TV FILMS of the week
1
TERMINATOR 2: JUDGMENT DAY Tonight, ITV, 10.35pm
Having destroyed a cyborg assassin sent to kill her, and had a child with the late soldier sent to protect her, Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton) is now locked up in a psychiatric institute. She is broken out by her son John (Edward Furlong) and a reprogrammed Terminator (Arnold Schwarzenegger), but a liquid metal killer (Robert Patrick) is out to murder them all. James Cameron’s movie still looks amazing after 30 years. The stunts, editing and score are top-notch, Hamilton deserves full marks for such a committed performance and Schwarzenegger is as effective a good guy as he was an implacable villain.
2
HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA 2 Tomorrow, ITV, 4pm
Vampire Mavis (voiced by Selena Gomez) weds her mortal beau Jonathan (Andy Samberg) and falls pregnant. They have a son, Dennis (Asher Blinkoff), and consider moving to California, but Mavis’ father Dracula (Adam Sandler), pictured with the family, believes that any heir to the bloodline should be raised in Transylvania.
3
DIE HARD WITH A VENGEANCE Monday, Channel 5, 11.05pm
In this action sequel, loose-cannon cop John McClane (Bruce Willis, left) returns to duty following an explosion at a New York City department store. The perpetrator contacts the police and tells them that unless McClane and a bystander, carry out a series of instructions, more bombs will be detonated across the city.
4
THE GHOST AND MRS MUIR Tuesday, Talking Pictures TV, 3.55pm
In this witty fantasy, an independent young widow (Gene Tierney, left) hopes to escape her uptight in-laws by moving into a seaside cottage. Her new home has a sitting tenant however – the ghost of a deceased sea captain (Rex Harrison). He tries to scare her away, but then comes up with a plan and asks her to write his memoirs.
5
THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH Wednesday, ITV4, 8pm
James Bond (Pierce Brosnan, left) is assigned to protect Elektra King (Sophie Marceau), the daughter of a murdered oil tycoon who inherited her father’s fortune, and rights to $6tn worth of oil deposits. As Turkey, Russia and Iran each try to get their hands on her assets, Bond finds himself trying to stop all-out war and save the world.
6
TOP HAT Thursday, BBC4, 9pm
Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers’ fourth film together is their best, thanks to a frothy script and iconic dance scenes. Dancer Jerry Travers (Astaire) meets model Dale Tremont (Rogers) in a London hotel. For him, it’s love at first sight,but a case of mistaken identity leads her to believe that Jerry is her best friend’s husband.
7
BEAUTIFUL BOY Friday, BBC1, 11.45pm
Magazine writer David Sheff (Steve Carell), suspects his son Nic (Timothee Chalamet, left with Carell) is in the grip of drug addiction and persuades his boy to attend Ohlhoff Recovery Centre. When the teenager goes AWOL, David applies his journalistic mind to learning everything about drugs and their treatment.