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A trifecta of the best films on DIRECTV

If it had either started a titch earlier or screened on a “real” movie channel, Danny Boyle’s terrific action zombie opus (…28 Days Later BEST FILM OF THE DAY, 10pm Film) would certainly have got the nod.

Today’s Number One Film:

Picture courtesy pinterest*Room, 3pm HBO. Watch this if you liked Still Alice, Cake or Short Term 12. Based on Irish writer Emma Donoghue’s work of fiction that, tragically, could easily be one of fact nowadays, Room is almost two separate films, quite different in tone, but powerfully connected by their subject-matter. If you’re lucky enough not to have heard anything about it, a lot of its force comes from discovering, in its opening portion, just what the film is about, so BC on TV will remain mum on plot. Brie Larson deservedly won the 2016 Best Lead Actress Oscar, BAFTA and Golden Globe. Though most websites classify Room as a straightforward drama, the often heart-racing excitement in the story is undeniable; one would hesitate to call it a “closet thriller”. An excellent film, though not for those seeking escape from life’s challenges, miseries or even just a rough day. (Lenny Abrahamson/ 2015/ USA/ Drama-Thriller/ 118 mins/ Rated R for language)

Also watch:

Picture courtesy shareThefilesBack to the Future Part I, 12.45 midday Fox Family. Watch this if you liked Peggy Sue Got Married, Pleasantville or Idiocracy. When you have a time machine made out of a De Lorean, you can’t deny the sci-fi classification of the film, but the real attraction is the retro-vision of the rock ‘n’ rollin’ USA of the 50s and 60s, when life was simple and good (if you happened to be a white Anglo-Saxon Protestant male). All three instalments are strong and can be watched independently and in any order, but I remains by far and away BC on TV’s favourite, for the freshness that persists 30 years on. A film so good, you almost wish you were American and had a prom to go to. Directed by Robert Zemeckis/ 1985/ USA/ Sci-fi-Comedy-Family/ 108 mins/ PG.

Picture courtesy Amazon.comFalling Down, 10am HBO Signature. Watch this if you liked Natural Born Killers, Out of Time or The Warriors. The poor psychologist’s Bad Lieutenant tells the story of a respectable businessman in LA snapping under the pressure of modern life and hitting back – at Korean shop owners, at young black thugs, at the non-alignment of hot dog sausages and hot dog buns, at everyone the polite WASP would never dare; this is the film NYC subway shooter Bernie Goetz would have made. It’s flawed, for sure, but it makes up with straightforward entertainment for most of what it loses in bigotry and remains hugely watchable throughout. Directed by Joel Schumacher/1993/ USA/ Crime-Drama-Thriller/ 113 mins/ R for violence and strong language.

JUST NOSED OUT:

**Bridge of Spies (Cold War Drama), 8.30pm CnCl; Fury (War), 1.25pm HBO2; The Brothers Grimsby (Stoner Comedy), 9.05pm MaxP; Man on the Moon (Bio-Comedy-Drama), 7pm Sund; Richard Linklater: Dream is Destiny (Documentary), 9pm Sund.

BEST Pay Per View BET: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.

ALSO RAN:

Action/Adventure: Speed, 6.15pm Film; Ant-Man (Superhero), 7.55am & 7pm HBO2.

Art House/Independent: **Whiplash (Drama-Music), 11.45am HBOP.

Biography: American Sniper, 10.15am & 11pm MaxP.

Children/Family: Stand by Me (Crime-Drama), 8.45am FoxClas.

Classic: St Elmo’s Fire (Young Adult Drama), 2.10pm TCM.

Comedy: About Last Night (Kevin Hart Rom-Com), 8.15am HBOP; Zoolander (Stoner Comedy), 2.15pm FoxCom.

Drama: A Late Quartet (Drama-Music), 12.15 midday FoxCin.

Documentary: Bright Lights: Starring Carrie Fisher & Debbie Reynolds, 9pm HBOF.

Horror: Orphan, 10pm HBOP.

Sci-fi-Fantasy: Deadpool (Superhero), 9pm FoxCom.

Thriller: **Surrogates (Action-Animated), 9.57am HBO2.

War: The Hunt for Red October (Cold War), 2.15pm FoxClas.

Western: 3.10 to Yuma (Christian Bale version), 10.17am HBOP.

*Starred films have been chosen in the last year. ** Double-starred films have been chosen in the last two months. Particularly strong Also Ran choices are bolded.

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