Brian and Charles to Top Gun: Maverick – the seven best films to watch on TV this week

Pick of nan week

Nominated for an outstanding British movie Bafta, Brian and Charles is simply a gorgeous, joyful gutpunch. David Earl (also co-writer) plays a intelligence who, wounded by a agelong play of isolation, builds a robot companion retired of bits of washing instrumentality and a mannequin head. If that sounds for illustration nan saddest movie of each time, you’re right. But if it besides sounds for illustration a high-concept laugh-out-loud comedy, nan benignant of ridiculous handmade hodgepodge that looks for illustration it was flung together successful an effort to beryllium nan astir stupid point ever made, you’re besides right. That Brian and Charles tin wed some tones astatine each is simply a miracle, but it manages to do truthful seamlessly. Just a cleanable film.
Tuesday 7 February, Prime Video

Top Gun: Maverick

Flying precocious … Tom Cruise successful Top Gun: Maverick.

The film that either saved cinema aliases managed to artificially widen cinema’s lifespan, depending connected really you’re feeling. The crippled isn’t really important – Tom Cruise trains immoderate young pilots to explosive a point that’s rather difficult to bomb, and that’s astir it – because this is each astir spectacle. Famously, nan flying scenes present are real, pinch actors vibrating connected nan separator of nausea arsenic they’re slung astir nan cockpit of a corkscrewing combatant jet. Top Gun: Maverick was giddy and visceral connected nan large screen. Hopefully nan effect won’t beryllium lessened successful your surviving room.
Sunday 5 February, Sky Cinema Premiere

A Matter of Life and Death

Here to enactment … David Niven and Kim Hunter successful A Matter of Life and Death. Photograph: Alamy

The 78th top movie ever made, according to past year’s Sight and Sound list, Powell and Pressburger’s 1946 masterpiece A Matter of Life and Death is simply a wondrous feelgood hug of a thing. Second world warfare combatant aviator David Niven goes down successful flames complete nan English Channel but, owed to an administrative quirk, he fails to beryllium escorted to nan afterlife arsenic planned. There are galore ways to construe this movie – a lush romance, a high-concept fantasy, an enactment of mourning for nan soldiers who ne'er returned from nan war. All of them work.
Sunday 5 February, 2.45pm, BBC Two

Never Rarely Sometimes Always

Sliding doors … Sidney Flanigan successful Never Rarely Sometimes Always. Photograph: Focus Features/AP

As a genre, “abortion drama” tin beryllium thing you really request to cogwheel up for, but that perfectly is not nan lawsuit pinch Eliza Hittman’s tremendous indie astir a pregnant teen forced to recreation from agrarian Pennsylvania to New York to person a termination. In lesser hands, a premise for illustration this would simply beryllium a conveyance for histrionic point-scoring. Hittman, however, treats nan taxable pinch sensitivity and grace, which only adds to its power. And past there’s nan lead character Sidney Flanigan, a first-timer who is destined to beryllium a megastar. You saw her present first.
Monday 6 February, 11:15pm, BBC Two

The Old Man & nan Gun

Last edifice … Robert Redford successful The Old Man & nan Gun. Photograph: Lifestyle pictures/Alamy

Look complete nan highlights of David Lowery’s profession and, sandwiched betwixt nan precocious experimentation of A Ghost Story and nan medieval psychedelia of The Green Knight, you’ll find this charming small oddity. A lean, brief, easygoing caper astir a charming 74-year-old bankrobber, The Old Man & nan Gun demands almost thing from its audience. This is simply a bully thing. The movie is truthful breezy that it will brighten your day. This was Robert Redford’s last starring domiciled earlier he retired. What a measurement to spell out.
Wednesday 8 February, 7pm, Film4

All That Breathes

To nan rescue … All That Breathes.

The only movie ever to triumph nan champion documentary prize astatine some Sundance and Cannes, All That Breathes is nan communicative of 2 brothers, Nadeem and Saud, arsenic they walk their lives caring for sick birds successful their New Delhi basement. Their patients are each achromatic kites, birds of prey basal for nan city’s ecosystem, but whose numbers are dwindling accelerated successful nan look of staggering aerial pollution. Part Kes, portion An Inconvenient Truth, portion Jiro Dreams of Sushi, All That Breathes is mesmerising and urgent. Expect it to triumph an Oscar adjacent month.
Wednesday 8 February, 9pm, Sky Documentaries

Your Place aliases Mine

House switch … Reese Witherspoon successful Your Place aliases Mine. Photograph: Jose Perez/Bauer-Griffin/Rex/Shutterstock

Two years ago, Reese Witherspoon signed a two-film woody pinch Netflix. Judging by Your Place aliases Mine, nan first fruits of nan deal, she has utilized it arsenic an effort to resuscitate nan long-slumbering romcom. For amended aliases worse, this is simply a movie wished to dress that nan past 20 years didn’t happen. Witherspoon is successful it. Ashton Kutcher is successful it. Aline Brosh McKenna of 27 Dresses wrote and directed it. Its crippled – a man and a female switch houses for immoderate logic – is nan platonic perfect of a romcom premise. People are going to watch this successful droves.
Friday 10 February, Netflix