your TV Week IN FILMS

Thursday Killer Joe (2011) Film4, 10.45pm

Tracy Letts’s incendiary 1993 play translates smartly from stage to screen in William Friedkin’s suspenseful portrait of white-trash treachery. Matthew Mcconaughey shows his acting mettle as the eponymous assassin, who is hired by disgruntled son Chris (Emile Hirsch) to kill his mother Sharla (Gina Gershon) in order to collect a hefty life insurance payout. When Chris fails to stump up the hit man’s sizeable fee, Joe demands the lad’s emotionally unstable sister Dottie (Juno Temple) as a ‘retainer’, and the film’s moral compass whirls sickeningly out of control.

Friday Legally Blonde (2001) Channel 5, 7.55pm

Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell were wrong: gentlemen don’t prefer blondes. At least not young gentlemen like Warner Huntington III (Matthew Davis), an aspiring politician who is dating Elle Woods (Reese Witherspoon), the most popular girl in her sorority who is never seen without her pink Prada handbag. When Warner gains his place at Harvard Law School, he breaks up with Elle, believing he needs a more serious girlfriend if he is to succeed. Determined to win her man back, Legally Blonde is an unashamedly breezy comedy with fashion nous and plenty of sassy attitude.

Saturday The Secret Life of Pets (2016) Sky Cinema Premiere, 11.10am

Katie (voiced by Ellie Kemper) lives in her Manhattan apartment with a mischievous terrier named Max (Louis C.K.). He is good friends with the block’s other domesticated pets including a pampered Eskimo dog named Gidget (Jenny Slate), who is head over fluffy tail in love with Max, and a cat named Chloe (Lake Bell). Max’s bond with Katie is threatened when his owner brings home a mongrel named Duke (Eric Stonestreet). Rivalry spills onto the streets as Max and Duke fall foul of a cat called Ozone (Steve Coogan) .

Sunday Maps to the Stars (2014) BBC2, 10pm

Thirteen-year-old Benjie Weiss (Evan Bird) is the pre-pubescent prince of Hollywood, whose upward trajectory is carefully managed by his mother Christina (Olivia Williams). Back at home, Benjie’s father, self-help guru Dr Stafford Weiss (John Cusack), realigns the chakras of wealthy clientele including fame-hungry actress Havana Segrand (Julianne Moore), who is pinning her resurgence on a remake of the film that made her mother a star. While Havana awaits news on the role, she employs a new personal assistant called Agatha (Mia Wasikowska).

Monday Gangs of New York (2002) ITV4, 10pm

Martin Scorsese’s lavish epic is set on the mean streets of 19th-century New York, and follows the Irish-born Amsterdam Vallon (Leonardo Dicaprio) as he joins forces with Bill the Butcher (Daniel DayLewis), the leader of the gang who killed his father. Amsterdam’s ultimate aim is to avenge his dad’s death, but as he rises up the ranks, he finds himself bonding with his mentor.

Tuesday The Hangover (2009) ITV2, 9pm

Two days before he walks down the aisle, Doug (Justin Bartha) heads for a stag weekend in Las Vegas with pals Phil (Bradley Cooper) and Stu (Ed Helms) and eccentric future brother-in-law Alan (Zach Galifianakis). Upon arrival at the luxurious Caesars Palace hotel, several hours of heavy drinking ensue and in the morning, Phil, Stu and Alan wake with pounding headaches and no memory of the night before. A trashed hotel suite and the presence of a baby in a closet are the first signs that something is dreadfully awry; the absence of the groom-to-be comes a close second.

Wednesday Chinatown (1974) Film4, 12.55am

Roman Polanski’s final film made on US soil before he infamously fled to Europe was this slow-burning crime thriller steeped in corruption and betrayal. Jack Nicholson lights up the screen as arrogant private detective Jake Gittes, who is hired by Evelyn Mulwray (Diane Ladd) to catch her philandering husband (Darrell Zwerling). When the adulterous spouse turns up dead - drowned in a reservoir - Gittes meets the real Mrs Mulwray (Faye Dunaway), who clearly has something to hide. Jake digs deeper and his investigation leads to Evelyn’s sinister father, Noah Cross (John Huston).