SATURDAY

Grumpy Old Men TVNZ 1, 2.50pm

Starring Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau. Slick comedy which utilises the proven chemistry of Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau as feuding neighbours competing for the affections of a free-spirited widow. ★★★

Jack The Giant Slayer TVNZ 2, 7pm

Starring Nicholas Hoult, Ewan McGregor. Moderately entertaining family fantasy based on a fairy tale. About A Boy star Nicholas Hoult plays the heroic Jack, with Ewan McGregor a scene-stealer as loyal courtier Elmont. Unlike many retellings of old fairy tales this one remains true to the spirit of its source material. ★★★

ET: The Extra-Terrestrial Three, 8pm Starring Henry Thomas, Drew Barrymore. First released in 1982, this classic children’s fantasy was another example of director Steven Spielberg’s runaway talent behind the camera. Setting a new standard in family films, ET: The Extra-Terrestrial begins with a group of alien botanists investigating plant life on Earth. Unfortunately, they accidentally leave behind one of their own, who is then befriended by a boy. ★★★★

A Dog’s Purpose Sky Premiere, 8.30pm Starring Brit Robertson, Josh Gad (voice). If you don’t accept that humans and dogs go together like fish and chips, give this one a miss. For the rest of our happy breed, this is a superb film that reinforces the age-old bond between cared-for dogs and their owners. It follows a dog through various reincarnations – not all happy. It is sentimental, tear-jerking stuff but the tail wags in the end. ★★★★

Jules And Jim M ori TV, 8.30pm Starring Jeanne Moreau, Oskar Werner. French drama that is free-flowing and emotion-filled about the hopeless love triangle between two eternal best friends in Paris, pre-World War I, and the woman they are both in love with. One for film buffs. ★★★★

A Case Of You Choice, 8.30pm Starring Justin Long, Evan Rachel Wood. A writer who wants to date a free-spirited street artist checks her online profile and then concocts a fake identity designed to appeal to her. He then begins to write a novel based on the relationship, but finds it hard to keep up the pretence. Middling rom-com with slightly creepy undertone. ★★★

Bruce Almighty TVNZ 2, 9pm

Starring Jim Carrey, Morgan Freeman, Jennifer Aniston. The constant complaining of television reporter Bruce – played by Jim Carrey – about his lot in life is heard by Morgan Freeman as God, who decides to transfer his almighty powers to teach him a lesson. ★★★

The Water Diviner Three, 10.15pm Starring Russell Crowe, Olga Kurylenko. A superbly crafted film detailing the emotional baggage Gallipoli left on Australia and New Zealand. Crowe plays a famer who travels to Turkey in 1919, just after World War I ends to bring home the bodies of his three sons. The film’s strong point is its Turkish viewpoint, too – Kurylenko plays a war widow who runs an Istanbul hotel. ★★★★

Scary Movie TVNZ 2, 11pm

Starring Anna Faris, Jon Abrahams. This teen horror send-up heralded the new dawn of modern comedy spoofs, paving the way for trash such as Date Movie and Meet The Spartans. Because of this, it should be utterly

reviled for the monsters it has created but, that said, Scary Movie does deliver a series of laugh-out-loud moments. ★★★

Sorority Murder Three, 12.25am (Sunday) Not reviewed.

Heavenly Creatures TVNZ 1, 1.10am (Sunday)

Starring Kate Winslet, Melanie Lynskey. Compelling and often surreal fact-based drama about the obsessive friendship and fantasy world of two teenage girls in 1950s Christchurch who murdered a mother to avoid separation. ★★★★

Your Highness Three, 2am (Sunday) Starring Danny McBride, James Franco. In days of old, when knights were stoned … The team that brought us Pineapple Express throws it back 600 years into the Middle Ages in this crude and only occasionally funny fantasy adventure. ★★

Goddess TVNZ 1, 1.55am (Sunday)

Starring Laura Michelle Kelly, Ronan Keating. “Don’t quit your day job” is the phrase that, unfortunately, springs to mind here when watching Ronan Keating’s big-screen acting debut – but although he is not the only thing wrong with this Aussie musical comedy about a mother of twins who dreams of finding fame as a singer, fans of the genre are sure to enjoy themselves. ★★

A Neighbor’s Deception Three, 2.40am (Sunday) Not reviewed.