PICK OF TV MOVIES

SATURDAY

The Shop Around the Corner (1940) (BBC2, 2pm)

Wonderful romantic comedy featuring touching performances from James Stewart and Margaret Sullavan. They play colleagues at a Budapest leathergoods store who can’t stand the sight of each other. What they don’t realise is that they’ve been pen pals for years, forming a close relationship via the written word - something that leaves both of them shocked when the truth comes out. Directed with style by Ernst Lubitsch, the film also features Frank Morgan, a year on from his starring role as the titular character in The Wizard of Oz, Felix Bressart and Sara Haden. If you think the plot sounds familiar, it’s because it was rehashed and updated for You’ve Got Mail, starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan, in 1998.

Book Club (2018) (C4, 10.20pm)

Best friends Diane (Diane Keaton), Vivian (Jane Fonda), Sharon (Candice Bergen) and Carol (Mary Steenburgen) merrily reunite each month over glasses of chilled white wine to discuss a book chosen by one member of the coterie. Hotel manager Vivian elects to introduce her shocked pals to Christian Grey’s notorious Red Room in EL James’s erotic thriller Fifty Shades of Grey. It inspires them in different ways, as doting wife Carol tries to invigorate her marriage, while Sharon is persuaded to sign up to an internet dating site. Vivian has a chance encounter with old flame Arthur (Don Johnson) and recently widowed Diane is swept off her feet by airline captain Mitchell (Andy Garcia). The leading ladies are luminous, and they enliven a plodding script, injecting vim into the scenes of sisterly solidarity.

SUNDAY

Three Men and a Little Lady (1990) (STV, 12.25pm)

By-the-numbers comedy which should be dreadful but, in a sickly-sweet way, turns out to equal the blockbusting original, Three Men and a Baby, thanks to the likeability of the charismatic leads. Tom Selleck, Ted Danson and Steve Guttenberg return as the dashing surrogate fathers, out to stop mother Nancy Travis marrying aristocratic rotter Christopher Cazenove and moving to England with lovable tyke Robin Weisman. All the British characters are cliches, naturally, but as instantly forgettable entertainment it’s harmless enough. The group Boy Meets Girl had a hit with the end theme, Waiting For a Star to Fall. Fiona Shaw and Sheila Hancock also appear, while the stunning UK locations include Broughton Castle in Oxfordshire.

First Knight (1995) (C4, 2.30pm)

Forget the blood and gore of John Boorman’s Excalibur. This is a more palatable romantic drama inspired by the Arthurian legend. It focuses on the dilemma faced by Lady Guinevere - should she stay with kind King Arthur who can protect her people from an evil renegade knight, or run away with dashing Sir Lancelot? Seeing as the monarch is played by Sean Connery, for some the choice would be straightforward. However, Richard Gere turns on the charm as the man who may steal her heart. Julia Ormond makes a radiant Guinevere, while the supporting cast also includes Ben Cross and John Gielgud, while the direction is by Jerry Zucker of Airplane! and Ghost fame.

Time Without Pity (1957) (Talking Pictures TV, 6pm)

When director Joseph Losey was banished during the McCarthy era, Hollywood’s loss was very much the British film industry’s gain. He went on to make several memorable movies in the UK, including The Servant and Accident.

Time Without Pity doesn’t have as high a profile, but it’s still rather special. Michael Redgrave heads the cast as David Graham, a recovering alcoholic who returns to Britain in a desperate bid to save his son Alec from the gallows - the younger man has been found guilty of his girlfriend’s murder. With just one day to find the evidence that will clear Alec’s name, David embarks on his quest, one that will push his resolve to stay sober to its limit. Peter Cushing, Alec McCowen and Ann Todd also appear.

MONDAY

The Commuter (2018) (C5, 11.05pm)

Former NYPD detective Michael McCauley (Liam Neeson) heads home on New York City’s busy Metro-North Railroad. An enigmatic woman called Joanna (Vera Farmiga) slinks into the opposite seat and strikes up a cryptic conversation.

She intimates there is a brown paper bag containing $25,000 hidden in one of the toilets and Michael can earn a further $75,000 if he agrees to find a passenger called Prynne, who is travelling to Cold Spring station in Zone 7. Curiosity piqued, Michael takes the cash then hesitates when he consults his rusty moral compass. The Commuter is a high-octane action thriller, which orchestrates a preposterous high-stakes game of hide and seek aboard an evening rush-hour train.

TUESDAY

Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017) (Film4, 6.45pm)

More than 20 years after the fantasy adventure Jumanji starring Robin Williams, Jake Kasdan directed this action-packed instalment, which pays affectionate tribute to the late actor while updating the narrative to the digital realm. Computer gaming nerd Spencer Gilpin (Alex Wolff) is forced to serve detention

alongside three fellow students: football jock Anthony Johnson (Ser’Darius Blain), cheerleader Bethany Walker (Madison Iseman) and painfully shy bookworm Martha Kaply (Morgan Turner). As part of their punishment, the teenagers clean out the school’s dusty basement, where they find an old Jumanji video game. Without warning, the teens are sucked into the game where they take on the guise of four heroic avatars played by Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Jack Black and Karen Gillan. The film is followed at 9pm by its sequel, Jumanji: The Next Level.

In the Line of Fire (1993) (GREAT! movies, 9pm)

Bodyguard Frank Horrigan is still haunted by his failure to save JFK from an assassin’s bullet. Thirty years later, a psychopath torments Frank, telling him he’s going to kill the US President, and wants the ageing agent to try to foil his plan. Nobody takes heed of Frank’s concerns increasingly until disaster looks set to strike in Dallas. Following the massive success of his Oscar-winning Unforgiven, Clint Eastwood decided to take a break from directing and accepted the lead role in this gripping thriller, which could have been written specifically for him. This is one of Clint’s most exciting projects and the man who usually plays mean and moody characters adds a rare degree of warmth to his role. Rene Russo, John Malkovich and Dylan McDermott co-star.

WEDNESDAY

Cape Fear (1991) (BBC1, 12.40am)

Brutal rapist Max Cady (Robert De Niro) is released from jail following a long stretch and immediately hunts down the man he blames for his incarceration - his lawyer Sam Bowden (Nick Nolte), who was so horrified by Cady’s crimes, he failed to mount much of a defence. What takes place next is a nasty game of cat-and-mouse in which Cady becomes unhinged as he plots his revenge on Bowden and his family.

Many movie buffs still prefer the original 1962 film, which took a more restrained approach to the plot and starred Gregory Peck and Robert Mitchum (who both have cameo roles here). However, judged on its own merits, Martin Scorsese’s remake is a stylish thriller with a terrifying performance from De Niro and an eye-catching one from an Oscar-nominated Juliette Lewis as Bowden’s teenage daughter.

THURSDAY

The History Boys (2006) (BBC4, 10pm)

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 headmaster (Clive Merrison) is focusing his attention on ushering his brightest boys into the esteemed halls of Oxford and Cambridge. He enlists the services of eccentric English teacher Hector (Richard Griffiths), but he also drafts in impassioned twentysomething supply teacher Irwin (Stephen Campbell Moore). The boys - who include Dominic Cooper, Russell Tovey and James Corden - find their allegiances torn between inspirational and unconventional Hector, and newcomer Irwin, who favours flashy presentation over rigorous scholarship.

Hellboy (2004) (ITV4, 10.05pm)

Demon Hellboy (Ron Perlman), raised by the Nazis in the final days of the Second World War but weaned from the dark side by paranormal expert John Hurt, joins a team fighting present-day fascist sorcery. Aided by a motley bunch of misfits, the hero has to juggle the demands of his role with his attempts to woo fragile friend Liz (Selma Blair), a conflict of interests that only adds fuel to his fiery temper. Acclaimed director Guillermo del Toro manages to remain fairly faithful to the comic-book while firmly attaching his own signature to the film, and strikes a careful balance between effects-laden action and character-driven scenes.

FRIDAY

Step Brothers (2008) (C4, 11.05pm)

Brennan (Will Ferrell) is 40 going on 14. He still lives at home with his mother

Nancy (Mary Steenburgen) and openly nurtures resentment towards his boorish younger brother Derek (Adam Scott), who has a career, a family and a home of his own. During a medical convention, Nancy meets Robert (Richard Jenkins), who has his own adult son at home - Dale (John C Reilly) - and the lonely parents embark on a whirlwind romance. Wedding bells peal and Nancy moves in with her new husband with disgruntled Brennan in tow. Step-sibling resentment quickly boils over, but Dale and Brennan unexpectedly discover common ground: favourite dinosaurs and their shared hatred of Derek. The humour won’t be to everyone’s tastes, but the rapport between Ferrell and Reilly powers the film.

Man Up (2015) (BBC1, 12.10am)

On a train to London, 30-something singleton Nancy (Lake Bell) bumps into a girl called Jessica (Ophelia Lovibond), who is meeting a blind date under the clock at Waterloo station. The nervous lovebirds will recognise each other by holding copies of a bestselling self-help book entitled Six Billion People and You. When the train pulls into the station, Nancy discovers Jessica has left her book behind so she gives chase and crosses paths with the blind date, Jack (Simon Pegg). On the spur of the moment, Nancy decides to pose as Jessica and see where the meeting leads. Surprisingly, she gets on well with Jack but there are skeletons in both of their closets... Man Up is a sweet, funny and charming romantic comedy of boy-meetswrong-girl-but-doesn’t-realise-it, filmed on location in London.