7 films for the week ahead. A great lineup of older classics this time around.

7/1 TG4 @22.05

Goodfellas. Probably my favourite film of all time. Martin Scorsese's story of a man's involvement with the New York mafia over 30 years. Cinema at its finest, exhilarating, hilarious, brutal and magnificent. You'll laugh one minute and cover your face in horror the next. Ray Liotta, Robert De Niro and Lorraine Bracco are amazing in this but it's Joe Pesci's film. He owns it. I'm so jealous if you've never seen this. You are in for such a treat.

8/1 TG4 @12.55

A Streetcar Named Desire. The story of an upper class southern woman who leaves all the trappings of wealth behind to move to New Orleans. This is a troubling, intense, claustrophobic film and a classic in every sense of the word with a cast to die for. It introduced the world to Marlon Brando as Stanley but the film belongs to Vivien Leigh as Blanche Dubois. Lunchtime is a strange time to be showing this.

9/1 TG4 @21.30

Mr Turner. You can't go wrong with a Mike Leigh film. And his biopic of the painter JMW Turner is a cracker. It details his work and loves over the course of the last 25 years of his life.Timothy Spall is superb as the titular character. Spall is always superb. 90 minutes of him reading The Limerick Leader would be worth a watch. 

10/1 Film4 @14.55

The Blue Dahlia. A gripping bit of film noir from the pen of the master himself, Raymond Chandler. A pilot, just back from war and looking for a bit of peace finds himself accused of murdering his wife who he found out was having an affair. It's a bleak film though not as gritty and dark as the best of the genre but well worth a watch to see Alan Ladd & the beautiful Veronica Lake in action.

11/1 More4 @11.15

Stalag 17. American P.O.W.'s in a german war camp keep having their escape plans scuppered and one man finds himself being blamed for the leak. Sounds like an odd proposition for a comedy drama but director Billy Wilder makes it work. A very entertaining film filled with darkish laughs and a top notch performance from William Holden as the accused man holds it all together perfectly.

12/1 TCM 19.00

The Maltese Falcon. One of the all time great crime films. A twisty turny tale of a detective searching for a priceless statue. Full of mystery, intrigue, great hard boiled dialogue and done to perfection by a great cast including Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor, Walter Huston & especially Peter Lorre. Yes its dated but that's all part of the fun of films like this. It's a bit of cinematic history and deserves to be watched.

13/1 Film4 @15.50

Ice Cold In Alex.  A very entertaining story of a British medical unit trying to get to Alexandria during WW2 with only a massive desert blocking their way. Its a lovely looking film packed with memorable characters and funny/tense moments. John Mills leads a cast of recognisable English actors and the finale will leave you dying for a tall cold pint of lager. Record this for a rainy sunday afternoon.