Wolfs to Inside Out 2: the seven best films to watch on TV this week | Television

Pick of the week
Wolves

It’s not quite Ocean’s Fourteen, but George Clooney and Brad Pitt’s reunion in Jon Watts’ nimble film offers the same easy charm and easy-on-the-eyes star quality. They play underworld fixers who are both called upon when Amy Ryan’s New York prosecutor turns up with a dead young man (Austin Abrams) on the floor of his hotel room. He’s actually not dead, but he has a bag full of medicine that he needs to drop off. Amidst bickering and rivalries of choice, the duo join forces to tie up loose ends before dawn, while the skills Watts honed in his Spider-man trilogy are put to good use, especially in a fun, frenetic chase through the night alleys.
Available now, Apple TV+

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Inside Out 2

The terrific 2015 animated comedy has a worthy sequel. As puberty now hits our human protagonist Riley, her original five dominant emotions—sadness, fear, disgust, anger, and Amy Poehler’s optimistic joy—simply won’t be enough. Enter Anxiety (Maya Hawke), Envy (Ayo Edebiri), and hilarious Frenchwoman Ennui (Adèle Exarchopoulos) to complicate the 13-year-old’s life and Joy’s best-laid plans. It’s a colorful business as usual despite a new director, Kelsey Mann, and a few too many new characters.
Available now, Disney+

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Apartment 7A

A prequel to Rosemary’s Baby featuring a minor character from this satanic classic probably wasn’t on anyone’s wish list. But directed by Natalie Erika James, creator of the superb horror film Relic, and starring the estimable Julia Garner, there’s a lot to love. Garner plays Terry, an aspiring dancer who is offered a large apartment in a New York apartment building by creepy old couple Minnie (Dianne Wiest) and Roman (Kevin McNally). But they have plans for her… With post-MeToo themes of gaslighting and coercive control at the forefront, it’s a retread that finds new angles on familiar scares.
Available now, Paramount+

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Nostalgia

This nostalgia is a double-edged sword, as it becomes all too evident for the protagonist of Mario Martone’s tender and angry 2022 drama. Felice (Pierfrancesco Favino) returns to Naples from Cairo after 40 years of absence to visit her sick mother. The dream of a return to his roots pulls him along, despite the shameful reason for his departure as a teenager and the always disastrous presence of the mafia. The city itself – dirty, dangerous, beautifully labyrinthine – is a vital presence in the film, watching over Felice as he settles into a place he thinks he knows but, fatally, doesn’t.
Saturday September 28, 10 p.m., BBC Four

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The Persian version

Maryam Keshavarz’s drama begins as the comic story of a metrosexual Iranian American woman rebelling against her traditional mother, but develops into a rich, resonant saga of love, compromise and determination. Layla Mohammadi is Leila, who has always clashed with her demanding mother Shireen (Niousha Noor). But flashbacks to Leila’s childhood, the family’s early days in the United States, and her parents’ youth in Iran add depth to Shireen’s actions.
Sunday September 29, 10:10 a.m., 6:05 p.m., Première Sky Cinema

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Challengers

Luca Guadagnino’s love triangle drama, set on and around the tennis court, stirs up teases and thrills (the game itself has rarely been filmed so creatively) but never really hits the mark match. Zendaya plays the middle woman, Tashi, a former player who coaches her husband Art (Mike Faist) to Grand Slam success. Art’s former best friend, Patrick (Josh O’Connor, the most convincing of the three), is more talented but less focused. A challenger tournament match offers all three the chance to replay old entanglements and resolve long-standing animosities in a bold, brassy thread.
Friday September 27, Prime Video

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The color purple

A film of the musical of the book – Alice Walker’s novel has come a long way but remains a landmark in early 20th century African-American fiction. In the new iteration of Blitz Bazawule, Fantasia Barrino takes on the hard yards as young Georgian girl Celie, who suffers sexual abuse from her father that results in two children, then is married to a man who is cheating on her. Taraji P Henson and Danielle Brooks have more fire in their bellies – and eye-popping numbers – as friends who try to support her.
Friday September 27, 11:30 a.m., 8 p.m., Première Sky Cinema