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Screen watch: Your guide to the best TV movies to catch this week

From feelgood movies to action flicks, we have you covered. On terrestrial TV and streaming.

WITH MANY OF us spending far more time at home, we’re likely to be turning to the telly to provide us with a bit of escapism and entertainment.

But with so many options to choose from, it can be hard to decide what to watch. That’s why we’re here to help, with our new weekly TV movie roundup.

We’ve sifted through the options and brought you highlights across terrestrial TV and streaming services. 

From feelgood movies to action flicks, we have you covered. Something to watch remotely with pals? Family film? We have those too.

Family flick pick

  • A Dog’s Purpose, RTÉ Two, Saturday, 6.35pm

Universal Pictures / YouTube

This wholesome family flick is about a dog who is reincarnated several times and learns more about his life’s purpose each time. 

Streaming picks 

Signed up to a streaming service? Here are our picks for this week.

  • Netflix: I, Tonya

Movieclips Trailers / YouTube

Margot Robbie is truly great in this biopic about Tonya Harding and the 1994 attack on her figure skating rival, Nancy Kerrigan. Also stars Alison Janney as her very dislikable mother, and Sebastian Stan as her similarly dislikable husband Jeff Gilooly.

  • Mubi: Southland Tales

Movieclips Classic Trailers / YouTube

Richard Kelly’s follow-up to the fantastic Donnie Darko was highly anticipated… but critics have been divided by what emerged. The film is somewhat of a cult favourite now, so watch on Mubi and make up your own mind.

Watch with pals pick 

  • Netflix: Love, Wedding, Repeat (from 10 April)

Netflix / YouTube

If your pals are the kind to enjoy quaffing wine while watching a rom-com, then this remake of a 2012 film is for you. And sure it stars our own Aisling Bea. She’s among the many guests at a big wedding where very little goes to plan. Giving it a bit of a twist is that it has a Sliding Doors/Blind Chance twist to it, as there are three different ways the wedding celebrations could unfold.

Biopic pick

  • Song of Granite, TG4, Friday, 7.20pm 

Patrick O'Neill / YouTube

This highly-regarded, award-winning Irish film tells the story of Irish folk singer Joe Heaney, and his childhood in the West of Ireland.

Classic pick

  • Casablanca, RTÉ One, Easter Sunday, 2pm 

Movieclips Classic Trailers / YouTube

We’ll always have Paris… the Oscar-winning classic, starring Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman, about a couple reunited during WWII in Casablanca. It’s more than a romance though, it’s also about standing up for what you believe in.

Musical pick

  • Easter Parade, RTÉ One, Easter Sunday, 3.45pm

Movieclips Classic Trailers / YouTube

Judy Garland and Fred Astaire star in this 1948 musical about a pair of performers who team up and find themselves falling for each other. To add to the enjoyment, all the songs are by Irving Berlin.

Irish film pick 

  • War of the Buttons, RTÉ One, Saturday, 1.15pm

Video Detective / YouTube

This is a true Irish classic – a story about two rival gangs, the Ballys and the Carricks, and what they get up to. One bound to bring back lots of memories. 

And finally… the pick you should maybe avoid

  • The Promise, RTÉ 2, 11.15pm, Saturday

Movieclips Trailers / YouTube

A love story set in the time of the Armenian genocide, starring Oscar Isaac, Charlotte Le bon and Christian Bale. Critics say it tells a powerful tale, but is a bit sappy. Perhaps the story of such a horrific event didn’t need the love story to distract from what really went on.

What are you planning to watch this week? Let us know in the comments.

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