MEMORABLE SOAP MOMENT

District 9 (Wednesday) Sharlto Copley, who plays unlikely hero Wikus (right) in the acclaimed sci-fi action drama, had no intention of becoming an actor. He was friends with director Neill Blomkamp, who persuaded him to step in front of the camera. Sharlt

‘It was when Alya’s boyfriend Luke Britton died this year. The death of her dad [pictured] in May 2015 changed her and it took a few years to get her life on track. When Luke died it brought back raw emotion and Alya regressed to the young character she was after her dad passed away.’

SATURDAY Shrek 2 (2004) U 6.05PM, BBC1

The lovable green ogre makes a new friend in this fun fairytale-spoofing sequel. Voiced by Antonio Banderas, Puss in Boots lends a helping paw when trouble looms, proving so popular that he landed his own 2011 spin-off. Ladies In Lavender

(2004) 12

7.20PM, BBC2

Genteel drama, set on the beautiful Cornwall coast, starring Maggie Smith and Judi Dench (below) as sisters who, in 1936, find a young man – a Polish musician – washed up on the beach. A life-changing event for all concerned.

Platoon (1986) 15 10PM, ITV4

Charlie Sheen is the idealistic Army volunteer getting a brutal education in war and life in a drama based on the experiences of writerdirector Oliver Stone, a Vietnam veteran. Tom Berenger is the sergeant giving everyone hell. Meet The Fockers

(2004) 12

10.30PM, BBC1

From the crude hint of the title to a swearing toddler, the humour will not be to all tastes. But the phenomenal cast (including Blythe Danner and Barbra Streisand, below) and the excruciating situations ensure this is a jolly amusing follow-up to Meet The Parents.

The Greasy Strangler (2016) 18 11.10PM, FILM4 PREMIERE This surreal black comedy celebrates all that is vile and revolting, so unless you have a strong stomach, look away now. Michael St Michaels is the disco-loving title character, going on a killing spree. Rocky

(1976) 12 11.15PM, ITV See The Big Movie (right). Quartet

(2012) 12 12.05AM, BBC2

Dustin Hoffman’s quaint directorial debut is set in a home for retired musicians, and stars an A-list of veteran British talent – Maggie Smith, Tom Courtenay, Billy Connolly, Pauline Collins, et al. Old rivalries and romances are reignited as the residents rally to save their beloved home.

SUNDAY

Spice World – The Movie

(1997) PG 4.40PM, SONY MOVIE CHANNEL

As the girls (above) – now, of course, women – prepare for a reunion, take a look at how they rolled back in the day. This movie outing takes inspiration from A Hard Day’s Night, with the group preparing for a concert at the Royal Albert Hall. (Freeview 32, Sky 321, Virgin 425) Johnny English

(2003) PG

5PM, CH4

Rowan Atkinson gets a facial workout in this 007 spoof; English is essentially Mr Bean, but with better tailoring, a better-paid job and a hell of a lot more gadgets. When he’s assigned to protect the crown jewels, disaster beckons. Mother!

(2017) 18 9PM, SKY PREMIERE

PREMIERE Jennifer Lawrence (left) grows increasingly perplexed, exhausted and finally tormented in director Darren Aronofksy’s brazen, challenging and horrific parable. Guaranteed to divide audiences, it’s the kind of film that is easier to admire than it is to sit back and enjoy.

The Spectacular Now (2013) 15

11.15PM, BBC2

This coming-of-age drama considers whether living in the now is the best approach to life. Miles Teller is the boy who doesn’t see much beyond the bottom of his beer can. When his girlfriend dumps him, Shailene Woodley steps up to help him to move on with his life. Up In The Air

(2009) 15

11.35PM, BBC1

A romance of sorts, starring George Clooney as the corporate downsizer who is reluctant to put down roots. But when he meets Vera Farmiga’s kindred spirit, he starts to question his lifestyle. The chemistry between the two is unbeatable in a film that earned six Oscar nominations. The Other Boleyn Girl (2008) 12

12.15AM, CH4

Soapy sibling rivalry is laced into this historical romp. Natalie Portman’s Anne Boleyn schemes her way into the bed of King Henry VIII, with Scarlett Johansson (right) as Anne’s lesserknown sister, Mary.

MONDAY

Killer In Paradise (2018) PG

3.20PM, CH5

PREMIERE This ‘holiday from hell’ thriller stars Barbie Castro as the woman who has to interrupt her sunbathing to catch a serial killer. From the production company that also brings you Girlfriend Killer (Thursday, 3.15pm, Ch5). The Man Who Knew Too Much

(1956)

PG 4.05PM, FILM4

See Classic Film Choice (right).

The Longest Ride (2015) 12

6.25PM, FILM4

Scott Eastwood (above), son of Clint, stars in this romantic drama as a rodeo rider falling for a bookish girl (Britt Robertson) who is set to go to college. Their lifestyles and plans for the future don’t seem compatible – until a love story from the past shows them the way. The Inbetweeners Movie

(2011) 15

9PM, E4

The quartet of stars of the hit sitcom get up to no good on the big screen and under the sun as they take themselves off for a holiday on Crete after finally finishing their A levels. Django Unchained

(2012) 18

10PM, 5STAR

Quentin Tarantino’s spaghetti western reboot is violent, but also exhilarating. Slavery in the American South is the backdrop, with Jamie Foxx’s freed slave (below) as the principal hero.

Late Phases

(2014) 18

11.05PM, HORROR

A werewolf picture with a difference, it’s told from the point of view of a blind veteran, begrudgingly making a retirement community his home – and quickly realising he must defend it from hungry, hairy foes. (Freeview 70, Freesat 138, Sky 317, Virgin 149) I Wish

(2011) PG 1AM, FILM4

Spellbinding Japanese drama about two young brothers who hope that their parents’ separation – which has split them up, too – is only temporary. Director Hirokazu Kore-eda won this year’s Palme d’Or for Shoplifters.

TUESDAY

The Odessa File (1974) PG

11AM, FILM4

Jon Voight (above) stars as a hack on the trail of a former Nazi officer in 1960s Germany in Ronald Neame’s take on Frederick Forsyth’s thriller. Cracking material is scuppered slightly by Neame’s unusually plodding direction.

The Day Will Dawn (1942) U

6PM, TALKING PICTURES TV

Hugh Williams stars as a journalist stationed in Norway, who becomes embroiled in the outbreak of the Second World War – and is recruited to sabotage a German U-boat base. Deborah Kerr is the local girl who steals his heart, and with whom he has to escape.

Legend

(1985) PG

7.10PM, FILM4

Ridley Scott’s fantasy is more famous for an early lead role for Tom Cruise (left) than for any lasting impression. Scott’s solution to the drab reviews and boxoffice belly flop was to release a director’s cut, which fared slightly better. Tim Curry is the Lord of Darkness, killing off unicorns to secure an eternal night.

Kill Bill: Vol 1 (2003) 18

10PM, 5STAR

Attempting to blend several genres into a coherent whole over two separate films (see Thursday at 11pm) took guts – and Quentin Tarantino pulls it off. The central performance of Uma Thurman holds the madness together. Most Beautiful Island

(2017) 18

10PM, SKY PREMIERE

PREMIERE Written by, directed by and starring Spanish actor Ana Asensio, this dark thriller follows Asensio’s immigrant Luciana as she struggles to survive on low wages in New York City. She takes up a mystery offer of well-paid work that must surely be too good to be true, and the outcome is both twisted and satisfying.

Joe

(2013) 15

12.50AM, FILM4 Nicolas Cage leaves behind his meathead action roles to play a complex father figure in this rugged yet touching drama. Tye Sheridan (right, with Cage) is the poor boy in dire need of a friend.

WEDNESDAY

Seduced By A Stranger (2017) PG

3.15PM, CH5

PREMIERE The life of a single mom (Chandra West) is turned upside down when a con man (Steve Bacic) moves to the neighbourhood – bringing with him a vengeful former victim. Last Action Hero

(1993) 15

9PM, 5SPIKE

Arnold Schwarzenegger (below) sends himself up delightfully in Die Hard director John McTiernan’s clever action movie parody. Don’t let the poor box office put you off – it’s a tongue-in-cheek thrill ride from start to finish.

District 9 (2009) 15

9PM, SONY MOVIE CHANNEL

When aliens arrive on Earth, they are treated as refugees rather than invaders. The political metaphors are conspicuous in Neill Blomkamp’s South Africa-set sci-fi thriller, which is also entertaining and technically impressive. Carrie

(2013) 15 11PM, 5STAR

There’s a bloody price to pay for bullying the weird kid at school in this third film version of Stephen King’s feverish coming-of-age chiller. Chloe Grace Moretz is the girl with a terrifying mother, whose hopes to fit in at the school prom end in hellfire and damnation. Adore (2013) 15 11.15PM, FILM4

PREMIERE Robin Wright and Naomi Watts (above) deliver strong, searing performances as middle-aged women whose friendship is tested when each has an affair with the other woman’s son. There’s a sense that the film is not attempting to be realistic, aiming instead to engage with the women’s psyches. The Best Man Holiday

(2013)

15 1.45AM, CH4

This follow-up to 1999’s The Best Man catches up with the circle of friends as they settle into middle age. Lance (Morris Chestnut, right) and Mia invite the old gang to spend Christmas with them, where surprises and sadness await.

THURSDAY

The Lonely Man (1957) PG

1.50PM, 5SPIKE

Jack Palance and Anthony Perkins (above) star in this western as the estranged father and son who must put aside their differences to face a man with a grudge. Palance’s aged gunfighter has failing eyesight, and he must rely on his son’s good eyes if he is to shoot straight. Anzio

(1968) PG 2.30PM, FILM4

Flabby drama based around the decisive but bloody Second World War battle during the Allied campaign to take the Italian peninsula. Robert Mitchum heads up the starry cast as a cynical war correspondent, with Peter Falk (below) reminding us he wasn’t just Columbo.

Girlfriend Killer (2017) PG

3.15PM, CH5

PREMIERE Barbie Castro stars as a woman who is targeted by a disgruntled client. Her job is to help men to make perfect marriage proposals – and here’s what happens when the lady says no. The Wild Heart

(1952) PG

9.10PM, TALKING PICTURES TV

Originally released as Gone To Earth in 1950, Powell and Pressburger’s romantic rural period drama stars Jennifer Jones as a free-spirited girl growing up around nature and mysticism in the Shropshire countryside. David Farrar and Cyril Cusack are the men fighting for her in the fields. Kill Bill: Vol 2

(2004) 18

11PM, 5STAR

Not quite as much fun as the first film – the pay-off when the Bride (Uma Thurman) finally confronts Bill (David Carradine) gets weighed down by too much chitchat. That said, it becomes clear how she got so good at killing. Red Eye

(2005) 12

11.10PM, FILM4

Cillian Murphy is creepily unhinged in Wes Craven’s convoluted but unsettling midair chiller. He plays a terrorist who targets fellow flyer Rachel McAdams to help him to carry out an audacious assassination plot.

FRIDAY

It

(2017) 15 8PM, SKY PREMIERE

PREMIERE One of Stephen King’s best-known chillers is given a glossy makeover – and it is fantastically effective. A group of young friends desperately try to outrun their fears as they are tormented by a demon – in the form of razortoothed clown Pennywise (Bill Skarsgard). Speed

(1994) 15 9PM, E4

Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock (below) play the duo teaming up to stop a bomb going off on a bus full of people. The device is rigged to detonate if the vehicle’s speed dips below 50mph, and so the action never slows down.

Pulp Fiction (1994) 18

10PM, 5STAR

Quentin Tarantino’s episodic crime thriller is a perfect storm of sharp dialogue, unrepentant violence, satisfying acts of revenge, bizarre twists of fate and cool music. Uma Thurman, Samuel L. Jackson, Harvey Keitel and Bruce Willis take it in turns to steal the show. Bend It Like Beckham

(2002) 12

10.45PM, ITV

A Gregory’s Girl for the 21st century, starring Parminder Nagra and Keira Knightley (below), this is full of heart and passion. Nagra is the British-Asian teenager hiding her love for the beautiful game from her strict parents.

Real Steel

(2011) 12 11.55PM, BBC1

An odd mix of family drama and sci-fi actioner, this packs more of a punch than you might expect. Hugh Jackman tops the cast as the former boxer grabbing his ‘one last chance’ to compete by controlling a robot in the ring. Priest

(2011) 12

12.05AM, CH4

Maggie Q (left) and Paul Bettany play warrior priests who help to vanquish the vampires that once threatened humanity. Now decommissioned, they have to go against the Church to stage a rescue mission.