to feel sympathy, or any healthy emotion for Thorne's whining, narcissistic fireball as she sets the world blaze and betrays everyone around her in pursuit of online validation.
Manley is poorly served as the voice of calm and caution, drowned out by gunshots and a synth-heavy soundtrack.
THE FIGHT (Cert 12, 97 mins, Dogwoof, available from July 31 on Amazon Prime Video/BT TV Store/iTunes/Sky Store/TalkTalk TV Store and other download and streaming services, Documentary)
MEN and women from the non-profit American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) go to battle against the Trump administration in an empowering documentary co-directed by Eli Despres, Josh Kriegman and Elyse Steinberg.
Filmed from spring 2017 to summer 2019, it focuses on four important cases concerning abortion, family separation, transgender servicepeople in the US military, and voters' rights.
The Fight goes behind the scenes of the ACLU, which was established to uphold the rights of all citizens regardless of their political and personal views, and spotlights the emotional toll on hard-working staff.
BOX SETS
THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY – SEASON 2 (10 episodes, streaming from July 31 exclusively on Netflix, Fantasy/Adventure/Drama)
THE visually arresting fantasy torn from the pages of Dark Horse Comics returns to Netflix this week following a cliffhanger resolution to the first series.
Once again, these 10 instalments are accompanied by a self-consciously quirky soundtrack as the dysfunctional children of eccentric billionaire Sir Reginald Hargreeves (Colm Feore) find themselves scattered through space and time.
The ripple effect of these disruptions in the timeline is another doomsday scenario, which can only be resolved by Number One (Tom Hooper), Number Two (David Castaneda), Number Three (Emmy Raver-Lampman), Number Four (Robert Sheehan) and Number Five (Aidan Gallagher) charting a course back to each other.
They must also evade the clutches of a trio of ruthless Swedish assassins.
THE RAIN – SEASON 3 (8 episodes, streaming from August 6 exclusively on Netflix, Thriller/Drama/Romance)
EMOTIONAL downpours come thick and fast in the third and final series of the post-apocalyptic Danish drama about a deadly virus.
Following on from the devastation of the second series, Simone (Alba August) and brother Rasmus (Lucas Tynggard Tonnesen), who is immune to the contagion, continue to clash about the best course of action to save humanity.
While Simone pins her hopes on a cure, Rasmus is convinced that infecting survivors with a version of the virus should trigger superhuman powers.
Meanwhile, Jean (Sonny Lindberg) allows grief to cloud her judgment and Martin (Mikkel Boe Folsgaard) and Patrick (Lucas Lokken) are haunted by their experiences of a world teetering on the brink of anarchy.
ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK – THE FINAL SEASON (Cert 15, 778 mins, Lionsgate Home Entertainment UK Ltd, available now exclusively on Netflix, available from August 3 on DVD £34.99, Comedy/Drama/Romance)
REHABILITATION comes at a hefty emotional price in the seventh and final series of the award-winning Netflix comedy drama based on Piper Kerman's memoir of the same name, which arrives on DVD this week.
Piper (Taylor Schilling) is confident that her relationship with fellow jailbird Alex (Laura Prepon) can endure after their prison wedding last series.
Alex remains behind bars at Litchfield Penitentiary along with other inmates we have come to love including Black Cindy (Adrienne C Moore), Blanca (Laura Gomez), Crazy Eyes (Uzo Aduba), Nicky (Natasha Lyonne), Red (Kate Mulgrew) and Taystee (Danielle Brooks).
Prisoners confront their demons, find courage in sisterly solidarity and dare to dream of a brighter future.
TOM CLANCY'S JACK RYAN – SEASON TWO (Cert 15, 354 mins, Paramount Home Entertainment, available now on Amazon Prime Video, available from August 3 on DVD £21.99/Blu-ray £25.99, Thriller/Action/Romance)
JOHN Kransinki reprises his role as Tom Clancy's gung-ho CIA analyst in the action-packed TV adaptation, created by Carlton Cuse and Graham Roland.
In the concluding episode of the first series, Jack's brave actions saw him promoted to head of the Terror, Finance and Arms Division (T-FAD) at the CIA.
In these next instalments, Jack travels to Venezuela to investigate a potential shipment of illegal arms that could expose a far-reaching conspiracy and ensnare the country's president, Reyes (Jordi Molla).
Joining forces with elite German operative Harriet Baumann (Noomi Rapace), Jack stumbles upon a plot that also involves the UK and Russia, and threatens to nudge Venezuela towards the brink of unrest.
LITTLE BIRDS (6 episodes, streaming from August 4 exclusively on NOW TV, Drama/Romance)
A WEALTHY heiress stumbles into an erotically charged world and opens her eyes to sensual pleasures in a six-part drama, which screens on Sky Atlantic and streams exclusively on NOW TV.
Inspired by Anais Nin's collection of short stories, Little Birds focuses on blushing bride Lucy Savage (Juno Temple), who heads to 1955 colonial Tangier in the company of her husband, Hugo Cavendish-Smyth (Hugh Skinner).
Desperate to achieve independence on her own terms, Lucy is seduced by the decadence of her exotic new surroundings.
Far from home, she becomes enamoured with the unapologetic abandon of dominatrix Cherifa Lamour (Yumna Marwan).
