Top films to watch on TV this week
WEDNESDAY 2 Guns (2013) Film4, 11.20p.m.
Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg are the main reasons to tune in to this action adventure. Drug enforcement agent Bobby Trent ( Washington) and dirt-talking navy officer Michael ‘Stig’ Stigman ( Wahlberg) have been tasked with working undercover to infiltrate a drug cartel headed by the cunning kingpin Papi Greco (Edward James Olmos). T
he problem is neither Bobby nor Stig know that the other is also working as an undercover agent, having given each other made-up backstories. When their identities are discovered, Bobby and Stig give each other both barrels and fall out in spectacular style.
Going alone doesn’t yield the results either was looking for though, and when they’re disowned by their bosses, Bobby and Stig work together as brothers-inarms to bring the cartel down and clear their own names which have been sullied by their swindling superiors.
THURSDAY The Fugitive (1993) ITV4, 9p.m.
This big-screen remake of the cult Sixties TV series stars Harrison Ford as prominent vascular surgeon Dr Richard Kimble, who is convicted of his wife’s murder, despite his claim that a one-armed man was responsible.
Sentenced to death, the doc leaps at the chance to escape - literally, from a crashed prison bus stuck on train tracks - and find a way to prove his innocence. But with relentless US Marshal Samuel Gerard (Tommy Lee Jones in an Oscar-winning role) hot on his heels, clearing his name isn’t going to be easy.
Ford plays Kimble as an even more sympathetic character than his TV counterpart, but the film nevertheless stays faithful to the source material.
FRIDAY One Fine Day (1996) Sony Movies, 6.50p.m.
Melanie Parker (Michelle Pfeiffer) and Jack Taylor (George Clooney) are overworked professionals thrown together when their children miss a school trip. Of course, one thing leads to another and before you know it, the floppy-haired moppets are acting as Cupids for their hapless parents.
It may lack the frisson of Clooney’s later outing Out of Sight, but the two likeable stars nevertheless manage to carry it through. Youngster Mae Whitman is delightful as Maggie; when she forgets the kitten’s name in one scene, director Michael Hoffman decided to keep it in the movie as she stayed in character.
And little-known song For the First Time received Oscar, Grammy and Golden Globe nominations, but failed to win any.
SATURDAY Mad Max 2 (1981) ITV4, 10.15p.m.
Vagabond Max Rockatansky (Mel Gibson) returns to action in a sequel that’s even better than the original. The former cop roams around a post-apocalyptic wasteland, until he’s reluctantly recruited to help a petrol-producing desert community fend off vicious gangs of marauders determined to take over their oil refinery and steal their precious fuel.
Even if you haven’t seen the first film, you will be swept up in George Miller’s brilliant action movie - it was initially released in the US as The Road Warrior, due to the fact that Mad Max hadn’t made much impact there, and still went on to be a critical and commercial success.
Fans may note in reality, Max’s dog had been due to be put down a day before being cast. He soon bonded with one of the crew, and the rest is film history.
SUNDAY Casper (1995) ITV2, 4.35p.m.
An angry woman hires a paranormal expert to rid an old abode of its ghostly inhabitants, and the afterlife specialist and his daughter encounter a friendly spook during their mission.
Don’t let the fact this is a children’s movie put you off as it’s a very enjoyable fantasy film with something for everyone, and a great cast including Bill Pullman, Cathy Moriarty and Eric Idle. Plus, Christina Ricci scooped an award for her performance while the film was nominated for several others.
In case you’re wondering, the surname of Ricci and Pullman’s characters is Harvey, a tribute to Harvey Comics, publishers of Casper the Friendly Ghost.
Erin Brockovich (2000) 5 Star, 10.25p.m.
Erin Brockovich (Julia Roberts) is a sassy, twice-divorced single mum who has learned the hard way that there is only one person in this life she can rely upon - herself. So she talks her way into a junior position at Albert Finney’s law office, where she stumbles upon medical records relating to a community ravaged by an abnormally high number of serious illnesses.
Roberts turns in the best performance of her career, capturing the abrasive, sometimes infuriating, though ultimately courageous spirit of a woman whose desire to fight for the rights of the underdog rewrote American legal history. Director Steven Soderbergh is at the top of his game again here, bringing out the humanity and daring in Erin’s quest without ever resorting to emotional manipulation to secure the audience’s support.
MONDAY Thelma & Louise (1991) Channel 5, 11.05p.m.
Bored housewife Thelma and downtrodden waitress Louise plan to leave their humdrum existences behind during a weekend road trip.
Unfortunately, the break turns out to be more life-changing than they could ever have imagined when Thelma is attacked by a would-be rapist, and they end up shooting him in self-defence. Instead of going to the police, they make the fateful decision to run from the law, and end up in even more trouble.
Ridley Scott’s terrific drama puts an engaging, feminist spin on the buddy road movie thanks to Callie Khouri’s excellent script. There are strong supporting performances from Brad Pitt as a dashing criminal and Harvey Keitel as a sensitive cop, but this is the ladies’ film all the way, with Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon making the most of their meaty roles.