The week's best films

Saturday June 17

Thoroughly Modern Millie
(George Roy Hill, 1967)
12.30pm, ITV1

This thoroughly old-fashioned musical catches Julie Andrews still riding the crest of her Sound Of Music wave. Her Millie leaves provincial Kansas far behind to make it big in Charleston-era New York, running into James Fox's surprisingly effective song-and-dance man on the way. Trips along at a breathless pace.

Junior
(Ivan Reitman, 1994)
4.05pm, BBC1

DNA stands for Danny'n'Arnie in this variation on the genetic absurdities of Twins. Again directed by Reitman, Schwarzenegger is Dr Hesse, making himself pregnant with a state-of-the-science drug; DeVito his sorcerer's apprentice, Arbogast. He is, of course, a natural comedian, but Arnie shows a surprisingly deft comic touch, and an impressive willingness to get in touch with his - not always apparent - feminine side.

Six Days Seven Nights
(Ivan Reitman, 1998)
9.10pm, BBC1

Harrison Ford stars in light comedy mode as a drunken pilot who crashlands on a remote South Pacific island with Manhattan magazine editor Anne Heche. So far, so contrived; and while their respective partners (Jacqueline Obradors, David Schwimmer of Friends) find solace together, Reitman has the marooned pair dunked in a sub-Romancing The Stone adventure involving savage pirates.

Save The Last Dance
(Thomas Carter, 2001)
10.10pm, C4

When her mother dies, would-be ballerina Julia Stiles hangs up her shoes and moves out of suburbia to her jazz musician dad's downtown Chicago gaff. Soon she's learning to cope in a school where she's one of few white students, while her new friends Kerry Washington and Sean Patrick Thomas teach her all she needs to know about hip-hop. There's nothing new in the story, but the film makes a decent job of the race issue and the music and dancing are worth a look.

Bounce
(Don Roos, 2000)
10.40pm, BBC2

Don Roos follows up his clever, offbeat comedy The Opposite Of Sex with a more mainstream effort. Ben Affleck stars as a cocky ad executive who gives his plane ticket to an acquaintance at the airport so that he can dally with Natasha Henstridge; the plane crashes, killing all on board. Wallowing in guilt and booze, he seeks out the dead man's widow (Gwyneth Paltrow) and of course falls for her, but can he cast off his arrogant, womanising ways? Roos handles the contrived plot well, although Affleck's acting is no match for Paltrow's in their awkward relationship.

Consenting Adults
(Alan J Pakula, 1992)
11.10pm, Five

A convoluted and unlikely thriller that never quite allows the suspension of disbelief: also hard to believe it came from the director of Klute and The Parallax View. Even the effervescent Kevin Kline is lethargic, as a man accused of murder after being talked into wife-swapping by sneaky financial adviser Kevin Spacey. Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio plays Kline's wife, Rebecca Miller the victim.

The Whole Nine Yards
(Jonathan Lynn, 2000)
11.20pm, ITV1

Matthew Perry, aka Chandler of Friends, stars as a dentist in this enjoyably black comedy that's pumped full of laughing gas. His debt-ridden "Oz" Oseransky learns that new neighbour Jimmy Tudeski (Bruce Willis) is a mafia hitman in hiding, and grasses on him to collect the reward; meanwhile his embittered wife Sophie (Rosanna Arquette) thinks Jimmy might be just the killer she needs to get rid of Oz so she can collect the insurance money...

Sunday June 18

My Father, The Hero
(Steve Miner, 1994)
6.20pm, Five

Unusually, this remake of a French comedy - Mon Père, Ce Héros - has Gérard Depardieu reprising his role as the star of the original. He's the doting dad of teenie Nicole (Katherine Heigl) who, in order to impress a lad (Dalton James) at their Nassau resort, passes Gerard off as her sugar-daddy. Meanwhile, predatory Megan (Lauren Hutton) also keeps Papa busy. Depardieu makes it just about worthwhile.

The Long Kiss Goodnight
(Renny Harlin, 1997)
9pm, Five

Frenetic, action-packed and unbelievable thriller that works pretty well, despite coming from the team (director Harlin and star Geena Davis) that sank with all hands in the pirates fantasy Cutthroat Island. Much of the appeal is down to the offbeat pairing of Davis, an ordinary American mom who overcomes a memory block to rediscover her past life as government assassin, and Samuel L Jackson as a cheap gumshoe with an acute sense of humour. Patrick Malahide and Craig Bierko are the villains.

The Abyss
(James Cameron, 1989)
10.30pm, C4

This could be viewed as Cameron's exploratory voyage for his blockbuster, Titanic: both ocean-going adventures with heavy onboard affairs of the heart, and headed for the bottom of the sea. Ed Harris stars as Bud Brigman, who with estranged wife Lindsey (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio) and crew encounter strange beings while searching for a sunken sub. There's a furious clash with mad nuke 'em sailor Michael Biehn, but the domestic business sits uneasily with the multi-million dollar special effects.

Pulp
(Mike Hodges, 1972)
12.20am, BBC1

Hodges made this as something of an antidote to the brutality of his seminal British gangster film, Get Carter. Michael Caine, who played Carter, is again his star, playing a pulp fiction writer who finds life mirroring his art when the subject of the memoirs he is ghosting - a show-stopping cameo from Mickey Rooney - dies suddenly. His amateur detective work leads him into mob business in a well-written comedy thriller.

Monday June 19

Five Graves To Cairo
(Billy Wilder, 1943)
1.30pm, BBC2

A minor Wilder, this, though its skewed and cynical second world war plot is much in line with his more celebrated Stalag 17. It stars Franchot Tone as a British spy posing as a German at a hotel in enemy-held North Africa, trying to locate secret fuel supplies. Also holed up there is Erich von Stroheim's astonishing Rommel: a bravura performance if ever there was one, in a sly and highly entertaining drama.

Sailor Beware
(Gordon Parry, 1956)
1.30pm, C4

Peggy Mount, reprising her stage role as the mother-in-law from hell, supplies corset-like support for this otherwise ordinary farce. We're asked to accept her as mother of sweet Shirley Eaton - which requires a massive suspension of disbelief; Ronald Lewis is the able seaman so disabled by her despotic rule that he fails to turn up at the church on time.

Tuesday June 20

Love Me Or Leave Me
(Charles Vidor, 1955)
12.35pm, C4

Unusually tough biopic of 1920s singer Ruth Etting, focusing on her dangerous liaison with vicious hoodlum Gimp Snyder. Girl-next-door Doris Day and onetime grapefruit-in-the-mush James Cagney are a juicy pairing, with

Cameron Mitchell the (don't shoot me, I'm only the...) piano player she is drawn to. Includes fine performances of standards such as You Made Me Love You, Ten Cents A Dance, and I'll Never Stop Loving You.

The Seven Year Itch
(Billy Wilder, 1955)
1.40pm, BBC2

A lighter Wilder, with rubber-faced Tom Ewell as a married man tempted to stray when his wife goes on holiday and Marilyn Monroe moves in upstairs. Adapted from George Axelrod's play, it's not as urbane as it affects to be, but is still a polished comedy, containing the much-loved scene of Monroe hanging on to her flighty white skirts as she stands on the subway grating.

The Land Girls
(David Leland, 1997)
8pm, C4

Take three girls: fizzy northern lass Prue (Anna Friel); brainy graduate Ag (Rachel Weisz); and frightfully middle-class Stella (Catherine McCormack). Dump them on a Dorset farm as part of the Women's Land Army war effort, designed to boost agricultural production. Add handsome farmer's son Joe (Steven Mackintosh) to stir romantic interest. Then enjoy a hopelessly stereotyped, endlessly nostalgic, yet defiantly charming little rural drama about, more or less, nothing. Adapted by Leland from Angela Huth's novel.

Wednesday June 21

When Harry Met Sally
(Rob Reiner, 1989)
8pm, Five

Despite the screen's most celebrated orgasm - when Sally (Meg Ryan) demonstrates to Harry (Billy Crystal) in a busy cafe - there's an old-fashioned feel to Reiner's romantic comedy. It's sparky, funny and light of touch; so is the acting. Nice story too: the couple meet intermittently over 12 years, showing that it's possible for a man and woman to have a good platonic relationship. Then they shrug their shoulders and jump into bed. Carrie Fisher and Bruno Kirby play their best friends, equally unimpressed with each other.

Marked For Death
(Dwight H Little, 1990)
10pm, Five

Steven Seagal plays a weary narcotics agent whose plans for a peaceful retirement in Chicago are spoilt by a vicious gang of Jamaican drug dealers in this standard actioner. Their loopy leader, Screwface (Basil Wallace) dabbles in black magic, but that isn't going to protect him from a slap in the chops. A dopey movie.

Thursday June 22

The Iron Petticoat
(Ralph Thomas, 1956)
1.15pm, C4

This hugely enjoyable updating of the Greta Garbo vehicle Ninotchka stars a delightfully icy Katharine Hepburn as the humourless Russian Vinka Kovelenko, being wooed by Bob Hope's US military man Chuck Lockwood. A lovely contrast of comic styles - acidic Hepburn vs knockabout Hope - makes the most of a fizzy Ben Hecht script, all deftly handled by Brit director Ralph Thomas.

Perfect Friday
(Peter Hall, 1970)
12.45am, BBC1

This light and sexy caper movie is a quirky addition to the distinguished career of the RSC director. It stars Stanley Baker in a worm-that-turns role as a dull bank clerk who hatches a daring plan to rob his own bank, with sexy Ursula Andress and her languid aristocratic hubby David Warner for accomplices. Neat, efficient and stylish, with a cool, finger-clicking John Dankworth score.

Friday June 23

The Bedford Incident
(James B Harris, 1965)
1pm, C4

Ruthless US destroyer captain Richard Widmark chases a Russky sub across the arctic in deep cold war waters. His Ahab-like obsession is contrasted with Sidney Poitier's objective journalist, looking on aghast as fingers hover over the nuclear trigger.

Suddenly
(Lewis Allen, 1954)
12.35am, BBC2

Thoughtful thriller that cleverly casts Frank Sinatra as leader of a trio of assassins: a reservoir dog in the making if ever there was one. A mood piece, strong on character and motivation, with the tension slowly racked up as the trio hijack a family home and await the arrival of their target, the president. Sterling Hayden, James Gleason lend strong support.

The House That Dripped Blood
(Peter Duffell, 1970)
12.45am, BBC1

A quartet of creepy, sometimes-funny horror stories scripted by Robert "Psycho" Bloch and imaginatively directed by Peter Duffell. The action revolves around the denizens of an old, dark mansion where Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee are among those lurking in the shadows. But vying for star-turn are Ingrid Pitt's vampiress and the unsung Chloe Franks as an Omen-esque child of Satan.