Your Movie Planner

SATURDAY

Deep Impact (1998) 12 6.40PM, BBC2 Loose remake of 1951 sci-fi hit When Worlds Collide. Tea Leoni is the journalist sniffing out what she thinks is a White House scandal, and learning that the end of the world is nigh. The Big Gamble (1961) U 7PM, TALKING PICTURES TV Richard Fleischer’s adventure follows Stephen Boyd’s sailor to the Ivory Coast to start a trucking business, with his wife (Juliette Greco) and sickly cousin (David Wayne) in tow. But misfortune stalks the trio from the moment they arrive at customs. Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) 12 8PM, E4 Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) is the weedy patriot who takes a serum that transforms him into supersoldier Captain America. The story of his plucky sweetheart, Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell, above), also had legs – she starred in her own TV series spin-off in 2015. Jason Bourne (2016) 12 9PM, CH4 PREMIERE See The Big Movie (right). The Cold Light Of Day (2012) 15 11.30PM, CH4 An all-star cast soups up this action thriller. Henry Cavill is the businessman whose family is kidnapped; Bruce Willis is his father, whose mysterious double life is to blame. What Doesn’t Kill You (2008) 15 12.25AM, BBC1 Ethan Hawke and Mark Ruffalo (above) star in this gritty drama as friends growing up poor and tough on the streets of Boston. A story of survival, with a strong current of humanity. The Goob (2014) 18 12.40AM, BBC2 Gutsy British realism, part of a new wave of rural film-making (see Dark River, Tuesday). During a heat wave in Norfolk farm country, teenager Goob (Liam Walpole) strikes out against his mum’s boyfriend (Sean Harris).

SUNDAY

The Young Mr Pitt (1942) U 1PM, TALKING PICTURES TV Biographical drama about William Pitt the Younger, starring Robert Donat as Pitt (above, with John Mills). Appointed Prime Minister in 1783, at the age of 24, he wins public favour in an era of tension with Napoleon’s France. A Matter Of Life And Death (1946) U 1.50PM, BBC2 See Classic Film Choice (right). Megamind (2010) PG 2.55PM, CH4 Heroes and villains need each other more than they think they do in this devilishly smart animated tale – which turns the overfamiliar superhero formula on its head.

The Magnificent Seven (2016) 12 9PM, CH5

PREMIERE The classic 1960 western about hired guns is remade with a more diverse cast. Denzel Washington is the natural leader (left), with Byung-hun Lee, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo and Martin Sensmeier representing Korea, Mexico and the Comanche, respectively.

The Last Stand (2013) 15 11.40PM, CH5 Arnold Schwarzenegger stars as Sheriff Ray Owens, a disgraced LA cop out in the sticks, who realises there’s an escaped druglord on his turf. Chance for redemption? You bet... Valhalla Rising (2009) 15 12 MIDNIGHT, BBC2 Dane Mads Mikkelsen stars in a strange film from fellow countryman Nicolas Winding Refn (Drive). Mikkelsen plays a Norse warrior who joins Christian Crusaders on a quest through a haunted land. Demolition (2015) 15 12.15AM, CH4

PREMIERE Jake Gyllenhaal is good at mustering his darker side (see Nightcrawler), but has little traction here. He’s the soulless banker (right) whose wife dies in a car crash. Feeling nothing, he starts to take apart his life – literally – and makes an unlikely connection with a customer services worker (Naomi Watts).

MONDAY

Her Dark Past (2016) PG 2.15PM, CH5 Alice (Anna Lise Phillips) wakes from a coma, desperate to regain her memory, but some things are best forgotten. It seems Alice wasn’t a very nice person – according to the man who is claiming to be her husband… The Return Of The Pink Panther (1975) PG 4.35PM, FILM4 Master of disguise Inspector Clouseau – played by the king of comedy and caricature, Peter Sellers – returns with director Blake Edwards for the fourth in a series that would continue, with diminishing returns. This, though, is a fine return to absurd form. The Hangover (2009) 15 9PM, 5STAR Everyone knows a stag do can get messy – but not as messy as this. Ed Helms (above), Bradley Cooper and Zach Galifianakis are the men opening their eyes to a bizarre scene in their Las Vegas hotel room. Where did the tiger, chicken and baby come from? Copycat (1995) 18 9PM, PARAMOUNT Decent serial killer thriller starring Sigourney Weaver and Holly Hunter as the troubled psychologist and the feisty cop teaming up to stop a copycat murderer dead in his tracks. (Freeview 54, Sky 159, Virgin 188) Mad To Be Normal (2017) 15 10PM, SKY PREMIERE PREMIERE The story of pioneering if unconventional psychiatrist R.D. Laing. David Tennant stars as Laing, with Gabriel Byrne and Michael Gambon as two of his patients (above, with Tennant). A well-acted fictionalised account of a fascinating story. Fool’s Gold (2008) 12 11.15PM, 5STAR After How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days, Matthew McConaughey and Kate Hudson try to reignite their ‘chemistry’ – as an estranged couple reunited on a quest for missing treasure. A romcom best described as functional.

TUESDAY

Anthropoid (2016) 15 9PM, FILM4

PREMIERE Gripping dramatisation of the Second World War operation of the title. Cillian Murphy and Jamie Dornan (above) star as Czechoslovakian agents tasked with assassinating Nazi official Reinhard Heydrich, the ‘Butcher of Prague’, who acted as one of the architects of the Holocaust. A Place To Go (1963) 12 9PM, TALKING PICTURES TV In the slums of Bethnal Green in London’s East End, a father and son strike out and try to improve their lot. A solid social drama from Basil Dearden, it stars Michael Sarne as the lad wooing Rita Tushingham’s mouthy teen.

Single White Female (1992) 18 9PM, SONY MOVIE CHANNEL Barbet Schroeder’s dark thriller has been copied many times, but the original is still hard to beat. Bridget Fonda (left) is the New Yorker looking for a flatmate; Jennifer Jason Leigh is the crackpot who answers her call. (Freeview 32, Sky 321, Virgin 425) Pitch Black (2000) 15 10PM, 5STAR Do be afraid of the dark is the warning in this sci-fi horror, a film that works well on its own merits, but is best remembered for bringing us brooding beefcake hero Riddick (Vin Diesel). Dark River (2017) 15 10PM, SKY PREMIERE

PREMIERE Ruth Wilson stars in this pareddown drama, directed by Clio Barnard (The Selfish Giant) and set around a struggling farm in Yorkshire. Wilson is Alice, returning to the run-down family holding after years away. Haunted by her traumatic childhood, she clashes with her brother (Mark Stanley). Safe House (2012) 15 11.15PM, ITV4 Denzel Washington plays a morally ambiguous character with aplomb in this otherwise so-so actioner. He’s a former CIA man locked up for safekeeping after going rogue, and running rings round ‘babysitter’ Ryan Reynolds and his superior back at HQ (Vera Farmiga, right).

WEDNESDAY

The Wrong Mother (2017) PG 2.15PM, CH5 Hard-working mum-of-two Kaylene (Vanessa Marcil) has to confront her worst fears when she unwittingly invites into her happy home a dangerous cuckoo in the nest – a woman who has maternal designs on Kaylene’s kids. The Rundown (2003) 15 5PM, SONY MOVIE CHANNEL Dwayne Johnson is Beck (below), a towering bounty hunter sent to collect mobster’s son Travis (Seann William Scott) from the Amazon jungle. The extraction goes awry as the duo are pursued by Christopher Walken’s villain in an adventure full of entertaining nods and winks. Six-Five Special (1958) U 6PM, TALKING PICTURES TV There isn’t much story behind this big-screen outing for the TV show – it’s all about the music. Two Scottish lasses take the six-five special train from Glasgow to London, hoping to launch their singing careers, and finding the train full of passengers with the same idea. The Fault In Our Stars (2014) 12 6.20PM, FILM4 Young-adult weepy, based on a novel by John Green, about teens with cancer (Ansel Elgort and Shailene Woodley, below) forming a powerful bond. The performances are strong, but it’s a tough, emotional watch. The Ghost (2010) 15 11.15PM, ITV4 Political thriller based on a Robert Harris novel, starring Pierce Brosnan as an ex-British Prime Minister who hires Ewan McGregor’s writer to complete his memoirs. The plot thickens, with the former PM neck-deep in conspiracy. I Origins (2014) 15 1.45AM, CH4 Off-kilter drama from Another Earth director Mike Cahill, so expect lots of talking and ponderous ideas. Michael Pitt is a PhD student researching both the evolution of the human eye and love at first sight – and looking to disprove the existence of God.

THURSDAY

The Misfits (1961) PG 11AM, FILM4 They bowed out in style. The last film of stars Clark Gable and Marilyn Monroe (above) is a soaring nouveau western, directed by John Huston and written by Monroe’s soon to be ex-husband, Arthur Miller. Bleak and beautiful, it’s also full of poignant moments. Quantum Of Solace (2008) 12 8PM, ITV2 Compared to Daniel Craig’s third Bond film, Skyfall (which is on ITV2 tomorrow at 8pm), this feels pretty average. The villain (Mathieu Amalric) is an ecoterrorist causing big trouble in Bolivia, while Bond and Olga Kurylenko’s agent head out for a desert showdown. 12 Years A Slave (2013) 15 9PM, MORE4 This bold, Oscarwinning drama, starring Chiwetel Ejiofor (left), doesn’t hold back in its depiction of the cruelty suffered by African slaves in 19th-century America. There’s a strong cast, which includes Sarah Paulson, Michael Fassbender and Brad Pitt. Sisters (2015) 15 9PM, FILM4

Tina Fey and Amy Poehler – who are both successful writers and comedians in their own right – reunite again following their hit 2008 comedy Baby Mama. This is a more raucous affair as two sisters get carried away while bidding farewell to the family home. The Score (2001) 15 9PM, SONY MOVIE CHANNEL For his final film role, Marlon Brando teamed up with Robert De Niro for a rather humdrum one-last-job crime caper. Brando is the fence enticing De Niro’s safe-cracker back into the fray. With a flabby seen-it-all-before plot, this is one swan song that isn’t up to the job. Sabotage (2014) 15 11.05PM, CH5 Arnold Schwarzenegger (right), with a serious haircut and some serious tattoos, stars as a dirty agent for the Drug Enforcement Administration. When he steals $10 million from a cartel, he makes enemies on both sides of the law. A sledgehammer crime movie from the writer of Training Day.

FRIDAY

Book Club (2018) 12 8PM, SKY PREMIERE

PREMIERE Romcom in which a quartet of older women – Diane Keaton, Jane Fonda, Candice Bergen and Mary Steenburgen – have their interest in sex and life’s many other pleasures reignited after reading Fifty Shades Of Grey. Despite the inspiration, this plays safe. Black Hawk Down (2001) 15 9PM, 5STAR Ridley Scott’s harrowing film chronicles the infamous Battle of Mogadishu, which should have been a simple case of ‘get in, get out’, but turned into an almighty scrap. Josh Hartnett and Ewan McGregor are among the soldiers.

Money Monster (2016) 15 9PM, SONY MOVIE CHANNEL

PREMIERE George Clooney stars as a TV financial guru who is held hostage when a viewer with a grudge (Jack O’Connell, above, with Clooney) storms the studio. A dry critique of financial inequities, co-starring Julia Roberts and directed by Jodie Foster. I Give It A Year (2013) 15 10PM, E4 Britcom in which a couple (Rose Byrne and Rafe Spall, below) marry after seven months, a move condemned by friends and family. With temptation hovering nearby, is it just stubbornness that is keeping them together? The Heist (2009) 12 11.50PM, BBC1 Christopher Walken and Morgan Freeman are security guards at an art gallery, who are smitten with paintings. When they learn the works are to be moved, they hatch a plan to replace their beloved originals with forgeries. Sinister (2012) 15 12.35AM, CH4 Ethan Hawke is the crime writer who tries to kick-start his flagging career by moving into a house where an entire family died, inviting danger for his own family from a despicable ancient evil.