7 films worth seeking out for the 7 days ahead

Saturday 1st RTE 2 @19.25

Raiders Of The Lost Ark. Magnificent piece of escapism as archaeologist Indiana Jones tries to find the Ark of the Covenant before the nazi's can use it for evil. Brilliant fun, hilarious, vicious, suspenseful and terrifying in places. Might be a bit too much for younger children though. Probably the nastiest PG film ever made. But nasty in a fun way!

Sunday 2nd Film4 @15.45

Tea With Mussolini. A lovely little film about a group of English women living in pre-war Florence soaking up the culture. Their idyllic life is soon disrupted when World War 2 takes hold of Europe. Its pretty slight stuff but carried by 3 powerhouses of acting, Judi Dench, Maggie Smith and Joan Plowright. Plus Florence just looks fantastic.

Monday 3rd TCM @17.20

Rio Bravo. A highly influential western starring John Wayne and Dean Martin as a sheriff and the town drunk who team up to take on the baddies. You'll recognise the story-line straight away but its so well done you won't care. Has been remade and homaged a number of times over the years but none of them hold up to the original. A super film with some great tunes courtesy of Dean Martin.

Tuesday 4th ITV4 @22.00

American Gangster. Denzel Washington is magnetic as Frank Lucas, the biggest heroin importer of the 60's and 70's in New York City. Russell Crowe is the cop who is tracking him down. A very underrated Ridley Scott drama with a great supporting cast included Chiwetel Ejiofor, Josh Brolin and Carla Gugino.

Wednesday 5th 3E @22.00

Blitz. Jason Statham versus Aiden Gillen. A different film for Statham, no martial arts, no epic gun battles, just a cop versus a serial killer. Violent but entertaining and worth watching just for Statham's explanation of hurling in the opening scene alone.

Thursday 6th Film4 @01.25

The Player. Robert Altman's cracking Hollywood satire about a young studio executive and a disgruntled script writer. Tim Robbins is at the top of his game in the main role. The supporting cast is insane, chock full of great little cameos. Plus the ending is hilarious.

Friday 7th Ch4 @01.45

Ek Tha Tiger. India's top spy travels to Ireland to observe and report on a scientist suspected of sharing information with Pakistan. Ok confession time, i haven't actually seen this but its a Bollywood action film partly set in Dublin so has to be worth a watch!