A DOG’S PURPOSE Tomorrow, Film4, 2.45pm

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THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI Today, Channel 5, 3.15pm

DAVID LEAN’S classic Second World War drama follows a stiff upperlipped British officer (Alec Guinness), who is being held as a PoW, as he comes to terms with his situation and his captors. When they insist he and his men build a bridge to facilitate a railway line, the officer becomes obsessed with doing as good a job as possible, seeing it as a testament to British pluck. However, trouble arises in the form of a renegade American (William Holden), who has orders to blow up the bridge. Impeccable and riveting, this is one of the best wartime epics. Guinness is astonishing in the leading role, with superb support from Holden and Sessue Hayakawa.

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A POOCH discovers his reason for being over several lifetimes and owners in this family drama. Golden retriever Bailey (voiced by Josh Gad) has a brief first life – he is captured by men from the local dog pound and put to sleep. In his next incarnation, he is rescued from a hot truck by young lad Ethan (Bryce Gheisar), before coming back as a German Shepherd called Ellie and a Corgi called Tino.

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DEAD CALM

Monday, Paramount Network, 11.15pm

LOVING couple Rae (Nicole Kidman, pictured) and John Ingram (Sam Neill) take a yachting trip to help them deal with the death of their son. They stumble on a sinking ship and save the one traumatised ‘survivor’ (Billy Zane). Sadly, they come to regret their act of heroism when he begins terrorising them. This Australian thriller proves you don’t need big bangs to make a film deeply disturbing.

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PADDINGTON Tuesday, Film4, 5.05pm

LITTLE bear Paddington, pictured (voiced by Ben Whishaw), is raised in deepest, darkest Peru by his elderly aunt and uncle. When tragedy strikes, he’s dispatched by boat to London where he is taken in by the Brown family (Hugh Bonneville, Sally Hawkins, Samuel Joslin and Madeleine Harris). Unfortunately, the bear also attracts the attention of a despicable taxidermist (Nicole Kidman).

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ME BEFORE YOU Wednesday, Channel 5, 10.30pm

WILLIAM TRAYNOR (Sam Claflin) is a handsome high-flyer in London, who is left paralysed after an accident. He returns home under the care of his parents, and in order to raise his spirits, the Traynors advertise for a companion for their son, misfit Louisa Clark (Emilia Clarke, pictured with Claflin) answers the call and an unlikely friendship threatens to blossom into romance.

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THE WOLF OF WALL STREET Thursday, Film4, 9pm

IN THE aftermath of Black Monday, Jordan Belfort (Leonardo DiCaprio, pictured) loses his job on Wall Street and is forced to sell penny stocks at a fly-by-night operation in Long Island. Blessed with the gift of the gab, Jordan excels and opens his own firm with salesman Donnie Azoff (Jonah Hill). The dodgy business soon attracts the attentions of FBI Agent Patrick Denham (Kyle Chandler).

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AMERICAN ULTRA Friday, Film4, 9pm

A TOP-secret CIA program is deemed a failure and its assets – government-sanctioned assassins – have their memories wiped so they can lead normal lives. Mike Howell (Jesse Eisenberg) is unaware of his past and frets about proposing to his girlfriend, Phoebe (Kristen Stewart, pictured with Eisenberg). When a CIA handler (Connie Britton) re-activates Mike, he goes on the run with Phoebe.