The Best Films On Freeview July 8th – July 14th

Here are my recommendations for the best films on Freeview July 8th through to July 14th.

Monday 8th July: Source Code (2011)

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Film 4, 9.00pm

Source Code, like The Adjustment Bureau released the same year, dallies with two of my favourite plot devices: multiverses and time travel. I love it. I can’t get enough. Sometimes I bugger about with the clocks in the house to try and see if I can tempt fate. Jake Gyllenhaal stars as Colter Stevens, a former military “runt” who is enlisted to work on a hush-hush government project wherein he is able to jump back repeatedly to a disastrous event 8 minutes before it happens. Tasked with figuring out how to stop it from happening, he switches between the real world and the “source code.” Question is, can he change what’s already happened? It’s brilliant.

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Tuesday 9th July: Alfie (1966)

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Film 4, 11.10pm

Before he was resigned to wiping Bruce Wayne’s bottom, Michael Caine was quite the chunk o’hunk himself. Jude Law came along and revamped it, but there was only one Alfie. The 1966 original pits Caine as a lothario who aims to seduce and beguile every woman within a five mile radius. He’s a bit of a selfish git, really, who ends up changing his behaviour as he realises there’s more to life than tending one’s own needs.

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Wednesday 10th July: Erin Brockovich (2000)

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5*, 9.00pm

The flick that bagged Julia Roberts the Best Actress Oscar, comes from the now-in-retirement Steven Soderbergh. Based on a true story, it tells the tale of real life do-gooder Brockovich, an unemployed single mother of three who takes on giant corporation PGE by enlisting the help of 634 plaintiffs all affected by the energy behemoth. Aaron Eckhart co-stars in the charming role of Brockovich’s biker boyfriend. A mainstream flick with its heart and head in exactly the right place.

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Thursday 11th July: Training Day (2001)

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ITV 4, 10.00pm

Denzel Washington rarely puts in a bad performance. In fact, I can’t think of one off the top of my head. Sure, he’s starred in a few stinkers but overall his presence guarantees a top notch film. Training Day is no exception, in which he stars as an LAPD narcotics detective who over the course of 24 hours trains up new recruit, Ethan Hawke. It’s gripping in that you’re never quite sure who you’re meant to be rooting for.

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Friday 12th July: The Game (1997)

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ITV 4, 9.00pm

What do you get the man who has everything? After a bouncy castle and a gold helicopter, it seems there’s only one option: The Game. Fight Club‘s David Fincher honed his skills in this blinder of a thriller which injects a ton of creepy moments into what could have been a by-the-numbers actioner. Michael Douglas plays a businessman who is given the ultimate present from his brother for his birthday: the opportunity to play a reality game. It’s similar in premise to Cronenberg’s eXistenZ, forcing you to ask the question: are we still in the game? It’s absolutely gripping stuff, and a reminder of Fincher’s eye for the details in the darkness. Watch it.

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Saturday 13th July: Aliens (1986)

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Film 4, 10.50pm

Much like Terminator 2, if you haven’t seen Aliens: then we’re probably not friends. Picking up where Alien left off (albeit 57 years later), Aliens throws us back into the world of the evil Weyland Corporation and Flight Officer Ellen Ripley, who we last saw floating in a hypersleep pod. This time around, there’s a whole planet of terraformers at risk from the nasty acid-blooded monsters, and a whole slew of Marines to help Ripley kick their butts. It’s never been surpassed throughout the rest of the franchise, and proves that James Cameron once filmed stuff that wasn’t in 3D. Or about the Titanic. Absolutely wonderful cinema.

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Sunday 30th June: Knocked Up (2007)

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ITV 2, 9.00pm

One of Judd Apatow’s first comedy successes, Knocked Up is admittedly a little long but still is a fantastic showcase for many of Hollywood’s better comedy actors. When a couple meet on a night out and engage in a one night stand dalliance, the repercussions of their impatience result in a pregnancy. Funnyman Seth Rogen delivers his loveable oaf routine, and Katherine Heigl tries her hardest to not come across as whiny. Watch out for Bridesmaids‘ Kristen Wiig in a scene-stealing role as one of Heigl’s bosses.

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