Film choice

Ice Cold in Alex (1958, b/w) FILM4, 4.20PM ★★★★

 J Lee Thompson’s tense British wartime thriller is one of the classics of the black-and-white era and richly entertaining. John Mills shines as Captain Anson, who dreams of an ice-cold glass of lager while escorting Britons across the desert to Alexandria during the Second World War. The film makes some interesting points about patriotism, as we learn Anson is unaware that he’s harbouring a traitor.

Alien Resurrection (1997) FILM4, 4.20PM ★★

 Sigourney Weaver returns as heroine Ellen Ripley for this fourth film in the franchise. Two hundred years have passed since Alien 3, and Ripley has now been cloned by scientists, which gives her greater strength but also conflicting loyalties, meaning we’re not sure that we can trust her. Despite the talent on board (Weaver, screenwriter Joss Whedon and director Jean-pierre Jeunot), this is a poor effort.

Elysium (2013) CHANNEL 5, 11.00PM ★★★★

 Neill Blomkamp’s (District 9) intelligent sci-fi thriller has a fire in its belly and stars a brawny Matt Damon as a factory worker who scrapes out a living on the Earth’s crust. He’s involved in an accident but the medical care that he needs is on space station Elysium. Blomkamp focuses on faith, capitalism and private healthcare – in lesser hands, the film might have played out like a Lib Dem manifesto with spaceships.