What’s on this week: Monday March 29 – Sunday April 4

In need of ideas on how to spend your week? Here are our TV and movie picks, streaming site additions and documentaries to cosy up with.

Monday

The Hitman’s Bodyguard, Film 4 9pm

This underrated 2015 comedy-drama stars Ryan Reynolds as Michael Bryce, a protection agent tasked with protecting world-famous assassin Darius Kincaid, plated by Samuel Jackson. Pleasantly high of comedy in that signature dark way that Reynolds always hits, it’s a great Monday evening watch.

 

Tuesday

The Hill We Climb by Amanda Gorman

Since playing a starring part in Joe Biden’s inauguration in January with “The Hill We Climb”, Amanda Gorman is now ready to release this special edition of the poem with a foreword by Oprah Winfrey. It comes ahead of her debut poetry collection that is expected in September. On sale from today.

Belgravia, RTÉ One 10.55pm

Still have a Bridgerton-shaped hole in your life? Fill it with Belgravia on RTE One, this Tuesday, from Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes. It’s a six-part period drama series set in the 1800s in London, with scandals, secrets, balls and sex.

 

Thursday

The Mauritanian, Amazon Prime

Nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars this year, The Mauritanian stars Jodie Foster and Shailene Woodley as a defence attorney and her assistant hired to represent a suspected 9/11 terrorist imprisoned at Guantanamo Bay. From Mauritania, Mohamedou Ould Slahi is accused of recruiting the terrorists who undertook the 9/11 attacks. It’s a fast-paced legal drama that’ll have you Googling Slahi’s name within minutes, The best place to start is with The Guardian’s podcast on him.  

Worn Stories, Netflix

“We’re all born naked and the rest is drag,” famously said Ru Paul, the queen of drag. This idea is the premise of Worn Stories, coming to Netflix on Thursday, as people from astronauts to drag queens discuss their most meaningful clothing and what they mean for our identities.

Friday

Concrete Cowboy, Netflix 

A Lee Danial film starring Idris Elba and  Caleb McLaughlin, probably best known for playing Lucas in Stranger Things, it looks at the Fletcher Street Urban Riding Club and urban African-American horseriding culture in Philadelphia. Elba plays Harp, whose estranged son Cole (McLaughlin) comes to stay with him for a summer. A bildungsroman that also captures a lesser-known part of American history, it’s a heartening watch. Also, Elba wears a cowboy’s hat.

Saturday

Heat, RTÉ 2 9pm

This is a classic, one of those “how have you not seen it” films. Starring Al Pacino, Robert De Niro John Voight and Val Kilmer, Pacino plays detective Lieutenant Hanna who vows to catch the man at the heart of a string of sophisticated heists played by De Niro, Neil McCauley. A perfectly pitched and complex crime drama, it includes some of the best acting done by its cast, including an epic, tense diner scene. 

Sunday

Jesus Christ Superstar: Live in Concert, Sky Arts 6.15pm

Starring John Legend, this live production was filmed in Covid restrictions for last Easter, it’s now making its way across the Atlantic. A production of the original rock opera by Andrew Lloyd Webber, it’s made for sing-a-long Easter Sunday.