Cars 2 (BBC1, 4.05pm) Year released: 2011
What’s It About? Racing car Lightning McQueen heads overseas to compete in an international grand prix, with events in Britain, Japan and Italy.
He gets mixed up in international espionage when a case of mistaken identity leads to an encounter with two English spy cars searching for a powerful gadget.
Is It Any Good? Children will love the colourful animation and the likeable cast of automated characters, but the story is a mess.
The biggest problem is the fact that Mater, a dim-witted secondary character in the original film, is the driving force behind this offering, while Lightning McQueen (who should have headed the action) is relegated to co-star.
Anything Else? Look out for a French film poster bearing the name Les Indestructibles, better known to most of us as The Incredibles.
Character voices: Owen Wilson, Michael Caine, Larry the Cable Guy, Emily Mortimer, Eddie Izzard, John Turturro, Bonnie Hunt, Thomas Kretschmann Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 (ITV1, 7.15pm) Year released: 2010
What’s It About? The penultimate chapter of the blockbusting saga sees Harry, Hermione and Ron hunting for horcruxes – magical artefacts in which the dark lord Voldemort has hidden parts of his soul to make himself immortal.
If our heroic trio want to break his grip over the wizarding world, they are going to have to destroy these objects, but the problem is they don’t know where to find them, which leads to tensions within the group.
Is It Any Good? Potter purists will disagree, but this is a bum-numbing fantasy epic which could have been told in half the time. We spend so long camping with Harry and Hermione at one point, it feels like we should be paying rent on their site.
However, while it may be a slow-burner, it’s still a beautifully crafted offering boasting a magical animated scene.
First-time viewers will be desperate to see what happens next. Thankfully you won’t have to wait long to find out.
Anything Else? Financially the decision to split the last book into two films paid off handsomely. Combined they grossed more than 2.2 billion dollarsworldwide.
Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Ralph Fiennes, Bill Nighy, Alan Rickman, Helena Bonham Carter
Machete (Channel 4, 12.10am) Year released: 2010
What’s It About? Lying low after a sneering drug lord murders his wife, former cop Machete Cortez finds more trouble over the Tex-Mex border when he is hired to kill a right-wing senator. He finds the whole thing was a set-up and has to fight for his life, while seeking his own brand of revenge.
Is It Any Good? It was never going to trouble the Academy Awards, but it certainly does what it says on the tin and offers old-fashioned sex and violence in spades. Danny Trejo has worked hard for his moment in the limelight and despite having a face that looks like it has been set on fire and put out with a brick, he exudes charisma in a leading role. Steven Seagal also makes for a great baddy, but could have perhaps had a few fight scenes to really gild the lily.
Anything Else? The movie actually started life as a trailer for a made-up B-flick to be shown as part of Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez’s Grindhouse project, but looked so entertaining that Rodriguez made the movie. It also spawned a recent sequel, Machete Kills.
Starring: Danny Trejo, Robert De Niro, Jeff Fahey, Jessica Alba, Michelle Rodriguez, Lindsay Lohan, Steven Seagal
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