A very underrated sci-fi is among the movies on TV tonight

Stephen Porzio

Executive produced by Guillermo del Toro, the movie stars two Oscar winners.

One of this year’s best horror movies is now available to stream in Ireland. However, if that is not for you, here are the films airing on TV this Saturday night.

White House Down – Film4 – 9pm

Channing Tatum and Jamie Foxx headline this White House-set action flick that is arguably better than the similarly premised Olympus Has Fallen which came out the same year.

Funny People – Comedy Central – 9pm

Adam Sandler gives one of his best performances as a famous comedian and movie star who is diagnosed with a terminal disease in this black comedy-drama from writer-director Judd Apatow (Knocked Up, The 40-Year-Old Virgin).

Gold – AMC UK – 9pm

Matthew McConaughey stars in this decent 2016 movie as prospector who hunts for gold in Indonesia.

Red Rock West – Legend – 9pm

With a Rotten Tomatoes score of 97%, this ’90s noir starring Nicolas Cage as a drifter mistaken for a hitman is one of the actor’s best reviewed movies.

Shut In – HorrorXtra – 9pm

On the other hand, Naomi Watts leads the cast of this psychological horror with a measly 5% score on Rotten Tomatoes.

The Town – TG4 – 9.45pm

Ben Affleck directs and stars as a Boston bank robber in this excellent crime drama.

Stan & Ollie – RTÉ One – 9.50pm

This biographical comedy-drama sees Steve Coogan and John C. Reilly play legendary comedy double act Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy.

splice

Sarah Polley in Splice – our pick for tonight

Split – MTV – 10pm

James McAvoy is mesmerising playing a man with multiple personalities in this claustrophobic horror thriller from M. Night Shyamalan (The Sixth Sense).

Get Carter – ITV4 – 10pm

When his brother dies under mysterious circumstances, London gangster Jack Carter (Michael Caine) travels to Newcastle to investigate in this British crime classic.

The Patriot – RTÉ2 – 10.30pm

Mel Gibson stars in this solid historical war film set during the American Revolution.

Dunkirk – BBC One – 10.30pm

Christopher Nolan depicts a pivotal WWII event with his trademark bravura filmmaking and time-shuffling storytelling.

The Gunman – Legend – 10.55pm

Sean Penn leads a great cast – including Idris Elba, Javier Bardem and Mark Rylance – in this action thriller that is sadly not very good.

Blow – Quest – 11pm

Johnny Deep and Penelope Cruz star in this ’70s-set crime drama based on true events.

Splice – AMC UK – 11.15pm

Our pick for tonight is this 2009 sci-fi horror about geneticist couple Clive and Elsa (played by Oscar winners Adrien Brody and Sarah Polley) who specialise in creating hybrids of species.

Forbidden by their pharmaceutical company bosses from using human DNA in their work, the pair do so anyway in a secret experiment – resulting in a creature they later name Dren (an anagram for ‘nerd’) with amazing intelligence and physical attributes.

Beginning to feel like Dren’s parents, the creature at first exceeds their wildest dreams before threatening to become their worst nightmare.

Executive produced by Guillermo del Toro (The Shape of Water) and directed by Vincenzo Natali (Cube), Splice was released in 2009 to solid reviews but lacking box office returns.

It is a shame as the movie’s impressive creature design, strong performances and deeper themes regarding scientific ethics and human relationships deserved more viewers.

Splice is also available to rent on Apple TV, Google Play and the Sky Store.