If you’re after a good film to watch this weekend, TV has some classics and a couple of new ones for you to choose from.
From an Oscar-winning queer period drama to a 1980s comedy which begs you to “never cross the streams”, snuggle up on the sofa, grab a cold drink and escape the heat with these titles.
Read on for Digital Spy’s picks of the best that telly has to offer on Saturday 16 and Sunday 17 August.
The Electrical Life of Louis Wain
Benedict Cumberbatch has a few biopics in his filmography, but this 2021 star-studded dramedy is definitely the most whimsical.
Following the life of the titular artist, played by the Doctor Strange star, the movie chronicles Wain’s personal and professional ups and downs to find his career path as an anthropomorphised cats illustrator.
StudioCanal
Directed by The White Lotus and Too Much star Will Sharpe, who co-wrote the script with Simon Stephenson, the film also stars Claire Foy, Andrea Riseborough and Toby Jones.
Catch it on Saturday night and find out why Digital Spy hailed it as one of Cumberbatch’s “best movies” in our five-star review.
Airing Saturday on Channel 4 at 10.10pm. Available on Channel 4’s streaming platform afterwards.
Fox
The Favourite
Need a dark period drama that will have you cackle in glee and horror? Then it’s time to catch (or revisit) Yorgos Lanthimos’ The Favourite.
Anchored by three powerhouse performances, the 18th century-set film hinges on the messed-up dynamic between the frail Queen Anne (Olivia Colman) and her lovers, power-hungry cousins Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough (Rachel Weisz) and Abigail Hill (Emma Stone).
TIME Magazine called the film “a wicked delight” in their review, likening Lanthimos’ offering to “a fantastic little cupcake of a movie laced with thistle frosting”.
Get yourself an actual late-night sweet treat and enjoy the ten-time Oscar-nominated film as it makes its way onto our screens in the early hours of Sunday morning.
Airing Saturday on Channel 4 at 00.25am (early hours of Sunday morning).
Columbia Pictures
Ghostbusters
A Sunday afternoon watch doesn’t get any better than 1980s classic Ghostbusters.
Saving New York City from shapeshifting demigods, demonic dogs and a giant Stay Puft Marshmallow Man are paranormal investigators Peter Venkman (Bill Murray), Ray Stantz (Dan Aykroyd), Egon Spengler (Harold Ramis) and Winston Zeddemore (Ernie Hudson).
Directed by Ivan Reitman and co-written by Aykroyd and Ramis, the 1984 movie also stars Sigourney Weaver as cellist Dana Barrett and Annie Potts as the Ghostbusters’ secretary Janine Melnitz.
The OG in the ghost franchise, Ghostbusters spawned a direct sequel in Ghostbusters II, an all-female reboot, Answer the Call, directed by Paul Feig, and two legacy sequels in Afterlife and Frozen Empire.
Airing Sunday on BBC One at 4.15pm and streaming on iPlayer afterwards.
Orion Pictures
The Silence of the Lambs
Amp up the Sunday scaries with cannibal cult The Silence of the Lambs, starring Anthony Hopkins and Jodie Foster.
The only horror film to have won Best Picture at the Oscars, Jonathan Demme’s 1991 two-hander sees Foster’s FBI agent Clarice Starling enlist the help of cannibalistic psychiatrist Hannibal Lecter (Hopkins).
Locked away in a maximum security prison, Hannibal guides Clarice to understand the mind of serial killer Buffalo Bill, a murderer with a penchant for removing their victims’ skin.
Airing Sunday on BBC Two at 10pm and streaming on iPlayer afterwards,
20th Century Studios
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Telly has another sci-fi behemoth in store this weekend in Rise of the Planet of the Apes, the stacked first instalment in the reboot series.
See Andy Serkis taking over the role of ape leader Caesar – originated by Roddy McDowall in the 1970s movies – and inciting a chimp rebellion.
Released in 2011, the movie directed by Rupert Wyatt helped relaunch the ape franchise, spawning three sequels in 2014’s Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, 2017’s War for the Planet of the Apes and the most recent Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, released in 2024.
Airing Sunday on ITV1 at 10.15pm and streaming on ITVX afterwards.
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Reporter, Digital Spy
Stefania is a freelance writer specialising in TV and movies. After graduating from City University, London, she covered LGBTQ+ news and pursued a career in entertainment journalism, with her work appearing in outlets including Little White Lies, The Skinny, Radio Times and Digital Spy.
Her beats are horror films and period dramas, especially if fronted by queer women. She can argue why Scream is the best slasher in four languages (and a half).