7 TV FILMS OF THE WEEK
1 THE GREAT WALL Tonight, Channel 4, 9pm
EVERY 60 years, hordes of flesh-hungry, green-blooded monsters called the Tao Tei rise to punish avaricious mankind. A secret military sect called the Nameless Order, led by General Shao (Zhang Hanyu) and brilliant strategist Wang (Andy Lau), exists solely to repel these hideous beasts from atop China’s Great Wall. Mercenaries William (Matt Damon) and Tovar (Pedro Pascal) stumble into the middle of this brutal conflict. The Great Wall is a special effects-heavy monster mash and glossy B-Movie, elevated to entertaining hokum. Damon’s accent is a wonder of the world in itself, ricocheting between Irish, English and gruff American from one scene to the next.
2 THELMA & LOUISE Tomorrow, Channel 5, 11.05pm
HOUSEWIFE Thelma and waitress Louise plan to leave their humdrum existences behind for a road trip. Unfortunately, the break turns out to be more life-changing than they could have imagined. Ridley Scott’s terrific drama puts an engaging, feminist spin on the buddy road movie. Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon, pictured, created iconic characters on screen.
3 PASSENGERS Tuesday, Film4, 9pm
THE Starship Avalon launches, loaded with 258 crew and 5,000 passengers in deep sleep, bound for Homestead II. A meteor shower causes a malfunction to the ship’s computer and Jim Preston (Chris Pratt) and journalist Aurora Dunn (Jennifer Lawrence), both pictured, wake 90 years prematurely. Passengers is a glossy meditation on solitude and self-sacrifice.
4 2012 Wednesday, 5*, 8pm
WHEN a scientist predicts that the world is about to face a global cataclysm with the potential to wipe out the human race, the US president joins forces with other heads of state to make plans for the catastrophe. The movie’s biggest attraction is the chance to see the world coming to an end. Actors John Cusack and Chiwetel Ejiofor, right, manage to stand out.
5 THE HISTORY BOYS Thursday, BBC4, 10.40pm
AN acclaimed adaptation of Alan Bennett’s award-winning play, The History Boys is a deeply moving lesson in schooldays nostalgia, centring on the tug of war between teachers and students at a grammar school in the mid-1980s. The boys include the likes of Dominic Cooper, James Corden, both pictured, and Russell Tovey.
6 GROUNDHOG DAY Friday, Sony Movies, 6.55pm
THE premise of this movie is a bit too close for comfort in the current pandemic. After getting caught in a snowdrift, cynical weatherman Phil Connors gets caught in a time loop, reliving the same day over and over. One of the best films of the 1990s, this is a heart-warming feel-good tale with a near-perfect turn from Bill Murray, pictured.
7 BAD NEIGHBOURS 2 Saturday, E4, 9pm
HAVING survived Teddy’s (Zac Efron) fraternity in the original film, Mac and Kelly Radner (Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne, pictured with Efron) struggle to sell their house when a debauched sorority moves in next door, so the couple find themselves turning to an unlikely source for help. Chloë Grace Moretz is deliciously evil as head bad girl Shelby.