The best films on the box this week
FRIDAY THIS MEANS WAR (2012) (E4, 9.00PM)
ALL’S fair in love and war for two US government spies with their hearts set on the same woman in an action-packed comedy from director McG.
Scripted by Simon Kinberg and Timothy Dowling, this hare-brained buddy movie delivers slam-bang thrills and a few sparkling one-liners as rivalry between the two elite operatives escalates out of control, resulting in amusing abuses of CIA resources.
SATURDAY THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA (2006) (E4, 6.45PM)
NEW graduate Andy Sachs (Anne Hathaway) lands a plum job as second assistant to the fearsome Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep), esteemed editor of Runway magazine.
Andy hopes the position will be a stepping-stone to serious political journalism and is unprepared for the immense challenges that lie ahead, catering to her tyrannical boss’s every whim.
David Frankel’s smartly tailored adaptation of Lauren Weisberger’s international best-seller is delicious.
SUNDAY FANTASTIC FOUR: RISE OF THE SILVER SURFER (2007) (CHANNEL 4, 4.45PM)
DR Reed Richards (Ioan Gruffudd), fiancee Sue Storm (Jessica Alba), her hothead brother Johnny (Chris Evans) and astronaut Ben Grimm (Michael Chiklis) have become worldwide celebrities as the eponymous superheroes.
Plans for a fourth walk down the aisle are wrecked by the arrival of The Silver Surfer (Doug Jones, voiced by Laurence Fishburne), an intergalactic herald for an all-powerful, cosmic entity called Galactus, which sucks the life out of each planet it encounters.
MONDAY FRUITVALE STATION (2013) (FILM4, 11.20PM) PREMIERE
ON December 31, 2008, 22-year-old Oscar Grant III (the excellent Michael B Jordan) takes his young daughter Tatiana (Ariana Neal) to school then drops off his girlfriend Sophina (Melonie Diaz) at work.
Early the following morning he is shot in the back and killed by a police officer at Fruitvale Station on the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) system that serves San Francisco – a senseless killing that sparks riots across the city.
TUESDAY THE RAILWAY MAN (2013) (MORE4, 9.00PM)
ARDENT train enthusiast Eric (Colin Firth) finds love with Patricia Wallace (Nicole Kidman) following a chance encounter.
It quickly becomes clear to Patti that there is something in Eric’s past which is troubling him, but her efforts to help are swatted aside.
So she seeks out his best friend Finlay (Stellan Skarsgard), hoping he can reveal the scars of the past and ease her spouse’s suffering.
WEDNESDAY SLEEPLESS IN SEATTLE (1993) (CHANNEL 5, 10.00PM)
WIDOWER Sam Baldwin (Tom Hanks) moves to Seattle with his young son Jonah (Ross Malinger) to start anew but 18 months later, the father is still stricken with grief.
After Jonah rings a radio talk show Sam ends up discussing their loss with the sympathetic presenter. Sam’s plight presses the nation’s buttons, not least those of romantic reporter Annie Reed (Meg Ryan).
THURSDAY THE ICEMAN (2012) *** (FILM4, 11.15PM)
A THUG rises through the ranks of the criminal fraternity in this taut thriller, based on the exploits of headline-grabbing mob contract killer Richard Kuklinski.
Michael Shannon assumes the lead role of Kuklinski, who is imprisoned in 1986 for murder.
In flashback, we meet Richard in his early days as an underling for sadistic mob boss Roy DeMeo (Ray Liotta).
When Richard’s particular branch of the operation is shut down, Roy employs him as a bodyguard to dole out beatings to anyone who dares to cross the kingpin.