Film choice

Mermaids (1990) SONY MOVIE CHANNEL, 1.45PM ★★★

 This comedy-drama stars Cher as Mrs Flax, a mother who regularly moves town, and is a constant embarrassment to her two daughters (Winona Ryder and Christina Ricci). After yet another romantic disaster for Mrs Flax, they relocate to Massachusetts and find some semblance of family life. Ryder in particular generates real charisma in her role as an alienated outsider.

Pork Chop Hill (1959, b/w) 5SPIKE, 3.55PM ★★★★

 Lewis Milestone, the man responsible for the great anti-war film All Quiet on the Western Front, directs this intelligent and largely forgotten true-story drama about a late battle of the Korean War. Gregory Peck stars as a gung-ho American lieutenant who leads a unit on the attack of the Chinese-held Pork Chop Hill, while Rip Torn is cheerfully professional as his brother-in-law. It also features the film debut of Martin Landau.

Dark Places (2015) FILM 4, 9.00PM ★★

 This adaptation of Gillian Flynn’s cold-case chiller, which comes after the making of her mystery novel Gone Girl, with Rosamund Pike and Ben Affleck, pales in comparison. Producer-star Charlize Theron plays a Kansas woman still grappling with the long-ago murders of her family. Christina Hendricks is affecting as her mother, but there’s not much in the way of surprise elements and the plot holes are gaping.