THE GOODBYE GIRL (1977)
Sunday, 4 p.m., TCM
Richard Dreyfuss won an Oscar in this delightful Neil Simon story about a divorced woman (Marsha Mason) and her daughter who come home to find that mom’s actor-boyfriend has left for an out-of-town gig and sublet their apartment to another actor. The film received four other Oscar nominations, including Best Pic, Best Actress and Best Screenplay. Wonderful, wacky and very New York city, circa the late ’70s.
THE INSIDER (1999)
Monday, 5:20 pm, Starz
Seven Oscar nominations and unfortunately not one win for this riveting tale. Russell Crowe as a research chemist for Brown & Williamson Tobacco who decides after prodding by a TV producer (Al Pacino) to expose the company’s practices in a Mike Wallace segment on “60 Minutes.” The chemist is hung out to dry when CBS caves and shelves the segment.
LET THERE BE LIGHT (1945)
Monday, 9 p.m., Ch. 25
This is part of a trilogy of films that John Huston made for the U.S. government. Despite their propaganda, the films stand on their own. “Light” examines 75 traumatized war vets at a Long Island Army hospital. Hidden cameras document their lives from admittance through therapy sessions and eventual rehabilitation. Reality programming when it was still real.
MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS (1974)
Wednesday, 8 p.m., TCM
Sidney Lumet’s terrific adaptation of the Agatha Christie mystery finds Hercule Poirot (Albert Finney) aboard the Orient Express during a snowstorm when one of the passengers is found – oh no! – murdered. He then – oh yes! – discovers that several passengers have a connection to the victim. With Lauren Bacall, Ingrid Bergman (who won an Oscar for her role), Jacqueline Bisset and Sean Connery.
13 GOING ON 30 (2004)
Friday,
8 p.m., Fox
Jennifer Garner is adorable as a girl who wishes to skip her teen years after being humiliated on her 13th birthday. Lo and behold, she leaps to age 30, and has a great apartment, life, and a cute boyfriend. But maybe she misses being a kid after all. Mark Ruffalo is the hunk. The movie is not as good as “Big,” but it’s not bad.