FILM hIGhLIGhTS
SUNDAY Rango (2011) Channel 4, 1pm Gore Verbinski’s animation, with the voices of Johnny Depp, Isla Fisher, Timothy Olyphant and Ned Beatty. Spoilt pet chameleon Rango is accidentally left stranded in the desert. He makes his way to a remote town that is occupied by all sorts of strange creatures. He manages to fumble his way into the position of sheriff, but ends up in serious danger when a band of outlaws arrive to take the town over. CaspeR (1995) ITV2, 4.10pm Family comedy, starring Bill Pullman, Christina Ricci, Cathy Moriarty and Eric Idle. Cruel socialite Carrigan is left her late father’s creepy mansion in his will. She soon discovers that there is a great treasure hidden somewhere inside, but there’s a catch — it is haunted by a gang of ghosts. She calls in paranormal expert Dr Harvey, who moves into the spooky abode with his teenage daughter Kat, who soon discovers that one of the spirits is much friendlier than the others. The LoRd of The Rings: The ReTuRn of The King (2003) ITV2, 6.10pm The concluding instalment of Peter Jackson’s masterful fantasy trilogy, starring Elijah Wood, Viggo Mortensen and Ian McKellen. The evil forces of Sauron march on Minas Tirith, and it is up to Aragorn to rally the troops of men against them. Meanwhile, Frodo and Sam get ever-closer to Mount Doom, but the sly Gollum has his own plan for how to eliminate them and claim the ring once again. Ripd (2013) Channel 4, 10.15pm Comedy action, starring Ryan Reynolds, Jeff Bridges, Mary-Louise Parker and Kevin Bacon. Top cop Nick gets killed in the line of duty, but is shocked to return as an undead spirit. He is assigned a role with a police force who patrols the deceased, and is teamed with a grizzled
veteran on a mission that sees him attempt to track down the man who had killed him. MONDAY WoRLd WaR Z (2013) Film4, 9pm Brad Pitt stars in Marc Forster’s horror action. A zombie pandemic breaks out across the globe, leading to absolute pandemonium. Now it is up to former government investigator Gerry Lane to travel across the planet on the hunt for a possible cure, but time is not on his side. ReseRvoiR dogs (1992) TG4, 9.30pm Quentin Tarantino’s sleek crime drama, starring Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, Michael Madsen
and Steve Buscemi. A gang of criminals are brought together to pull off what should be an easy heist. However, things go south and they are left fleeing from the law. As they start filtering back to their safe house one by one, they begin to suspect that one of them is an informant for the police, and they want to find out who. The ghosT WRiTeR (2010) ITV4, 10pm Roman Polanski’s drama, starring Ewan McGregor, Pierce Brosnan, Olivia Williams and Jon Bernthal. A ghost writer is hired to finish the memoirs of a former British Prime Minister. However, his work soon leads him to discover a number of earthshattering secrets that some people would rather stay buried, placing his life in danger. TUESDAY The seCond BesT exoTiC MaRigoLd hoTeL (2015) Film4, 6.35pm Light-hearted comedy, starring Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Bill Nighy and Dev Patel. Business is booming at Sonny’s hotel, and he wants to expand by opening a second location. However, all the work that goes into it soon distracts him from the important things in life, including the planning of his wedding. Celia Imrie and Richard Gere also star. se7en (1995) ITV4, 10.30pm David Fincher’s tense thriller, starring Morgan Freeman, Brad Pitt, Kevin Spacey and Gwyneth Paltrow. A weary veteran cop is teamed with a hot-headed younger partner for his final case — investigating a disturbing murder. They start piecing it together, discovering that it has ties to a series of deaths that are unfolding, in which the killer is using the Seven Deadly Sins as inspiration for the murders. WEDNESDAY a MosT WanTed Man (2014) Film4, 9pm Crime drama, starring Philip Seymour Hoffman, Rachel McAdams and Daniel Bruhl. Security agencies become aware of a tortured immigrant who illegally arrives in Hamburg, laying claim to his father’s fortune. It’s a race against time to figure out who this man is, and what his intentions really are. The fifTh esTaTe (2013) Channel 4, 1.30am Bill Condon’s drama, starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Daniel Bruhl, David Thewlis and Alicia Vikander. Techsavvy Julian Assange strikes up a partnership with Daniel Berg when he pitches him a unique idea — the creation of a platform that allows whistleblowers a place to come forward and share what they know, away from the fear of facing consequences. However, their work starts ruffling the feathers of some very powerful people. ThUrSDAY Love CoMes sofTLy (2003) TG4, 12.05am Romantic drama, with Katherine Heigl, Dale Midkiff and Corbin Bernsen. In the 1800s, a young woman who is looking to make a fresh start for herself and her partner is confronted with a tragedy when she becomes a widow. She finds herself moving in with a young man, a widower, and his daughter, and a bond develops between them. Me and eaRL and The dying giRL (2015) Channel 4, 12.15am Witty drama, starring Thomas Mann, RJ Cyler and Olivia Cooke. High-school student Greg doesn’t really have any friends, when his mother forces him to try and talk to Rachel, a girl he vaguely remembers from childhood, who now has leukaemia. Although neither of them are thrilled to begin with, they soon discover that they have more in common than they thought. Nick Offerman, Connie Britton and Molly Shannon also star. FrIDAY WaR of The WoRLds (2005) Virgin Media One, 9pm Steven Spielberg’s adaptation of HG Wells’s classic sci-fi, starring Tom Cruise, Dakota Fanning and Tim Robbins. Ray, a struggling father, is looking after his estranged kids when gigantic objects fall from the sky. It turns out that they are extraterrestrial crafts which look to take over the Earth. x-Men: fiRsT CLass (2011) E4, 9pm Matthew Vaughn’s comicbook action, starring James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence and Rose Byrne. Powerful mutants Charles Xavier and Erik Lensherr are on different paths, but find themselves pulled together in their pursuit of dangerous criminal Sebastian Shaw. They decide to assemble a team with remarkable abilities who will be able to help them take him down. The ConjuRing (2013) ITV2, 9pm James Wan’s horror, starring Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga (left). Paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren are called to a family home in Rhode Island after its residents experience strange goings-on. They discover that there are dark forces out to get the family, and it is up to them to find a way to stop the looming danger. MoRTdeCai (2015) RTE2, 9.45pm Comedy, starring Johnny Depp, Paul Bettany and Gwyneth Paltrow. A crafty art dealer learns of a stolen painting that reportedly leads to a longforgotten stash of gold. He sets off on a whirlwind tour to track it down, but discovers that he isn’t the only one looking for it. SATUrDAY TRansfoRMeRs: daRK of The Moon (2011) Channel 4, 7pm Sci-fi action sequel, starring Shia LaBeouf, Rosie HuntingtonWhiteley and Josh Duhamel. Sam Witwicky and his new girlfriend Carly help the Autobots on their mission to reach a Cybertronian spacecraft hidden on the Moon before the Decepticons find it and use it for evil purposes. inTeRsTeLLaR (2014) RTE2, 9.05pm Christopher Nolan’s epic sci-fi fantasy, starring Anne Hathaway and Matthew McConaughey. In the near-future, widowed engineer Joseph Cooper is recruited by NASA to join a team of astronauts to travel through a black hole in space to try and secure humanity’s survival. However, the mission does not go as planned.