Pick of the week
Enola Holmes 3
The Victorian-era teen mystery returns with screenwriter Jack Thorne reuniting with director Philip Barantini, who previously collaborated on the Netflix hit Adolescence. This third installment follows the young detective Enola Holmes (Millie Bobby Brown), who is preparing for her destination wedding to Lord Tewkesbury (Louis Partridge) when she is interrupted by an unexpected crisis. Dr Watson (Himesh Patel) arrives in Malta to inform Enola that her brother, the renowned Sherlock Holmes (Henry Cavill), has been kidnapped. Enola is the only person Mother Holmes (Helena Bonham Carter) trusts to undertake the rescue mission. The film will be available on Netflix from Wednesday 1 July.
A Foreign Affair
The celebrated Hollywood director Billy Wilder explored the limits of love and tolerance with the famous closing line “Nobody’s perfect!” in his 1959 classic Some Like It Hot. However, the 1948 satirical screwball comedy A Foreign Affair takes a different approach, depicting an American GI, Captain Pringle (John Lund), who becomes involved with a Nazi cabaret singer (Marlene Dietrich) in postwar Berlin. Meanwhile, an Iowa congresswoman (Jean Arthur) watches the affair unfold with heartbreak. This film airs on Film4 on Monday 29 June at 12.55pm.
The First Wives Club
Imagine if Destiny’s Child were middle-aged white women; this 1996 comedy stars Bette Midler, Goldie Hawn, and Diane Keaton as three former college friends who reunite at the funeral of their fourth friend (Stockard Channing), who was driven to despair by a malicious ex-husband. Recognizing parallels with their own lives, the trio of divorcees seek justice and revenge, culminating in a memorable song-and-dance performance of Lesley Gore’s female empowerment anthem,
You Don’t Own Me. The film airs on Sky Cinema Greats on Tuesday 30 June at 11.15pm.
A Cock and Bull Story
This film is a chaotic, semi-adaptation of Laurence Sterne’s 18th-century metafiction novel, The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman (ranked number 19 on ’s 100 Best Novels of All Time). It follows a British film crew attempting to adapt the novel for the screen. The movie marks the first co-starring appearance of Rob Brydon and Steve Coogan playing exaggerated versions of themselves, directed by Michael Winterbottom. This collaboration led to the creation of four acclaimed series of The Trip. The film is scheduled for BBC Three on Wednesday 30 June at 9pm.
The Last Tree
This hypnotic coming-of-age story is essential viewing for enthusiasts of British cinema. Sam Adewunmi portrays Femi, a British Nigerian who relocates from Lincolnshire to London and then Lagos in search of a more grounded identity. Comedian Gbemisola Ikumelo delivers a compelling performance as Femi’s birth mother. The film’s visuals show the influence of Terrence Malick, but the emotional depth is the distinctive work of writer-director Shola Amoo, establishing him as a significant talent. The film airs on Film4 on Wednesday 30 June at 1.25am.
Bang My Box: The Robin Byrd Story
The documentary chronicles the life of Robin Byrd, a true New York icon known for her weekly sex show on public access television starting in 1977. Sarah Jessica Parker, famously known as Carrie Bradshaw, serves as a producer, reflecting the film’s homage to a more open-minded era. Byrd became a local celebrity and an LGBTQ+ activist, engaging in prolonged legal battles with Time Warner Cable, now Warner Bros Discovery, the parent company of HBO Max, where the documentary will be broadcast. The film is available on HBO Max from Wednesday 1 July.
Nosferatu the Vampyre
Although overshadowed by Robert Eggers’ 2024 film, this 1979 homage to F.W. Murnau’s 1922 silent classic remains one of the most haunting vampire films ever made. Directed by Werner Herzog, Klaus Kinski delivers a uniquely poignant portrayal of Count Orlok, the undead vampire, while Isabelle Adjani plays Ellen, his victim, torn between revulsion and desire. The film is notable for its striking imagery, including scenes featuring 11,000 live rats and mummified corpses from an 1833 cholera epidemic. It airs on Talking Pictures TV on Friday at 12.40am.
