The choice is stacked in Sunday's favour this week, with Also Rans including three former picks (*Seven Psychopaths 3.45 pm HBO, Snatch 1.30 pm HBOC, *Smashed 11.35 am Max), two chances to see an oddball Dennis Hopper Western you'll either love or hate (Kid Blue 10.15 am and 6.15 pm Enc3) and a bio of the probably most influential man in modern American music that is worth it for the music snippets alone (Listen Up: The Lives of Quincy Jones 7.50 am Max). There's also the only movie Sylvester Stallone was actually good in (First Blood 2.45 pm TCM–he wasn't acting in Rocky, just wearing boxing gloves; First Blood's two sequels follow immediately after but that's really too much Sly, even for Jennifer Flavin, his wife). The week offers two contenders for Best American Film of All Time (Cool Hand Luke 10 pm Wednesday TCM, *Unforgiven 8 pm Friday Enc3 BEST FILM OF THE WEEK) and the only part of the Wachowski siblings' sci-fi trilogy worth watching (The Matrix 10 pm Thursday TCM). If you're really on the ball, you'll see links between the choices below: sports; pride and prejudice; and the number 42.
Today's best film: 42 aka 42: The Jackie Robinson Story (Brian Helgeland/2013/ USA/Biography-Drama-Sport/128 mins/ Rated PG-13 for thematic elements, including language) 3.15 pm today HBOC. Watch this if you liked The Hurricane, Invictus or The Blind Side. Looking back from the age of an American president Americans would call black, it's hard to remember, sometimes, that the Civil Rights movement was in near-full swing a scant half-century ago.
This remarkable biography of Jackie Robinson, the man who broke the colour bar in US baseball, is a beautifully made reminder of how ugly the time was–and how strong the individual, Jackie Robinson, was, to stand alone against the baseball world. Poignant in parts, distressing to distraction in others, excellent throughout, this is as good as biography gets; even if the liberal might worry about a feel-good element threatening to creep in and pass itself off as pride.
Rest of the week: Pride (Sunu Gonera /2007/Germany-USA/Sports-Drama/104 mins/PG for thematic material, language including some racial epithets and violence) 9.15 pm Thursday HBOF. Watch this if you liked Coach Carter, Friday Night Lights or Dangerous Minds. Based on the true story of Jim Ellis, who coached a black swimming team to a measure of success in a white-dominated sport in 1973. The real strengths are Terrence Howard's performance and the magic of sport empowering the downtrodden.
The Sting (George Roy Hill/1973/USA/ Comedy-Crime/129 mins/Unrated but suitable for family viewing) 10 pm Friday Turner Classic Movies. Watch this if you liked Ocean's Eleven, Catch Me if You Can or Cool Hand Luke. Worth staying up late just for the ragtime soundtrack alone–Scott Joplin's The Entertainer is the theme–but the immaculate comic timing of the late Paul Newman and Robert Redford make this con-job flick as good today as it was 42 years ago. A perfect introduction to anyone wondering what a caper film is, and a leading contender for the best one ever shot. Top notch.
Best of the rest: Mon: The Master 7 pm Max; Tues: Fair Game 6.45 pm MaxW; Wed: *Seven Psychopaths 6 pm HBO; Thurs: Behind the Candleabra 9 pm HBO; Fri: Corpse Bride 4.30 pm HBOF; Sat: *Thelonious Monk: Straight, No Chaser 6 am MaxW.
Starred films have been chosen in the last three months. Scheduled Internet times often vary on the day, particularly around month-end.