Film choice

Up (2009) BBC ONE, 2.25PM ★★★★★

 Possibly Pixar’s finest film, Up has a captivating story that realises the vividness of a childlike imagination. Only those with a heart of stone wouldn’t be moved by the story of Ed Asner (voiced by Carl Fredricksen), who tries to fulfil his dream of building a house next to Paradise Falls in South America. His odyssey brings him more than he bargained for, including a young, hyperactive Wilderness Explorer called Russell.

Brave (2012) BBC ONE, 4.20PM ★★★★

The first of Pixar’s films to have a female protagonist won an Oscar and there’s a bewitching craftsmanship to its storytelling. It’s set in the Highlands during the feudal period. Kelly Macdonald plays the flamehaired Merida, who would rather ride her horse than play the role of simpering princess; unable to sway her mother (Emma Thompson), she seeks the help of a witch (Julie Walters).

Gone Girl (2014) BBC ONE, 9.15PM; N IRELAND, 9.45PM ★★★

Cold and controlled, yet fun, this drama, directed by David Fincher, is based on Gillian Flynn’s novel of the same name. Rosamund Pike is Amy Elliott-dunne, who disappears one morning, much to the apparent surprise of her husband (Ben Affleck). The media sniff around and soon the couple’s secrets come to the surface. Darkly suspenseful at first, the story soon turns into blood-drenched self-parody.

The Great Gatsby (2013) BBC TWO, 11.15PM ★★★

Baz Luhrmann lays on a cinematic buffet of such sense-addling brazenness that it takes a while before you notice the film is finger-food and nothing more. Leonardo Dicaprio is Jay Gatsby, a newly minted millionaire, and Carey Mulligan is Daisy Buchanan, the lost love he longs to win back. On the rare occasions Luhrmann gives them space to act in the pulsating frenzy of his Jazz Age world, both do a wonderful job.