Pick of the week
Wolves

It's not quite “Ocean's Fourteen,” but the reunion of George Clooney and Brad Pitt in Jon Watts' nimble caper offers the same easy-going charm and easy-on-the-eyes star quality. They play underworld agents who both come into action when Amy Ryan's New York district attorney finds a dead young man (Austin Abrams) on the floor of her hotel room. He's not actually dead, but he has a bag full of drugs that he has to hand over. Amid some bickering and overtaking, the duo team up to tie up loose ends before daybreak, while the skills Watts honed in his Spider-Man trilogy are put to good use, particularly in a fun, frantic chase through the nighttime side streets.
Now available: Apple TV+

Inside Out 2

The great animated comedy from 2015 is getting a worthy sequel. As puberty now hits our human protagonist Riley, her original five predominant emotions – sadness, fear, disgust, anger and Amy Poehler's cheerful joy – simply won't be enough. Characters like Anxiety (Maya Hawke), Envy (Ayo Edebiri) and the hilarious Frenchwoman Ennui (Adèle Exarchopoulos) appear, complicating the 13-year-old girl's life and Joy's most elaborate plans. Despite a new director, Kelsey Mann, and rather too many new characters, things are as colorful as always.
Available now, Disney+

Apartment 7A

A prequel to Rosemary's Baby starring a supporting character from this satanic classic probably wasn't on anyone's wish list. But directed by Natalie Erika James, creator of the great horror film Relic, and starring the esteemed Julia Garner, there's a lot to like. Garner plays Terry, an aspiring dancer who has been given a large apartment in a New York City apartment complex by the 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 looks at familiar horrors from new angles.
Out now, Paramount+

nostalgia

That nostalgia is a double-edged sword is all too clear to the protagonist of Mario Martone's tender, angry 2022 drama. Felice (Pierfrancesco Favino) returns to Naples from Cairo to visit his ailing mother after a 40-year absence. The dream of returning to his roots tugs at him, despite the shameful reason for his departure as a teenager and the continued ominous presence of the mafia. The city itself – dirty, dangerous, beautifully labyrinthine – is an important presence in the film, watching over Felice as he settles in a place he thinks he knows but, fatefully, does not.
Saturday September 28th, 10pm, BBC Four

The Persian version

Maryam Keshavarz's drama begins as a comic tale of a metrosexual Iranian-American woman rebelling against her traditional mother, but evolves 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 beginnings in the USA and her parents' youth in Iran give Shireen's actions depth.
Sunday, September 29th, 10:10 a.m., 6:05 p.m., Sky Cinema Premiere

challenger

Luca Guadagnino's love triangle drama, set on and around the tennis court, teases and captivates (the game itself has rarely been filmed so creatively), but never reaches the decisive point. Zendaya plays the woman in the middle, Tashi, a former player who coaches her husband Art (Mike Faist) to Grand Slam success. Art's former best pal Patrick (Josh O'Connor, the most convincing of the three) is more talented but less focused. A Challenger Tournament match offers all three a chance to rekindle old entanglements and resolve long-held animosities in a bold, brassy thread.
Friday September 27th, Prime Video

The color purple

A film adaptation of the book's stage musical, Alice Walker's novel has come a long way but remains a landmark in early 20th century African American fiction. In the reboot of Blitz Bazawule, Fantasia Barrino goes the hard way when Georgia girl Celie is sexually abused by her father, resulting in two children, and then married to a man who cheats on her. Taraji P Henson and Danielle Brooks have more fire in their bellies – and eye-popping numbers – than friends trying to support them.
Friday, September 27th, 11:30 a.m., 8:00 p.m., Sky Cinema Premiere