Film choice

The Black Swan (1942) FILM4, 2.35PM ★★★

No, this is not the film about the ageing ballet dancer and the young ingénue; this is about high adventure on the seven seas. When Laird Cregar’s Captain Morgan becomes Governor of Jamaica, he promises to put an end to piracy. But things don’t go smoothly, especially when his assistant (Tyrone Power) kidnaps the ex-governor’s beautiful daughter (Maureen O’hara). This was the final film of silent star Helene Costello.

Mamma Mia! (2008) ITV3, 7.50PM ★★★

This musical comedy, directed by Phyllida Lloyd and set to Abba’s hits, is pure escapism. It’s naff, but that’s its selling point, as stars Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan and Julie Walters place tongues firmly in cheeks.

At 59, Streep deserved more credit for doing the splits than for her role as a boho mother living on a Greek island whose daughter (Amanda Seyfried) tries to find out who her biological father is.

Blood Diamond (2006) SKY CINEMA GREATS, 8.00PM ★★★

The diamond industry of Sierra Leone is the subject of this striking thriller. Djimon Hounsou stars as a fisherman forced to work in the fields, who finds and hides a rare pink gem. His life is changed when he meets Leonardo Dicaprio’s self-serving mercenary and Jennifer Connelly’s well-meaning journalist. Dicaprio was Oscar-nominated, but lost to Forest Whitaker for The Last King of Scotland.