Your Movie Planner
SUNDAY
Dragonheart (1996) PG ● 1.55PM, CH4 Sean Connery is the voice of dragon Draco in this fantasy comedy, with Dennis Quaid as the slayer (above, with Draco) who forms a reluctant alliance with the scaly fire-breather.
Little Giants (1994) PG ● 2.15PM, RTé2 Rick Moranis stars in this family comedy as a man who has always lived in the shadow of his American football star brother (Ed O’Neill). Their rivalry intensifies when they both coach children’s teams.
Stand By Me (1986) 15 ◆ 4.55PM, CH5 River Phoenix, Wil Wheaton, Corey Feldman and Jerry O’Connell are the four intrepid young friends going on a weekend quest that they will never forget. Rob Reiner’s powerful, memorable coming-of-age tale is based on a story by Stephen King.
Sherlock Gnomes (2018) U n 5.15PM, ITV2 PREMIERE This follow-up to 2011 animated comedy Gnomeo & Juliet finds the couple (voiced by James McAvoy and Emily Blunt) assisting Sherlock, the great gnome detective (above). Together they follow a trail of clues to the Natural History Museum and beyond.
Wildfires (2006) PG ● 6PM, VIRGIN THREE An unusually hot summer is bad news for Yellowstone National Park as a huge blaze breaks out. Its up to a brave group of firefighters to rescue the tourists. Disaster movie, starring Richard Burgi.
Allied (2016) 15 ◆ 11.15PM, CH4 Wartime romantic thriller starring Brad Pitt and Marion Cotillard as covert agents who fall in love in Morocco. Back in Britain, married and with a young daughter, Marianne (Cotillard) is suspected of being a German spy.
MONDAY
Never Say Never Again (1983) PG ● 9PM, ITV4 Sean Connery makes a welcome return as 007 – and his suits are still a perfect fit. Kim Basinger and Barbara Carrera are Bond girls, Max von Sydow is Blofeld, and Rowan Atkinson pops up as a Foreign Office stooge.
Battleship (2012) 12 ◆ 9PM, 5STAR Loosely inspired by the board game, this sci-fi actioner replaces the simple tactics of the game with Transformers-style fire power. Taylor Kitsch and Rihanna (above) are among the shipmates of the US Navy battleships that engage with alien vessels in the Pacific.
Unstoppable (2004) 15 ◆ 9PM, SONY MOVIES This frantic and more than a little bonkers race-against-time actioner stars Wesley Snipes as a former CIA special ops agent. He must flee his own traumatic memories when injected with a truth serum.
Hanna (2011) 12 ◆ 9.30PM, TG4 Saoirse Ronan reunited with Atonement director Joe Wright for this action thriller. She plays the title character, a teenage girl who has been raised by her father (Eric Bana) to become a deadly assassin. When it’s time for her to set off on a mission, she’s followed by a CIA agent (Cate Blanchett) with a link to her past.
Life (2017) 15 ◆ 11.40PM, 5STAR A team of astronauts are targeted by a rapidly evolving alien life form in this sci-fi horror thriller. Ryan Reynolds (right), Jake Gyllenhaal and Rebecca Ferguson are among the weightless crew floating through an ordeal that is a grisly, but entertaining watch.
Mahanagar (1963) PG ● 1.15AM, FILM4 Film4 launches its Indian film season with this classic from Satyajit Ray. Set in Calcutta, in the 1950s, it follows a housewife who breaks from tradition when she gets a job. The season continues on Ch4 on Thursday, with the premiere of Thappad, at 2.10am.
TUESDAY
Ben-Hur (1959) PG ● 1.30PM, TCM William Wyler’s stupendous biblical epic stars Charlton Heston (above) as a Jewish prince who stands up to the might of Rome in a story that mirrors the life of Jesus. Essential viewing.
Night Train To Lisbon (2013) 12 ◆ 4.50PM, SONY MOVIES Jeremy Irons stars as an academic who, after an encounter with a woman contemplating suicide, abandons his duties and follows her to Lisbon for a philosophical journey of self-discovery. Adaptation of the 2004 novel by Swiss writer Pascal Mercier.
A View To A Kill (1985) PG ● 9PM, ITV4 Roger Moore’s final outing as 007 has Tanya Roberts as the traditional ‘good’ Bond girl, with Grace Jones as a ‘bad’ Bond girl (right) – something new for the franchise. Christopher Walken is the villain plotting to destroy Silicon Valley and take control of a computing revolution.
Starting Over (1979) 15 ◆ 11PM, TALKING PICTURES TV Burt Reynolds plays against type as the husband who, ditched by his adulterous wife (Candice Bergen), makes a fresh start and meets a new woman (Jill Clayburgh). Then, his wife comes back on the scene…
Rush Hour 2 (2001) 12 ◆ 11.45PM, ITV4 This sequel to the smash-hit martial arts movie starring Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker (above) reignites their zingy chemistry. The oddball detectives are on the trail of Triads in Hong Kong.
WEDNESDAY
Heaven Knows, Mr Allison (1957) PG ● 12.40PM, FILM4 Robert Mitchum’s gruff Marine and Deborah Kerr’s starchy nun make an unlikely but winning double act in John Huston’s exciting romantic adventure. Stranded on a Pacific island, the two are forced to hide at close quarters from occupying Japanese forces.
Jenny’s Wedding (2015) 12 ◆ 4.35PM, SONY MOVIES No stranger to romcoms, Katherine Heigl tries something a little different, playing a closeted lesbian who heads home to her conservative parents, with her girlfriend (Alexis Bledel). How long before the truth comes out?
The Darkest Minds (2018) 12 ◆ 9PM, FILM4 PREMIERE Youngadult dystopian scifi in which children and teenagers come under attack for having special gifts. The two per cent of youngsters who survive a deadly plague must fight for their freedom, uncertain whom to trust. Amandla Stenberg (above) stars.
Going In Style (2017) 12 ◆ 9.35PM, RTé ONE Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine and Alan Arkin team up for Zach Braff’s heist caper remake. Three lifelong friends discover they’ve been swindled out of their pension, so hatch a plan to steal it back.
Awake (2007) 15 ◆ 11.15PM, SONY MOVIES This far-fetched thriller plays out in the mind of its protagonist (Hayden Christensen, above with Jessica Alba) while he undergoes heart transplant surgery. There’s conspiracy, mad science and too many plot holes to plug.
Little Men (2016) PG ● 1AM, CH4 Absorbing, beautifully performed drama from writer-director Ira Sachs (Love Is Strange). It follows the friendship of two young boys (Theo Taplitz and Michael Barbieri) whose parents are fighting an increasingly bitter battle over money.