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Movies & TV

25th Apr 2022

The best satire of all time is among the movies on TV tonight

Dave Hanratty

Nice shooting, son.

Well now, it’s Monday.

Monday, 25 April, to be precise.

What does this date bring to us, movies-on-TV-wise?

Let’s find out together!

Deliver Us From Evil – Horror Channel – 9pm

Eric Bana and Edgar Ramirez join forces to investigate a series of bizarre supernatural crimes.

Under Siege – ITV4 – 9pm

ITV4 might be contractually obligated to put this on at least once per week.

Independence Day – Film4 – 9pm

That bit where Will Smith punches an alien out and says ‘Welcome to Earth!’ won’t ever be the same again, will it?

Jarhead – Turner Classic Movies – 9pm

War is hell mostly boring for young recruit Jake Gyllenhaal as he finds himself besieged by a lack of action and the ever-present fear of conflict during the Gulf War.

Jamie Foxx, Peter Sarsgaard and Chris Cooper provide good support but it’s cinematographer Roger Deakins who steals the show, as he so often does, in Sam Mendes’ patient drama.

RoboCop – ITV4 – 11.10pm

Our main choice this evening and this writer’s shout for the best, most acid-coated satire ever made.

Paul Verhoven’s ultra–violent – seriously, it’ll be interesting to see just what version ITV4 delivers here – tale of a well-meaning rookie cop gunned down only to be resurrected as a cyborg law enforcer is still so, so brilliant.

As with many a Verhoven film, plenty of people misunderstood – and continue to misunderstand! – the intentions of RoboCop. Far from ‘copaganda’, this is one of the most ruthless – and funny – takedowns of capitalism, police brutality and corporate greed out there.

And hey, if you just want some mindless thrills, it has loads of those baked into the mix, too. A perfect film.

The Hitcher – Horror Channel – 11.15pm

So-so remake of a particularly nasty ’80s horror. Sean Bean takes the Rutger Hauer role here, stalking a young couple across America with murder on his mind.

The Business – Film4 – 11.50pm

Danny Dyer gets involved in gangland violence in sunny Spain.

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