The Week’s best film, TV, book and live show on this weekend, with excerpts from the top reviews.
TELEVISION: Seven Worlds, One Planet
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“Seven Worlds is cinematic in its scale, and it’s something that even the biggest blockbuster movie cannot replicate with effects and CGI. It’s almost a shame that it’s confined to TV screens, rather than placed in movie theatres. With the help of drones, underwater cameras and the ability to integrate teams into the heart of flocks and species, Seven Worlds holds moments within the animal kingdom that makes this a wonderful, and oftentimes heartbreaking, watch.”
Sunday 27 October on BBC One
MOVIE: The Last Black Man in San Francisco
Manohla Dargis in The New York Times
“The astonishing “Last Black Man in San Francisco” is about having little in a grab-what-you-can world. It’s the haunting, elegiac story of Jimmie Fails – playing a version of himself – a young man trying to hold onto a sense of home in San Francisco… Much depends on Jimmie, who waxes and wanes, sometimes rises and then falls in a city that – with this ravishing movie – he insistently stakes a claim on, one indelible image at a time.”
UK release 25 October
BOOK: My Penguin Year: Living with the Emperors - A Journey of Discovery by Lindsay McCrae
Chris Packham
“A dramatic saga forged by passion, honesty and a rare skill as a naturalist and film-maker… All his musings and observations combine to produce a compelling tale of the man, those extraordinary birds and that lonely place at the end of the earth. So turn off the heating, put on your gloves and head deep south into a frozen land of dreams and nightmares, all played out in the world of beautiful Emperors.”
Published 21 October
STAGE: Little Baby Jesus
Miriam Gillinson in The Guardian
“Here is a play that will be racing through you, making you laugh and think, long after you’ve left the theatre. The energy levels in Tristan Fynn-Aiduenu’s live-wire production are something else. Before the show begins, the actors chat cheekily with the audience. As the stories unfurl, that easy interaction remains. The actors make eyes at the audience, tease us, even sit on us. Everything they feel, we feel, too.”
At the Orange Tree Theatre, London until 16 November
SOUND: Intrigue: Tunnel 29
Miranda Sawyer in The Guardian
“The 10-part series tells the true story of a group of young men who dug a tunnel from West Berlin to East Berlin in the early 1960s, under the Berlin Wall, and used it to smuggle people out… [Helena] Merriman is confident. She tells the story, which is a good one, a real Le Carré-style cold war yarn, in a positive manner, with proper forward motion…Tunnel 29 is both a Big BBC Podcast and a really great listen. Don’t believe the hype, just enjoy it for yourself.”
Available on BBC Sounds
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How will Ford reinvent EV manufacturing to compete with China?Today's Big Question Henry Ford's assembly line system is being replaced
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The latest entry in Ethan Coen's queer trilogy, a Jeff Buckley documentary and the rare children's horror flick in August moviesthe week recommends The month's film releases include 'Honey Don't!,' 'It's Never Over, Jeff Buckley' and 'Sketch'
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Switzerland could experience unique economic problems from Trump's tariffsIn the Spotlight The current US tariff rate on Switzerland is among the highest in the world
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Friendship: 'bromance' comedy starring Paul Rudd and Tim RobinsonThe Week Recommends 'Lampooning and embracing' middle-aged male loneliness, this film is 'enjoyable and funny'
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Sirens: entertaining satire on the lives of the ultra-wealthy stars Julianne MooreThe Week Recommends This 'blackly comic affair' unfurls at a 'breakneck speed'
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Here comes the end of 'Squid Game'! Plus more great TV shows to see this June.the week recommends The next great sports comedy, a young Marvel heroine and the conclusion of 'Squid Game'
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TV to watch in May, including 'The Four Seasons' and 'Duster'The Week Recommends A comedy from Tina Fey, a '70s crime thriller from J.J. Abrams and an adaptation from the pages of Judy Blume
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5 'slow TV' shows for overstimulated kidsThe Week Recommends In an era of fast-paced content and short attention spans, the slow TV movement can be a boon to parents
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TV to watch in April, including 'The Last of Us' and 'The Rehearsal'the week recommends The zombie virus persists, Nathan Fielder investigates plane crashes and a cancer patient craves sexual discovery
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TV to watch in March, including 'The Studio' and 'Paul American'The Week Recommends A true crime story adaptation, a reality show about the ultra-American Paul brothers and a new late night series from John Mulaney
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A Thousand Blows: Stephen Graham, Erin Doherty and Malachi Kirby star in 'moreish' boxing seriesThe Week Recommends Entertaining pugilistic period drama from the Peaky Blinders creator
