Best films to watch on TV today, tonight – and this week – RadioTimes

With the abundance of rival streaming services on the market these days, it can be easy to forget that one of the cheapest ways to watch movies is through good old-fashioned terrestrial television.

As ever, this week brings a great choice of flicks, and with the coronavirus pandemic continuing to dictate that most of the country self-isolates, a great selection of films to view in the comfort of your own home is more important than ever.

Take a look at our top picks of what to look out for over the coming days.

Star Wars Episode VII: the Force Awakens 3.50pm, ITV

A stormtrooper fighting for an evil regime turns against his masters. He joins forces with a desert scavenger, and together they are drawn into the search for legendary war hero Luke Skywalker, who disappeared years previously. Read our full review

Independence Day 6.10pm, E4

A fleet of huge flying saucers launches a devastating and unprovoked attack on Earth. As survivors try to flee the seemingly unstoppable alien invaders, the courageous US president, an ace pilot and a computer genius come up with a plan to take the fight to the enemy and save the human race. Read our full review

Evil under the Sun 3.05pm, BBC Two

Hercule Poirot braves the heat and sand to investigate the murder of a glamorous stage star on an idyllic Adriatic holiday island. It becomes clear many people had reason to want the temperamental actress dead and the Belgian sleuth is soon hard at work figuring out which of her enemies eventually managed to kill her. Read our full review

Stronger 9pm, BBC Two

A mans life changes radically after he is seriously injured in the 2013 Boston Marathon Bombings. Jeff Bauman loses both his legs in the tragedy, but captures the hearts of his city and the world through his recovery, as he adjusts to his new way of life. Read our full review

Girls Trip 9pm, Channel 4

A hit comedy film about four black female pals who embark on a wild weekend in New Orleans that will make or break their personal bond. Starring Regina Hall, Queen Latifah, Tiffany Haddish and Jada Pinkett Smith. Read our full review

Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves 1.55pm, Channel 5

A fun and swashbuckling family film about an English nobleman who returns home from the crusades. Kevin Costner is more Indiana Hood than the Locksley lad of yore and Alan Rickman is a joy to behold as the panto-styled Sheriff of Nottingham. Read our full review

Sabotage 4:10pm, Talking Pictures TV

An undercover detective poses as a grocer to get closer to a suspected terrorist thought to be plotting to blow up London. Hitchcock suspense drama, boasting a masterly example of using tension to manipulate the audience. Read our full review

Witness 10:45pm, BBC1

A Philadelphia cop is assigned to protect an Amish boy who was the only witness to a murder. Discovering the killers are rogue policemen willing to go to any lengths to cover up their crime, he is forced to go into hiding within the Amish community, experiencing a clash of cultures and unexpected feelings for the boys widowed mother. Read our full review

The Lost City of Z 11:05pm, BBC2

Drama telling the true story of British explorer Col Percy Fawcett, who in the 1920s told his fellows at the Royal Geographical Society in London he had found evidence of a secret city hidden away in the Amazon. But proving his theory meant returning yet again. Read our full review

Jane Eyre 4:10pm, BBC2

A naive young woman becomes governess in a mysterious Yorkshire mansion and before long she is completely besotted with her charismatic but intimidating employer. But unbeknown to her, the master of the house is concealing a dark secret. Read our full review

Brave 5:15pm, BBC1

A princess defies her mothers plans to secure peace by marrying her off to the son of one of their allies. A witch provides the rebellious royal with a magic spell to change her fate, but the enchantment backfires disastrously when the queen is transformed into a bear. Read our full review.

Girls Trip 9pm, Channel 4

A lifestyle guru is offered the chance to be a keynote speaker at a music festival in New Orleans. She decides to invite three old friends she has drifted apart from, hoping to turn a working weekend into a wild vacation and a chance to rebuild their bonds. After a confrontation gets them kicked out of their hotel, they hit the streets of the Big Easy and reconnect with their wild sides. Read our full review

Margin Call 11:35, BBC2

A bitter executive is dismissed from an investment bank, but plans his revenge by handing secret information on the companys fortunes to a junior analyst. When the information is decoded, it reveals that the company is on the brink of a devastating financial crisis, a revelation that is soon spreading throughout the workforce. Read our full review

Star Wars Episode VII: the Force Awakens 3:50pm, ITV

A stormtrooper fighting for an evil regime turns against his masters. He joins forces with a desert scavenger, and together they are drawn into the search for legendary war hero Luke Skywalker, who disappeared years previously. Meanwhile, a terrible weapon is about to be unleashed, that will allow the forces of evil to dominate the galaxy once again. Read our full review

Independence Day 6:10pm, E4

A fleet of huge flying saucers launches a devastating and unprovoked attack on Earth. As survivors try to flee the seemingly unstoppable alien invaders, the courageous US president, an ace pilot and a computer genius come up with a plan to take the fight to the enemy and save the human race. Read our full review

Bridget Joness Baby 9pm, 5 Star

Bridgets focus on single life and her career is interrupted when she finds herself pregnant, but with one hitch she can only be 50 per cent sure of the identity of her babys father after a pair of one-night stands. Is the dad old flame Mark Darcy or US dating guru Jack Qwant? Read our full review

Rain Man 10:30pm, BBC1

Brash yuppie car dealer Charlie discovers his deceased father has left the family fortune to Raymond, the autistic elder brother he never knew he had. In a bid to get his hands on the money, he tracks down and abducts Raymond but the ensuing cross-country journey proves to be a profound learning experience. Read our full review

The Constant Husband 3:30pm, Talking Pictures TV

A man is found on the west coast of Wales having lost his memory. A psychiatrist helps him to recall his past, leading the horrified patient to discover he has seven wives. The repentant bigamist is determined to change his deceitful ways, unaware that his spouses are becoming suspicious about his disappearance. Read our full review

The Wind and the Lion 9pm, Sony Classic

An American woman and her son are seized by a Moroccan chieftain in the 1900s, sparking an international incident. While President Roosevelt works on a plan to ensure their safe return, the hostage begins to sympathise with her captors cause as they get caught up in a conflict with German forces. Read our full review

Enter the Dragon 10pm, ITV4

A powerful crime kingpin hosts a martial arts tournament on his island lair. A former Shaolin monk is recruited by an intelligence agency to enter the tournament and expose the crime lords opium and slavery rings. He finds himself fighting for his life alongside two Vietnam veterans who are both fleeing their own enemies. Read our full review

Captain Underpants: the First Epic Movie 6:20pm, CBBC

George and Harold, a pair of elementary school pranksters, inadvertently transform their mean-spirited principal into a daring vigilante. Read our full review

First Blood 9pm, ITV4

Vietnam veteran John Rambo is wrongfully arrested in a backwoods town and tested to the limits of his endurance by a brutal deputy. Rambo escapes from his cell and heads out to the woods, and with the forces of the law in hot pursuit he finally has the chance to fight them on his own terms. Read our full review

Billy Liar 10pm, Talking Pictures TV

A bored undertakers clerk in a 1950s northern town daydreams of an imaginary world to escape from his dull life, while struggling to keep his two fiancees from finding out about each other. When an old girlfriend returns to the area, she offers him a fresh start, if he is brave enough to leave his fantasies behind. Read our full review

Fame is the Spur, 12 noon, Talking Pictures TV

A British politician (Michael Redgrave) changes from rabble-rouser of the working class to stodgy Member of Parliament. Read our full review

Dodgeball: a True Underdog Story 9pm, Film4

Dodgeball: A True Underdog StoryStarring Ben Stiller

The struggling owner of a run-down gym is forced to take drastic action to prevent an arrogant fitness guru buying the business out from under him and enlists his customers to form a dodgeball team in the hope of triumphing in the US championships. Read our full review

Scream 11:25pm, 5 Star

The students of a high school are stalked by a masked knife-wielding maniac with a love of scary movies and a penchant for playing mind games with his prey. One of the girls on his hit list begins to suspect there is a connection between the killer and her mothers murder a year previously. Read our full review

Charade 12:40pm, Film4

A distraught widow learns her husband was murdered for his part in a $250,000 robbery. The haul has gone missing, and his former accomplices are soon on her tail in the hunt for the missing proceeds. Not knowing where to turn, she takes up the offer of help from a dashing stranger, but is uncertain whether she can trust him. Read our full review

Atomic Blonde 9pm, Film4

MI6 operative Lorraine Broughton is sent to Berlin before the fall of the wall to investigate the murder of a fellow spy and recover a missing list of double agents. The city is in a dangerously unstable state, and she finds herself targeted by multiple factions plotting to exploit the uncertain future for their own ruthless ends. Read our full review

Pulp Fiction 9pm, Sony Movies

A series of interlinked stories about the Los Angeles underworld. A hitman plays minder to his bosss wife, and he and his partner deal with a dead body following a mishap with a gun. Meanwhile, a washed-up boxer goes on the run after refusing to throw a fight, and two lovers plot a hold-up in a diner. Read our full review

First Men in the Moon 6:50pm, Sony Classic

An eccentric Victorian inventor discovers a strange material that defies gravity and uses it to build the worlds first spaceship. Leading an expedition to the moon, he is astonished to discover it is inhabited by giant ants and caterpillar-like creatures. Read our full review

Happy Death Day 9pm, Film4

A college student must relive the day of her murder over and over until she discovers her killers identity. Read our full review

Midnight Special 11:05pm, BBC2

A boy develops strange powers that he cannot understand, attracting the attention of religious extremists. The boys father is determined to keep him safe, and together they go on the run from the fanatics in the hope of finding out the true purpose of his abilities but they attract the attention of government agents, who have their own plans for the child. Read our full review

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Best films to watch on TV today, tonight - and this week - RadioTimes

Reviewed and Recommended by Erik Baquero