Film choice

Legally Blonde (2001) ITV, 10.15PM ★★★★

This was the moment that Reese Witherspoon entered global consciousness, and no amount of Oscar-winning turns will separate her from ditsy blonde sorority girl Elle Woods. Of course, Elle isn’t really ditsy, she turns out to be a legal eagle, which is the whole point of Australian director Robert Luketic’s first film: the revelatory observation that blondes can also have brains. The dialogue is fabulously sharp-edged.

Swingers (1996) BBC TWO, 11.45PM ★★★★★

This perceptive debut comedy from Doug Liman ( The Bourne Identity) stars screenwriter Jon Favreau (who would later direct Iron Man and Chef) as Mike, an unsuccessful actor who is struggling to find romance after a relationship falls apart. His loudmouthed best friend Trent (Vince Vaughn) attempts to help him regain his confidence, taking him from bar to bar in LA during the Nineties swing revival.

Big Game (2014) CHANNEL 4, 11.15PM ★★★

In Jaimari Helander’s action romp, Samuel L Jackson has his tongue firmly in cheek as a wimpy US president fighting for survival in the Nordic wilderness when disaster strikes on his Air Force aircraft. What ensues is a knowingly daft cavalcade of one-sided scraps, helicopter chases and Jackson taking a tumble down a mountain in a chest freezer. There’s some nice sweeping aerial shots of the snowy vistas, too.