The best films on the box this week
FRIDAY SHAUN OF THE DEAD (2004) (ITV, 11.15pm)
BILLED as a ‘rom zom com’, this hugely entertaining British movie stars Simon Pegg as Shaun, who hates his job and whose girlfriend Liz (Kate Ashfield) has just dumped him for spending too much time in the boozer. In fact, he’s in such a rut that he barely notices that London is being overrun by zombies. However, when the truth dawns, he sees it as a chance to prove to Liz that he can step up and achieve something.
SATURDAY ROUGH NIGHT (2017) (Sky Cinema Premiere, 1.20pm) Premiere
A hen party spirals out of control in director Lucia Aniello’s dark comedy. Jess (Scarlett Johansson) looks forward to walking down the aisle with her sweetheart Peter. For her hen party, she spends a booze-fuelled weekend in Miami with her college pals and an Australian friend. Their night turns into one to remember for all the wrong reasons when a stripper is accidentally killed, prompting the women to hide the body – little realising that their every move is being watched...
SUNDAY DR SEUSS’ THE LORAX (2012) (C4, 2.55pm)
YOUNG Ted Wiggins (voiced by Zac Efron) lives in the utopia of Thneed-ville. Town mayor Aloysius O’Hare (Rob Riggle) provides the residents with all they need – except for real plants, which are manufactured in a factory. Ted pines for girl next door Audrey (Taylor Swift), who dreams of having her own tree. The smitten lad seeks out a hermit who recounts how he inadvertently devastated the lush landscape and “summoned the legendary and slightly annoying guardian of the forest” known as The Lorax (Danny DeVito).
MONDAY THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES (1959) (Film4, 4.50pm)
HAMMER’S effective Sherlock Holmes thriller stars Peter Cushing as the legendary sleuth and Andre Morell as Dr Watson, who are called in to investigate when the remaining member of the aristocratic Baskervilles believes his family is being persecuted by a monstrous hound roaming the remote Devon moors.
TUESDAY AMERICAN PIE: THE WEDDING (2003) (ITV2, 9pm)
JIM (Jason Biggs) and Michelle (Seann Alyson Hannigan) decide to tie the knot. Jim allows Stifler (William Scott) to organise the stag night – a decision he soon regrets as chaos descends. On top of that, Stifler and Finch (Eddie Kay Thomas) ignite a bitter feud over who can bed Michelle’s cousin Cadence (January Jones).
WEDNESDAY KILL YOUR FRIENDS (2015) (Film4, 11.15pm)
THE year is 1997. Steven Stelfox (Nicholas Hoult) is a scheming A&R junior at a London record company, where he trumpets his meagre successes and intentionally undermines his colleagues. When the head of A&R leaves, Steven learns a rival has been handed the promotion, so he plots to kill his new boss.
THURSDAY WALK THE LINE (2005) (Sony Movie Channel, 1pm)
THIS sublime biopic of Country legend Johnny Cash begins with his legendary live recording at Folsom Prison in 1968, before flashing back to his childhood to explore his feelings of guilt over his brother’s accidental death. It then picks up the story with Cash writing songs during his time in the Air Force, and moves on as he hits the road with fellow artists Elvis Presley and Jerry Lee Lewis. Joining them on tour is June Carter (Reese Witherspoon), the married woman Cash adored for years. Joaquin Phoenix gives a magnetic performance as The Man in Black, while Witherspoon is immensely impressive as the woman who stood by her man.