THIS WEEK’S BEST FILMS

SATURDAY

American Assassin (2017) (Channel 4, 11.15pm)

Mitch Rapp (Dylan O’Brien) watches helplessly as gunmen shoot dead his sweetheart Katrina (Charlotte Vega) on a crowded beach in Ibiza. Revenge boils in his veins and, over the next 18 months, Mitch metamorphoses into a gym-toned angel of death in order to infiltrate the terrorist cell responsible for Katrina’s death. Adapted from the novel by Vince Flynn, American Assassin doesn’t pretend to be anything other than a brute force battle of wits.

Trumbo (2015) (BBC2, 11.30pm)

Hollywood screenwriter Dalton Trumbo (Bryan Cranston) enjoys a charmed life with his wife and three children until waspish columnist Hedda Hopper (Helen Mirren) casts aspersions on his political leanings. Actor John Wayne (David James Elliott) weighs in on the argument and Trumbo is held in contempt by Congress. Based on the biography by Bruce Cook, Trumbo is a handsome period drama that relives an inglorious period in US history.

SUNDAY

White Christmas (1954) (Film4, 1.30pm)

Michael Curtiz’s 1954 festive favourite stars Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye as talented song-anddance men who rise to fame in the notoriously cut-throat world of show business. As winter beckons, they join forces with sister act Betty and Judy Haynes and head for Vermont, only to discover that their old army general runs their inn and the establishment is in dire financial straits.

Defiance (2008) (BBC2, 11pm)

As Hitler’s army marches through

Belarus, three Jewish brothers escape the onslaught to lead hundreds of survivors into the dense forests. Based on the book Defiance: The Bielski Partisans by Nechama Tec, Edward Zwick’s history lesson relates a stirring tale of heroism and sacrifice during the horrendous years of conflict in Europe.

MONDAY

American Honey (2016) (Film4, 10.50pm)

Eighteen-year-old Star (Sasha Lane) has been left to care for two

young siblings, while her mother implodes on drugs. During a sortie to a supermarket, Star encounters a group of teenagers led by Jake (Shia LaBeouf), who claims to be the manager of a door-to-door magazine subscription business. Determined to escape the groping hands of her abusive stepfather, Star hits the road with Jake. American Honey is a mesmerising, naturalistic portrait of disenfranchised youth, semiimprovised by writer-director Andrea Arnold and her cast.

Maps to the Stars (2014)

(BBC2, 11.15pm)

Thirteen-year-old Benjie Weiss is the pre-pubescent prince of Hollywood, whose upward trajectory is carefully managed by his mother Christina (Olivia Williams). Back at home, Benjie’s father, self-help guru Dr Stafford Weiss (John Cusack), realigns the chakras of wealthy clientele including fame-hungry actress Havana Segrand (Julianne Moore), who is pinning her resurgence on a remake of the film that made her mother a star.

TUESDAY

Love Actually (2003) (ITV2, 9pm)

Richard Curtis’s directorial debut creates a tableau of modern-day London life in which people fall in and out of love to a smoochy soundtrack in the run-up to Christmas. The film stitches together ten separate stories of love, longing, camaraderie and failed relationships, among them Hugh Grant as a bachelor PM falling head over heels for a tea lady played by Martine McCutcheon. Deliriously, gloriously romantic. Also stars Gregor Fisher.

The New Girlfriend (2014) (BBC2, 12.05am)

Romain Duris delivers an eyecatching performance in Francois Ozon’s provocative drama with a delicious twist, based on the short story of the same name by Ruth Rendell. Claire (Anais Demoustier) and Laura (Isild Le Besco) have been best friends since childhood. When Laura finds her soulmate in David (Duris), Claire is their bridesmaid and soon after, Claire falls in love with her handsome beau, Gilles (Raphael Personnaz). The two women look forward to

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Hugh Grant and Martine McCutcheon star in the ‘deliriously, gloriously romantic’ Love Actually