Film choice

The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) SKY CINEMA GREATS, 2.05PM ★★★★★

 David Lean’s largely fictional telling of the Second World War story of the Thailand-burma Railway is wonderfully complex. It features Alec Guinness in his finest performance as Colonel Nicholson, who goes mad before our eyes, as he and other Allied prisoners of war hack the 255-mile railway out of harsh Japanese jungle while battling torture, starvation and disease. William Holden and Jack Hawkins also star.

The Five-year Engagement (2012) ITV2, 9.00PM ★★★

 Emily Blunt and Jason Segel’s engagement goes on for longer than planned in this romcom from Nicholas Stoller, director of Forgetting Sarah Marshall. Segel plays a sous-chef, Blunt a psychologist whose dream appointment uproots them from sunny San Francisco to snowy Michigan, leading to stasis, infidelity and other complications. The strong supporting cast includes Rhys Ifans, Chris Pratt and Alison Brie.

Ocean’s Eleven (2001) SKY ONE, 9.00PM ★★★★

 This remake of the 1960 Rat Pack vehicle was similarly an outing for Hollywood’s A-list, yet this version is far slicker and more entertaining. George Clooney is at his most dashing as Danny Ocean, an ex-con who tries to pull together his old team (including Brad Pitt) for their most daring heist yet. Their target is a Las Vegas casino run by one of the most formidable men in the business (Andy Garcia). Bernie Mac and Elliott Gould also feature.