The Watchlist

0:00Time now for the watch list the best TV and film recommendations for the week ahead and I'm joined today by business post film critic John McGuire and writer and podcaster Esther and more donahue. Welcome guys. Esther Sharon Horton has a new show called The Ute which is always good news. I think a new Sharon Horton show. Yeah, no she is. I started watching this. Yes, I was watching an episode. I watched one episode. Get a feel of it. See what I want to control the nation about this and then three episodes and then I'd pull myself away. It was so good. And you know Sharon Horton you're going to she's a great performer. She anything she produces through production company. You know it's going to be quality and it is the performances are all evenly matched. It's genuinely funny. When the first few few openings seconds, you think what's the tone that's going to be? Is it going to be more sentimental, hard stringy, but then very quickly it turns into comedy, but it's really just paired back the tone is really nice. And it's a middle-aged woman dating. Yeah, she's a book editor. She's a she's recently divorced. She's looking for her son who's paid by Kiliumer if he's son in real life. And is her is off to university, but he's kind of struggling there.

1:03And she or her parents are older. She's got an ex who's just bit of a live wire. The luck going on. Yeah, great. Yeah. So it's really. And the dramedy basically. A dramedy. Yeah. So really. I would recommend that. Okay. That's you and it starts. It starts tomorrow. I think on HBO maps and people get that through SCOIA or no TV. Yeah, yeah. Okay. John Brothers starts an Apple TV and Wednesday. Yeah. This is Woody Haralds and Matthew McConaughey as brothers. It looks great from the. They play in fictionalized versions of themselves heightened versions of themselves. This isn't the Apple TV show based on the internet rumor that the two of them might be brothers in real life. Apparently, Haraldsons father, Nash and new McConaughey's mother, the year before McConaughey was born and years indeed before he went to prison for being a hitman. And the plot has this heightened version of Haraldsons as this permanently stoned surfer dude who through family circumstance goes to live on McConaughey's ranch in Texas for a while.

2:04They're initially warmly welcomed, but they soon become a bit of an inconvenience and there's friction between. And Matthew McConaughey, the movie star and Woody Haraldsons the movie star. Yeah. And McConaughey is putting together a run to become governor of Texas while Haraldsons trying to deal with family. The premises clever it's playing on their personas and there are some good jokes here, but honestly I gave up on it after a couple of episodes. Whatever that tells you. Okay. Alright, brothers starts an Apple TV on Wednesday. And Esther, new season is strictly come dancing started last night. New hosts. Yes. How is it? Three new hosts. Josh Whiticham, his comedian presenter Emma Willis and former strictly pro Johannes Reddy Bay. It is so good. It was like the weather's hit a bit colder. Yeah, it was like the opening sequence was like over four minutes long. It was like set like it looked like it was a Hollywood backlash. I was just like, how much rehearsal did they have to do the choreography? Even the cameraman or the camera person moving in a night. It was really good. Like and there it's really low stakes. I mean, first of all, they didn't announce this year who's going to be paired with what pro that's a big thing.

3:07They were going to do it on air. So they kind of had to it was like a musical chairs. So they were dancing with Brendan and they were dancing over here with John and who and then it was like change partners change partner. So you're like, oh my god. I was like, I can't leave the room. Honestly, you dealt dealt a good room paired with you know, couldn't need a biscuit. I was glued to the screen. So it's a good entertainment. Yeah, strictly continues on Saturday nights at 725 on BBC one. John, this is a cinema now, but it will be coming to sky. I think you have these unusual passions. I do. I do. I do. I do. I do. You're very good to entouled me on this brand of what this isn't like some documentary about Albanian bear dance and bear trainers or anything. Sean the sheep is very mainstream and the Wallace and Grammar universe that Sean the sheep came out of. To my mind, forget your bonds, forget your Harry Potter's. This is the best British film franchise. Really? I think this work is just extraordinary and particularly for younger viewers, younger audiences as an introduction to narrative character, craft, creativity.

4:14It you couldn't find better, but they're also hilarious and inventive and affectionate and all told without a single line of dialogue. This is the third Sean the sheep feature is called the beast of mossy bottom. It's 30 years since they made their introduction in. I don't need a cross. It's not like all the Wallace and Grammar films. It's a parody of cinema and this time it's on its magic. It's a joy and absolute joy. Okay, that's it. I'm just loving what they do. I love what now. Okay, you clearly do. Okay, Esther back to TV. Ryan Murphy's monster series. So he's done Jeffrey Dahmer. It's on the Menendez brothers. He's done Ed Gying the serial killer. This is the new one is a period piece monster the Lizzy Borden story. Yeah, so this is a retelling of the Lizzy Borden murder case in 1892. Her parents Andrew and Abby Borden were found blood and death in their Massachusetts home and then suspicion fell to Lizzy. It took the jury 90 minutes to find her not guilty, even though she was convicted in the press. They did a little forensic evidence, etc.

5:19So that's the story that goes on. It takes this is a kind of a mythical American story. It's a true story. So that Ryan Murphy monster series. He dramatizes high profile homicide cases. And this is where he's chosen to land this time. It's the security factor in this from the eight session in that Lizzy Borden is played by Ella Beatty. He's a netbending and Warren Beatty's daughter. They both think the famous actors. There's also I don't know there's you know an netbending star in American beauty this film years ago. There's kind of a call back there with a mulberry silkage getting re-apholstered if you know if you watch that film. I thought that was a reference to that. It's really interesting. There's an Irish May they make Irish jokes. It's set on the guild at age. The cast is incredible. The form is really good. The cost is really good. It's bloody. So if you're not into blood and gore, that is an element. Yeah, it's really well made. It's okay. That is monster the Lizzy Borden. Sorry. And that is on Netflix. Now, John, there's another Brit pop documentary. Not the Oasis one. Paul, what do you do for a non-core?

6:19It's coming to the streaming service movie and I presume it will be another streaming service as soon as I'll be able to get some. Yeah, he gets a movie that's loose of actually from the 25th of September. This is pulp. The great pop Brit pop band. I suppose that the 90s and the 2000s the carrots Jennings is the director here. And this is a celebration. I suppose one of the most idiosyncratic and influential bands. What do you do for non-core? It's called and it follows the group through their own. Certainly smaller and cheaper tour 2025 than Oasis did. It's now rated by Jarvis Cocker and we've together footage from that tour about 20 songs, old hits and new ones from the first album in 20 odd years. And it's the archive material is where the real joy is here. This is never before seen stuff that charts their 40 years together as a band. They've always been a very cinematic band. They have a filmy photography arti band and they've been together since they were teenagers. So there's a lot of stuff. A lot of it is a very exciting character. He is the epitome of charisma is what he is, Brendan.

7:23Probably the greatest front band of British rock and roll of the last 20 years. Once he gets going you can't take your eyes off him. And he's just smart and funny and ironic and witty and really very charismatic. And this is what we're watching for fans. It's a great gemobi on the show. Absolutely. It's that kind of unique social commentary that he weaves into. Both the songs and the things that he was looking at as well. Paul what do you do for an encore and that's coming to movie on Friday? Esther in the cinemas there's a new version of sense and sensibility next Friday. Now it looks quite traditional is it? Well I think well the last big big adaptation was Ang Lee and Emma Thompson's version which had Hugh Grant and Kate Windsor. And I think the energy of that you could say is maybe more rompy. It's more British. This is sort of it's slightly kind of slightly charlie xe xe in the terms of it's kind of gray the way it looks. It's a bit slight it's cooler. It's not as good. Okay so it's for the kids like yeah.

8:24Maybe a little bit for the kids but it's yeah it's interesting. So it's days yet for Jones and Irish actors Katrina Balfe and Fiona Shaw and supporting cast. So yeah worth a watch I think yeah. Yeah okay John Bad apples starring Sir Sir Ronan is in cinemas. This is Ronan does. This sounds like a really unusual interesting film. It's very curious movie. Now first of all Sir Sir Ronan is superb and she's always superb. This is Jonathan Ezzler is the director. It's adapted from Swedish novel Ronan plays Maria who's this depressed Irish teacher in an English primary school. A failing English primary school and she has got this disruptive pupil called Danny who's played by a newcomer called Eddie Waller who's extraordinary. But he is disruptive and violent and foul mouth and he's sucking up time and mental energy every time he walks into the world. Every time he walks into the classroom. Is this German canlochi like no no it's worse than that it's gets worse than that. Okay so in the highest of high concepts through a series of circumstances she kidnapped some and hides them in the basement of her house. All right no talking immediately life improves immediately life improves both in the classroom and outside the classroom.

9:30The headmaster starts complimenting her the kids test scores go up the schools inspector gives her a glowing report. Life is better without this demon child but there is a marshy has crossed the moral line. And it's not it's slightly cartoony now Ronan is never cartoony it's not villainy but we do cross a moral line here and she drags us with us and we're we're asking the question. Who's the bad apple here is it the kid or is it the people around them who for the greater good have decided to kind of forget that he's not there anymore. The father is out send it out search parties and people give kind of token lip service to the idea of looking for. Yeah so it's a moral question and what makes it funny and makes it dark in the comedy is Ronan's performance and the other kids the kids are really just as good as her. Okay bad apples and that's in cinemas now and Esther will you tell us there's a drama starting on BBC one tonight at 9pm and it's a spin off from another drama that was really popular.

10:30It's called this place up. Yeah so it's a spin off from the split and this is the split up the split was set in London this one set in Manchester it's following the affluent kishan family there they move in the world of elite. Divorce and stuff so there's all these kind of big deals being done over the table but also there's family drama as well so it's sort of. It's like it's kind of like succession you know family pressures they're grieving the loss of their mother etc so yeah and that's our. Oh yeah it sounds like really watching if you like kind of well off people. Yeah if you like well off people that's it's like the good white things like that families behaving badly under pressure this is for you yeah so that starts to nice. Okay John you want to give an on-re-mentioned how to live an art with Benedict Comerbatch it's been made available for free on YouTube tonight at 7pm suggesting they're trying to make an event of it so just 30 seconds. As an event I'm sure but what would do what they're really trying to do by putting it on YouTube I think is to separate the message from the medium and the message is really important here particularly if you have kids or anybody who's concerned about the ongoing climate emergency and the enormity of that how do you talk to kids about what's common how do you talk to them about what's already happening and Comerbatch is presenting this as a hopeful and positive document about where he talks to real people who are out there in the world trying to make an actual difference.

11:47It's presented as a guide to how humans can work together with nature to build a safer future for the planet it's not aimed at winning over climate skeptics if there are any left. How to live on it. It's a rather a collection of practical accounts of how can we make a difference and how can we stave off the universe. Okay free on YouTube tonight from 7pm. Esther O'Mour, Donna Hoon and John McGuire thank you very much that's it for today if you missed any of the conversations from today's show you can hear them on RT.