TV FILMS of the week
1 THE BOY WHO HARNESSED THE WIND Tonight, BBC2, 10pm
Actor Chiwetel Ejiofor makes his feature film directorial debut with an inspirational story based on the uplifting memoir by William Kamkwamba. Trywell Kamkwamba (Ejiofor) is a farmer in Malawi, who is struggling to provide for his wife Agnes (Aissa Maiga) and intelligent 13-year-old son William (Maxwell Simba, pictured with Ejiofor). Their village has been ravished by famine and landowners exploit the desperate times by offering families pitiful amounts for their homes to escape the poverty and hunger. William reads one of his books, Using Energy, and makes a startling realisation. He designs and constructs a wind turbine, which should generate enough electricity to power his village and irrigate the parched land.
2 MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS Tomorrow, Film4, 9pm
In this reimagining of the Agatha Christie novel, moustachioed sleuth Hercule Poirot (Kenneth Branagh, left) finds himself on the Orient Express in a cabin next to slippery gangster Samuel Ratchett (Johnny Depp), who offers to pay the Belgian to ensure his safety. The detective declines, but then a murderer strikes.
3 SCREAM Tuesday, 5STAR, 11.05pm
Assorted high-school students are systematically stalked and murdered by a masked figure in this horror comedy. What gives it a twist is that both the killer and the prey are well-versed in horror movie clichés. Meanwhile, one of the teenagers (Neve Campbell, left) notices a link between the deaths and her mother’s murder one year earlier.
4 THE TERMINATOR Wednesday, 5STAR, 9pm
Arnold Schwarzenegger (left) stars as a violent cyborg who is sent from the future to kill waitress Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton), the woman destined to give birth to the saviour of the human race in the future. Fortunately, a brave soldier (Michael Biehn) is also sent back in time to protect her. A sci-fi classic.
5 JACK RYAN: SHADOW RECRUIT Thursday, Film4, 9pm
Kenneth Branagh directs the fifth movie in the Jack Ryan franchise. Chris Pine follows in the footsteps of Alec Baldwin, Harrison Ford and Ben Affleck as the CIA analyst who uncovers a Russian plot to crash the US economy. Branagh plays the sinister Viktor Cherevin, with Keira Knightley and Kevin Costner among the supporting cast.
6 LA LA LAND Friday, BBC1, 11.35pm
In this love letter to the golden age of Hollywood musicals, aspiring actress Mia (Emma Stone) crosses paths with pianist Sebastian (Ryan Gosling, pictured with Stone). At a party in the Hollywood hills they share their hopes. But can they follow their dreams and keep their artistic integrity without sacrificing their relationship?
7 SAFE HOUSE Saturday, ITV, 10.15pm
A newbie CIA agent (Ryan Reynolds) is forced to go on the run with rogue operative-turnedfugitive Tobin Frost (Denzel Washington, left) when their safe house is attacked. The pair must figure out who put the target on their back before it’s too late. Washington is on top form as the antihero in this taut action thriller.