MOVIE PLANNER

Le Mans (1971) PG ● 1PM, BBC2 HHH

Featuring actual footage recorded at the 1970 event, this drama stars Steve McQueen (above) as one of the participants in a fictional run of the famously gruelling 24-hour race in France. The smell of petrol, bravado and risk hangs heavy in the air. Bumblebee (2018) PG ● 4.30PM, CH4 HHHH

Enjoyable Transformers prequel, with more heart and humour than the ugly clamour of its big-brother films. The yellow Autobot of the title is stuck on Earth in 1987, where Hailee Steinfeld’s teenage outcast takes the wheel.

The NeverEnding Story

(1984) U ● 3.05PM, BBC1 HHH This fantasy adventure is pure child’s play. Barret Oliver is the bookish boy who becomes lost in a strange world, ruled by the Childlike Empress (Tami Stronach, above). When she is struck down by a mysterious illness, her kingdom is in desperate need of a hero.

The Bourne Supremacy

(2004) 12 ◆

9PM, RTé2 HHHH

Matt Damon returns for director Paul Greengrass’ gripping action adventure sequel. The assassin is trying to live in peace – until he’s framed for a CIA operation gone wrong. The Bling Ring (2013) 15 ◆

12.10AM, BBC1 HHH

A sleek satire of celebrity culture, starring Emma Watson and Taissa Farmiga as members of a group of female thieves who rob the homes of the Hollywood elite.

The Homesman

(2014) 15 ◆ 12.30AM, BBC2 HHHH Directed by Tommy Lee Jones, who also stars, this western follows Hilary Swank’s frontierswoman as she transports three troubled women to safety. Jones’s grumpy outlaw (above) joins her in a bleak but powerful Old West tale.

MONDAY Killer Best Friend (2018) PG ● 3.15PM, CH5 HH

PREMIERE Danger unfolds for young mum Katy and her family after she reconnects with an old high-school friend. The friend, and her boyfriend, have a devious plan – and hold Katy’s family hostage to get what they want. RoboCop (1987) 18 ▲ 9PM, ITV4 HHHH

A successful and brutally efficient sci-fi thriller starring Peter Weller as the cop casualty in a crime-ridden Detroit, who ● has to reboot his identity after a cyborg upgrade. Can his old partner (Nancy Allen, above, with Weller) be the human connection he needs? Final Score (2018) 15 ◆ 9PM, SKY ONE HHH

Crime thriller set and filmed at Upton Park, West Ham’s former home. Dave Bautista is the hero trying to save 35,000 fans from Russian bombers who are going to blow the stadium sky high if their demands are not met.

Tully (2018) 15 ◆ 9.30PM, TG4HHHH

PREMIERE Charlize Theron (left) is the frazzled mum who gets a hand with the demands of motherhood from a night nanny. An astute comedy drama from Jason Reitman

The Nice Guys

(2016) 15 ◆ 9PM, FILM4 HHHH Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling (right) have a lot of fun playing incompetent private investigators in this 1970sset crime comedy from Lethal Weapon’s Shane Black. Margaret Qualley (the daughter of Andie MacDowell) is the missing woman they need to find. Reprisal (2018) 15 ◆

9PM, SONY MOVIES HHH

PREMIERE When his bank is robbed and a security guard is shot and killed, the manager (Frank Grillo) goes after the heavily armed criminal gang responsible. His neighbour, an ex-cop (Bruce Willis), offers support as the carnage unfolds.

TUESDAY

My Man Godfrey (1936) U ● 3PM, FILM4 HHHH

Marvellous screwball comedy set in a Depression-era New York sharply divided by wealth and poverty. Carole Lombard is the society girl who meets her match – in wit and love – in the tramp (William Powell, above, with Lombard) she hires to be her butler. More Bitter Than Death: An Emma Fielding Mystery

(2019) PG

3.15PM, CH5 HHH

PREMIERE College archaeologist Emma (Courtney Thorne-Smith) teams up with FBI agent Jim Conner (James Tupper) to solve the murder of a colleague. There are plenty of suspects for Emma and Jim to sift through.

Waterworld

(1995) 12 ◆ 9PM, ITV4 HHH Kevin Costner (left) doesn’t have much to smile about in this dystopian sci-fi adventure, set in a watery world where the polar ice caps have melted. It’s lavish in scale, but the wishy-washy story lets it down. Mission: Impossible 2

(2000) 15 ◆

10PM, SKY ONE HHHH

Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt teams up with Thandie Newton’s thief to retrieve a deadly biological weapon from a rogue agent. This second instalment in the revived action franchise has plenty of breathtaking stunts. The Proposal (2009) 12

◆ 11.05PM, CH5 HHH

A high-flying New York book editor (Sandra Bullock) faces deportation to her native Canada, so her assistant (Ryan Reynolds, above, with Bullock) agrees to marry her. The two likeable stars keep this predictable romcom afloat.

WEDNESDAY Murder Most Likely (2019) PG

● 3.15PM, CH5 HHH

Two popular teenagers take pity on a fellow cheerleader who has been struggling since her father died in a fire – and has become a target for bullies after losing her hair in the tragedy. However, they don’t realise quite how troubled their new friend really is. Madison McLaughlin stars in the watchable madefor-TV thriller.

Geostorm (2017) 12 ◆ 9PM, 5STARHHH

Weather goes bad in this goofy sci-fi disaster movie. When satellites intended to prevent natural disasters malfunction, Jim Sturgess, Abbie Cornish (above) and Gerard Butler leap into action. The Untouchables (1987) 15

◆

10PM, ITV4 HHHH

Brian De Palma gets the balance just right with this cool, classy adaptation of Eliot Ness’s memoir, scripted by David Mamet. Kevin Costner (below, with Sean Connery) is Ness, the dogged federal agent setting out to bring down gangster Al Capone.

Legion (2010) 15 ◆

11.05PM, SONY MOVIES HHH

Paul Bettany (currently exploring the lighter side of superheroes in WandaVision on Disney+) stars in this enjoyably over-the-top apocalyptic fantasy. He plays an archangel who chops off his wings and tools up with submachine guns for an almighty battle. Southpaw (2015) 15 ◆ 12.05AM, CH4 HHHH Jake Gyllenhaal (right) stars as the professional boxer who claws his life back after tragedy leads to him hitting rock bottom. Rachel McAdams, Naomie Harris and Forest Whitaker costar in ringside support.

THURSDAY

Quartet (2012) 12 u 9PM, BBC4 HHH

Dustin Hoffman’s directorial debut stars a cast of British entertainment royalty – Billy Connolly and Tom Courtenay (above), plus Maggie Smith and Pauline Collins. It’s set in a home for retired musicians, where old rivalries and romances are reignited for one last curtain call. Jaws (1975) PG ●

9PM, ITV4 HHHHH

Steven Spielberg’s nightmarish examination of man versus nature has been oft-imitated, but never beaten. Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw and Richard Dreyfuss are the brave trio setting out to snare a great white shark, which has been snacking near the beach.

Bull (2019) 15 u 10PM, SKY

PREMIERE HHHH PREMIERE An accomplished debut from director Annie Silverstein, this drama charts the unlikely and not always easygoing – yet ultimately empowering – friendship between a rodeo rider (Rob Morgan, above) and a troubled teenage girl (newcomer Amber Havard).

Precious (2009) 15 u

1.10AM, SONY MOVIES HHHH

Hard-hitting and defiantly unsentimental, this is the story of a Harlem teenager (Gabourey Sidibe) who, despite being called Precious, has been dealt life’s cruellest cards. Watch out for a surprisingly dowdy Mariah Carey, playing Precious’s social worker. American Hustle

(2013) 15 u 1.15AM, FILM4 HHHH With impressive late1970s period detail – especially the clothing and hairstyling – this black crime comedy stars Amy Adams and Christian Bale as two con artists planning the scam to end all scams. Jennifer Lawrence (above) and Bradley Cooper also star.

FRIDAY

Birds Of Prey (2020) 15 u

8PM, SKY PREMIERE HHHH

PREMIERE And The Fantabulous Emancipation Of One Harley Quinn, to give it its full title. Here’s a DC Comics spin-off with a hugely enjoyable performance from Margot Robbie (below) as its glitter-fuelled driving force. She’s Harley Quinn, a woman hellbent on being more than just the Joker’s ex. The Mummy (2017) 15 u 9PM, ITV2 HHH

Tom Cruise heads out on a Mission: Impossible with monsters. Sofia Boutella is the spooky Egyptian princess taking a shine to our Tom, a soldier she brings back from the dead. Loving (2016) 12 u 9.35PM, RTé2 HHHH

Joel Edgerton and an Oscar-nominated Ruth Negga (right) star in this acclaimed drama, which is based on a true story. It follows Richard and Mildred Loving, an interracial couple who find themselves in a legal battle.

Cat Ballou (1965) PG ● 9.35PM, TG4 HHHH

A teacher turns to a drunken gunslinger to help her avenge her father’s death in this comedy musical Western. Jane Fonda is on fine form in the title role, but it’s a scene-stealing Lee Marvin who won the Oscar. Nightcrawler (2014) 15 u

11.20PM, BBC2 HHHH

Jake Gyllenhaal stars as Lou Bloom, the oily, detached antihero of this gritty and compelling satirical thriller. One dark night, Lou stumbles into his ideal profession. As a freelance crime cameraman, he stalks the streets for footage of violence and death. Shakespeare In Love

(1998) 15 u

12.05AM, BBC1 HHHH

Or how the Bard found his mojo. Joseph Fiennes is the scribe who is struggling to pen a hit – Romeo And Ethel, anyone? Oscar-winner Gwyneth Paltrow (above) co-stars as the woman who inspires him.

SATURDAY

Journey 2: The Mysterious Island (2012) PG ● 7.05PM, RTé ONE HHH Stars Dwayne Johnson (above), Michael Caine and Josh Hutcherson add value to this fun – if routine – family-friendly fantasy adventure sequel. The Lone Ranger (2013) (12) u

9PM, BBC2 HHH

A lawyer left for dead joins forces with a mysterious Native American fugitive to bring his brother’s killer to justice. Western, starring Armie Hammer and Johnny Depp. Inception (2010) 12 u 9.50PM, RTE2 HHHHH

Batman maestro Christopher Nolan’s follow-up to The Dark Knight is this mindbending and visually stunning sci-fi thriller with Leonardo DiCaprio (above) as a hi-tech thief who steals ideas from people’s dreams. Horrible Bosses (2011) (15) u 10.50PM, UTV HHH

Three unhappy employees hate their bosses but cannot afford to quit their jobs – so decide to resort to murder. Comedy, starring Jason Bateman and Jennifer Aniston (below). The Place Beyond The Pines (2012) 15 u 12.25AM, BBC1 HHHH

Ryan Gosling does what he does best – broods – in another antihero role, here playing a motorcycle stunt rider who is drawn into a life of crime. Bradley Cooper also stars.