FROM AWARD-WINNERS to a courtroom thriller, we’ve been sifting through the movie options available this week across free-to-air TV and streaming services. 

A comedy

Forgetting Sarah Marshall 

• Tonight, Sky 1, 9pm

One to watch after the kids have gone to bed, or without your parents. A showcase of pure US humour with an enjoyable cast, this comedy tells the age-old tale of how to rebound from a break-up. Russell Brand’s character is all the more fun for how close to the bone (sorry) it is.

A quirky movie

Grand Budapest Hotel

• Tuesday, Film 4, 9pm 

Unique, funny, dramatic, and Ralph Fiennes stars in it. What more do you want.

An Oscar-winning film

Spotlight 

• Friday night, BBC2, 11.20pm

It’s a gruelling watch, but a powerful story of a past that we are still fighting to remedy: the history of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church. A powerful portrayal of the victims of sexual abuse, of how such serious accusations are first received by a team of journalists, and of the terrifying realisation of the scale of the tragedy they had unearthed.

A thrilling drama

Presumed Innocent

• Saturday morning, RTÉ One. 12.15am

Movie poster Movie poster

This one is worth recording. Harrison Ford plays an attorney who becomes the chief suspect in the murder of his colleague – a woman with whom he was having an affair. Ford plays the part brilliantly, and the suspense created by Alan J Pakula, director of All the President’s Men, twists through every scene until the end. 

Streaming pick, and it’s a classic

Out Of Africa

• Netflix

A beautiful film featuring two of the greatest actors to grace the big screen: Robert Redford and Meryl Streep. Loosely based on an autobiography, it tells the story of a woman married to a horrible baron, who falls for the exciting, sensitive and dashing Redford in the sun soaked setting of Nairobi.

And finally … one to avoid 

Cowboys and Aliens

• Thursday, Film 4, 6.45pm 

The title alone would make you cynical enough about the film industry to never watch a movie again.