THE WEEK’S BEST FILMS

SATURDAY White House Down (2013) (Channel 5, 10.10pm) Meadowland (2015) (Sony Movie Channel, 11.25pm)

Above: Miracle on 34th Street with Richard Attenborough

John Cale (Channing Tatum) is an ex-soldier who is assigned to protect Speaker of the House Eli Raphelson (Richard Jenkins), when he would much rather be part of the Secret Service detail guarding President James Sawyer (Jamie Foxx). An interview for promotion goes badly and John licks his wounds by joining his daughter Emily (Joey King) on a guided tour of the White House, just as a heavily armed paramilitary group led by Emil Stenz (Jason Clarke) prepares to take control of the building. With the president’s life in the balance, John gets a chance to prove himself after all. This action thriller was rather overshadowed by the similar Olympus Has Fallen, but it’s a lot more fun.

Teacher Sarah (Olivia Wilde) and cop Phil (Luke Wilson) are on a road trip when they pull over at a garage to buy snacks and let their young son use the bathroom, only for the boy to disappear without a trace. A year on, the couple are mired in grief as Sarah becomes obsessed with a bullied student, who has Asperger’s and is seemingly mistreated by his foster mother. Meanwhile Phil attends a support group where he meets a man (John Leguizamo) with his own dark story to tell. The script is sometimes a little heavy-handed but this is still a moving depiction of grief with strong performances from Wilde and Wilson.

SUNDAY Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) (Channel 5, 9pm)

The fourth instalment of George Miller’s post-apocalyptic franchise delivers thrillingly choreographed sequences of carmageddon, which build to a jaw-dropping finale. Imperator Furiosa (Charlize Theron) is the enigmatic driver of a mighty 18-wheeler mobile war rig belonging to Immortan Joe (Hugh Keays-Byrne), the leader of the Citadel. The despot has enslaved five women to provide him with a viable male heir. Furiosa kidnaps the women and flees across the Wasteland with Immortan Joe and his army in hot pursuit. Among the chasing horde is shaven-headed, tattooed acolyte Nux (Nicholas Hoult), whose poisoned blood is replenished by a living donor, Max Rockatansky (Tom Hardy), strapped to the front of his hot rod. During the chase, Max breaks free from Nux and begrudgingly helps Furiosa.

Changeling (2008) (ITV3, 11pm)

Angelina Jolie delivers a tour-de-force portrayal of a crusading mother in Clint Eastwood’s harrowing drama. Based on a shocking true story, Changeling centres on single mother Christine Collins (Jolie), who arrives home one day to find her son Walter (Gattlin Griffith) has disappeared without trace. After months of fearing the worst, Captain JJ Jones (Jeffrey Donovan) of the LAPD claims to have found Walter. Unfortunately it’s a case of mistaken identity but in order to avoid a media maelstrom Jones forces Christine to lie. Jolie is sensational as a woman on the verge of a nervous breakdown, who screams and shouts for justice, fearful she might not get the answers she craves.