FILM HIGHLIGHTS
SUNDAY
SHREK FOREVER AFTER (2010) Channel 4, 4.50pm Animation, with the voices of Mike Myers, Cameron Diaz and
Eddie Murphy. The stressedout ogre is conned by slimy trickster Rumpelstiltskin into wishing away his life, however, he wakes up in a dark reality where his kind are hunted and the villainous con-man rules. Shrek must now track down his old companions, who are very different to how he remembers them, and get them to band together to defeat their foe.
STAR WARS: EPISODE IV — A NEW HOPE (1977) ITV2, 3.30pm George Lucas’s classic sci-fi, starring Mark Hamill, Harrison
Ford and Carrie Fisher. Young farmhand Luke Skywalker finds himself on the adventure of a lifetime when he discovers a secret message in a newly-bought droid. Teaming with old Jedi master Obi-Wan Kenobi, smooth-talking smuggler Han Solo and his fuzzy companion Chewbacca, the group attempt to rescue Princess Leia, who sent the cry for help, from the evil Empire. However, many dangers lie in their way, including the terrifying Darth Vader.
BAD NEIGHBOURS (2014) E4, 9pm Seth Rogen, Rose Byrne, Zac
Efron and Dave Franco star in this wild comedy about a couple who are in the final stages of selling their home. However, a fraternity buys the property next door, and their wild parties make the process extremely difficult. A petty rivalry breaks out between the pair and the lads, which results in some ridiculous and side-splitting incidents.
MONDAY
THE HANGOVER PART III (2013) RTE2, 9.30pm The conclusion to the comedy trilogy, starring Bradley Cooper, Zach Galifianakis and Ed Helms.
The Wolf Pack are reunited one last time when they try to take Alan to rehab, only for Doug to be kidnapped by a dangerous gangster. If they want to see him again they will have to track down the illusive Mr Chow, which proves to be easier said than done. Ken Jeong and John Goodman also feature in the cast.
THE KITE RUNNER (2007) TG4, 9.30pm Marc Forster’s touching drama. Amir, who has spent a number of years living in California, finds himself drawn back to his homeland of Afghanistan. It is there he reconnects with Hassan, an old friend who he formed a special bond with as a child. He insists that he helps his old companion with his son, who has landed himself in some trouble.
TUESDAY
WITHOUT A CLUE (1988) Virgin Media 3, 7pm Comedy crime caper, starring Michael Caine, Ben Kingsley and Jeffrey Jones. Great detective Sherlock Holmes is nothing more than a drunken actor, hired by the real sleuth, Dr Watson, to play the part of a larger-than-life genius, while he actually solves their cases. After one too many instances of Holmes getting on his nerves, Watson attempts to go it alone, only to realise he needs his irritating companion in order to be taken seriously.
ANTHROPOID (2016) Film4, 9pm Wartime drama, starring Jamie Dornan and Cillian Murphy. During the Second World War, a pair of Czech and Slovak soldiers put together a daring plot to assassinate SS General Reinhard Heydrich, the man behind Hitrler’s disturbing Final Solution. However, danger lies around every corner, and one false move would seal their fate.
SAFE HOUSE (2012) ITV4, 11.15pm Action, with Denzel Washington
and Ryan Reynolds. CIA rookie Matt Weston is stationed at a safe house in Cape Town, when dangerous rogue agent
Tobin Frost is apprehended and brought there for holding. The plan is to hold the prisoner for collection, but the safe house comes under siege from a group who will stop at nothing to silence Frost. Now the by-thebooks agent and the wildcard veteran must go on the run if they are both going to survive.
WEDNESDAY
THE FAULT IN OUR STARS (2014) Film4, 6.20pm Touching drama, with Shailene Woodley and Ansel Elgort. Young cancer patient Hazel gets to know Gus at her support group. The two fall for each other, and find that their blossoming relationship can overcome any obstacle, taking them on a heartwarming adventure together.
THE GHOST WRITER (2010) ITV4, 11.15pm Thriller, with Ewan McGregor, Pierce Brosnan and Olivia Williams. An unnamed ghost writer is hired to finish the memoirs of a former British prime minister. He believes it to be just another job, until he uncovers a shocking secret that could change everything. However, he soon finds that his life is in jeopardy.
ZERO DARK THIRTY (2012) Film4, 11.25pm Kathryn Bigelow’s drama, starring Jessica Chastain, right, Joel Edgerton, Chris Pratt and Jason Clarke. Following the events of 9/11, the hunt begins for al-Qaeda terrorist leader Osama bin Laden. CIA operative Maya is at the heart of the search, but finds herself heading down a questionable path — how far is she willing to go to track down America’s most wanted enemy?
THURSDAY
QUANTUM OF SOLACE (2010) ITV2, 8pm Espionage action, with Daniel Craig, Olga Kurylenko and Mathieu Amalric. James Bond continues his hunt for the truth following Vesper’s death at the hands of a faceless criminal organisation. This takes him straight to a world-renowned developer of green technology, who 007 believes is working for them, but also places him directly in the line of fire.
12 YEARS A SLAVE (2013) More4, 9pm Steve McQueen’s Oscar-winning drama, starring Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Kenneth Williams and Michael Fassbender. Black musician Solomon Northup is a free man in pre-Civil Warera America. However, he is attacked by a group of men who sell him into slavery. For over a decade he is passed from owner to owner, but it is when he comes to work for the ruthless Edwin Epps that he fears he may never be a free man again.
THE EXPENDABLES (2010) Virgin Media 1, 9pm Action, with Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li and Dolph Lundgren. Barney Ross and his team of veteran mercenaries are hired by the CIA to liberate a repressed Latin nation. The plan is to go in, overthrow the dictator and get out, but things quickly escalate — and the bullets start to fly.
FRIDAY
MISS YOU ALREADY (2015) RTE2, 9.45pm Drama, with Drew Barrymore, Toni Collette and Dominic Cooper. Lifelong friends Jess and Milly have their lives turned
upside down after one of them struggles to conceive, and the other discovers she has cancer. Now more than ever they must rely on their friendship and those around them to make it through.
Comedy, with Rose Byrne, Rafe Spall and Stephen Merchant. Nat and Josh are over the moon when they tie the knot. Sure they have their differences, but they are certain that they can make it work. However, their friends and family disagree, and are certain they will split sooner rather than later. One year on, and with that first anniversary looming, can they prove that they belong together, despite their flaws?
I GIVE IT A YEAR (2013) E4, 10pm
SINISTER (2012) Channel 4, 12.35am Ethan Hawke stars in Scott Derrickson’s chilling horror. True-crime author Ellison Oswalt moves his family into a home where the previous occupants met a grizzly end so that he can work on his latest project. However, he soon starts experiencing strange and haunting occurrences, which seem to be fuelled by the box of old ‘home movies’ he uncovers.
SATURDAY
up (2009) RTE1, 6.40pm Pixar’s feel-good animated adventure with the voices of Edward Asner and Jordan Nagai. A grumpy widower attaches a bunch of balloons to his house and flies away to a far-off land he and his wife always intended to visit. However, his plans are hampered by a plucky young boy who stowed away on his porch.
UNBROKEN (2014) RTE2, 9pm Wartime drama based on the book by Laura Hillenbrand, starring Jack O’Connell and Domhnall Gleeson. A Second World War pilot is shot down and captured by Japanese forces. Forced into a horrific PoW camp, he must use all his physical and mental fortitude to survive the tortuous brutality of his captors.