MOVIE PLANNER

SUNDAY

Twister (1996) PG

● 1.50PM, UTV HHH

An overblown slice of meteorological action from director Jan de Bont, the man behind the megaphone on 1994 hit Speed. Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton (above) top the cast as the storm-chaser exes swept off their feet – by the weather and romance.

Mrs Doubtfire (1993) 12 ◆

3.25PM, RTé ONE HHHH

Chris Columbus’s family comedy provided Robin Williams with one of his most memorable roles. When his marriage breaks down, an actor poses as a Scottish housekeeper so he can stay close to his children.

The Great Gatsby (2013) 12 ◆

9PM, RTé2 HHH

Leonardo DiCaprio is well cast in Baz Luhrmann’s eye-popping take on F Scott Fitzgerald’s classic novel. He plays the title character (below), a millionaire who is famed for his lavish parties and is chasing a lost love.

The Deer Hunter (1978) 18

▲ 10.30PM, BBC1 HHHHH

Famous for a chilling scene involving a game of Russian roulette, Michael Cimino’s Vietnam War drama delivers raw emotional power. Robert De Niro and Christopher Walken star.

Legend (2015) 18

▲ 11PM, CH4 HHHH Emily Browning stars as Frances Shea, the woman who was wooed by and married Reggie Kray (Tom Hardy, right, who also plays Reggie’s twin brother, Ronnie). A well-executed, well-acted – and violent – crime biopic.

MONDAY

Deadly B&B (2018) 15 ◆

11.15AM, CH5 HH

A single mum (Angie Patteson) restores a 19th-century property in this thriller, with the intention of turning it into a B&B. Unfortunately, one of her guests turns out to have a disturbing hidden agenda.

Carry On Cabby (1963) PG ●

1.15PM, FILM4 HHH

Continuing a Carry On season on Film4, this seventh in the series is missing Kenneth Williams, but that aside, it’s one of the better earlier forays for the troupe. Sid James and Hattie Jacques (above, with James) run rival taxi firms – with plenty of saucy japes on the meter.

Public Enemies (2009) 15 ◆

9.30PM, TG4 HHHH

Johnny Depp (above) stars in Michael Mann’s crime drama as bank robber John Dillinger, who became a folk hero to Depression-era Americans. Christian Bale is the FBI agent out to bring him to justice.

The Expendables (2010) 15 ◆

10PM, CH5 HHH

Sylvester Stallone co-wrote and directed this first in a film franchise about older, wiser – but still fit and capable – mercenaries. Jason Statham (above, with Stallone) is one of the younger action stars joining the fray.

Unknown (2011) 12 ◆

11PM, 5STAR HHH

Liam Neeson stars in this thriller as a doctor, in Berlin for a conference, whose cab crashes into a river. Waking from a coma, he finds that everything he knew – his wife (January Jones), job and identity – has been erased.

TUESDAY

Young Sherlock Holmes (1985) PG

● 5.05PM, FILM4 HHHH

Upbeat comedy drama following the early years of Arthur Conan Doyle’s fictional sleuth. Nicholas Rowe takes the lead as Sherlock (above), a brilliant but undisciplined boy who makes friends with John Watson (Alan Cox) while at school in London.

The Boy With Green Hair (1948) U

● 5.05PM, SONY MOVIES CLASSIC HHH Dean Stockwell is the young lad whose hair changes colour after the shocking news that his parents have been killed during the Second World War. A low-key but enjoyable drama about acceptance from Joseph Losey.

The Strangers (2008) 15 ◆

10PM, SYFY HHH

Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman (below, with Tyler) play a couple who are terrorised by masked home invaders intent on messy blood-letting. It helps to have a couple of name actors attached to what is otherwise a pretty lame slasher with moderately applied tension.

The Day Of The Triffids (1962) 15

◆ 10PM, TALKING PICTURES TV HHH This film version of John Wyndham’s famous novel about killer plants turns them from indigenous to alien, arriving with the meteor shower that blinds most of the world’s population. Wyndham hated it, but at face value, it’s an enjoyably hammy romp.

A Walk Among The Tombstones (2014) 15 ◆ 11PM, 5STAR HHH It’s not as good as Taken, but in this thriller, Liam Neeson (right) is still on form as a disgraced excop who now works as a private eye. Cleaning up other people’s messes, he’s not so good at tidying his own.

WEDNESDAY

Houseboat (1958) U ●

11AM, FILM4 HHHH

A widower (Cary Grant) offers charming stranger Cinzia (Sophia Loren) a job looking after his children. She proves herself inept at cooking and cleaning as they embark on a rocky ride to true love aboard a rickety boat. 30 Days Of Night (2007) 18 ▲

10PM, SYFY HHH

Stylish vampire flick set in a chilly Alaskan town during a month-long polar night. Josh Hartnett is the sheriff trying to avert all-out panic when the town is cut off ahead of an invasion by a gang of bloodthirsty vamps.

Circle Of Friends (15) 1995 ◆

11PM, VIRGIN ONE HHH

Maeve Binchy’s novel is brought to the screen, starring Minnie Driver as a naive woman who heads off to university in 1950s Dublin. While there, she falls for a dashing rugby player. Chris O’Donnell (above, with Driver) co-stars.

Ali (2001) 15 ◆ 11.10PM, ITV4 HHHH Will Smith leaves his Hollywood looks in the dressing room in Michael Mann’s visually effective biopic of iconic boxer Muhammad Ali. The film itself is fairly typical of the genre, but Smith’s Oscarnominated performance (above) punches above its weight.

All For Love (1999) 15 ◆

11.55PM, TG4 HH

Jean-Marc Barr and Anna Friel star in this romantic drama set during the Napoleonic Wars. A captured French officer is sent to a Scottish prisoner camp, where he falls in love with one of the local girls.

The Way, Way Back (2013) 12

◆ 2.25AM, CH4 HHH

An entertaining road trip/coming-of-age comedy from first-time directors Nat Faxon and Jim Rash, who scripted The Descendants. Liam James is the lad striking up an unlikely friendship; Sam Rockwell is the irresponsible adult guiding him towards self-discovery.

THURSDAY

The End Of The Affair (1955) PG ● 4.40PM, SONY MOVIES CLASSIC ★★★ Adaptation of the Graham Greene novel, also filmed in 1999. Deborah Kerr stars as the married and misunderstood woman, with Van Johnson as the bitter ex-lover, Peter Cushing (above, with Kerr) as her husband and John Mills as a memorable private investigator.

X-Men: Days Of Future Past (2014) 12 u 6.25PM, FILM4 ★★★★ Sequel to 2011’s First Class, which introduced us to the younger generation, this brings old and new mutants together in a story set in both 1973 and 2023, with Wolverine the link between the two eras. Nicholas Hoult, James McAvoy and Hugh Jackman (all above) star.

Cabaret (1972) 15 u 10PM, TALKING PICTURES TV ★★★★ Loosely based on Kander and Ebb’s stage hit (in turn based on Christopher Isherwood’s stories), this dark musical set in Weimar-era Berlin boasts marvellous staging by Bob Fosse, plus Liza Minnelli (above) – on a career high – as the troubled showgirl Sally Bowles.

Me, Myself & Irene (2000) 15 u 12.30AM, 5STAR ★★★ The Farrelly brothers – who have the rather dubious honour of making bad taste mainstream – put their old pal Jim Carrey (right) to good use in this tale of a state trooper with a split personality.

FRIDAY

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953) U ● 3PM, FILM4 ★★★★★ Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell sizzle in Howard Hawks’s marvellous musical comedy. They play showgirls on an ocean liner, one who swoons at the sight of sparkling diamonds (Monroe), the other at the sight of scantily clad male gymnasts (Russell).

The Heat (2013) 15 u 9PM, E4 ★★★★ Punchy female-led comedy starring Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy (above, with Bullock) as cops with wildly differing approaches to the job. Collaborating to catch a drug kingpin, they learn to get along.

Guns Of The Magnificent Seven (1969) PG ● 9.05PM, TG4 ★★ George Kennedy and James Whitmore star in this largely unnecessary second sequel to the classic Western. A gunslinger is hired to rescue a Mexican revolutionary leader.

Denial (2016) 12 u 9.45PM, RTé2 ★★★★ Rachel Weisz and Timothy Spall star in a fascinating drama based on the real-life case of historian Deborah Lipstadt, who was sued by author David Irving over claims he was a Holocaust denier.

Life Of Crime (2013) 18 ▲ 11.20PM, BBC2 ★★★ Jennifer Aniston (below) lands a choice role in this Elmore Leonard adaptation. She’s the prim socialite who is kidnapped by a duo of bungling ex-cons. Trouble is, her cheating husband (Tim Robbins) doesn’t want her back.

Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa (2013) 15 u 11.45PM, BBC1 ★★★★ How the mighty have fallen. Alan (Steve Coogan) is now a DJ for a Norwich digital radio station – and even that job is under threat. A batty hostage situation develops.

SATURDAY

Spartacus (1960) PG ● 1.25PM, RTé ONE ★★★★★ Stanley Kubrick’s epic gave the late Kirk Douglas (above) his most iconic role as the gladiator who leads a slave rebellion against Rome, but it was co-star Peter Ustinov who won an Oscar.

Matilda (1996) PG ● 2.30PM, RTé2 ★★★★ Director Danny DeVito turned out to have the right black comedy instincts to bring Roald Dahl’s story to the screen. Mara Wilson takes the title role as the bookloving girl who develops special powers.

Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) 12 u 6.35PM, RTé ONE ★★★★ After making his debut in Captain America: Civil War, Tom Holland’s SpiderMan got his own enjoyable adventure, which finds him protecting New York from the Vulture.

The Departed (2006)18 10.30PM, UTV★★★★★▲ Film buffs breathed a sigh of relief when Martin Scorsese finally collected an Oscar for this magnificent crime thriller – a remake of 2002 Hong Kong thriller Internal Affairs. Leonardo DiCaprio and Matt Damon (above) are the two cops whose fates are intertwined.

Edge Of Darkness (2010) 15 u 11.45PM, BBC1 ★★★ Mel Gibson stars as a cop whose daughter is shot and killed in this movie adaptation of a 1985 BBC television series. Believing himself the intended target, he sets out for justice – and revenge – ill-prepared for what he finds.

The Borderlands (2013) 15 u 12.00AM, BBC TWO★★★★ Horror, starring Gordon Kennedy and Aidan McArdle. It involves two investigators sent to probe strange occurrences inside a remote church. With Luke Neal and Robin Hill.