The Red Pony (1949)

Channel 4, 1.45pm

Based on a minor John Steinbeck novella, this old-fashioned rites-of-passage story takes place on a California ranch in the early 20th century. Peter Miles plays the pre-teen hero, a lonely boy who bonds with his beloved horse as a reaction to his emotionally aloof parents, played by Myrna Loy and Shepperd Strudwick. Robert Mitchum plays a ranch hand who becomes a kind of mentor to Miles. (89min)

Michael Clayton (2007)

Sky Indie, 8pm

Tony Gilroy, the screenwriter behind Matt Damon’s Bourne thrillers, scripted and directed this sombre but gripping drama. George Clooney plays a washed-out legal trouble-shooter forced to choose between his troubled conscience and his shady employers. Tom Wilkinson, Sydney Pollack and Tilda Swinton co-star in a classy, modern-day morality play. (119min)

Life or Something Like It (2002)

BBC Two, 11.20pm

She may be an internationally admired screen queen, but Angelina Jolie’s quality control can be pretty haywire at times. Almost unrecognisable in a blonde Marilyn bob, Jolie stars in Stephen Herek’s shamelessly mushy message movie as an ambitious Seattle TV news reporter who learns some tough lessons about the work-life balance. Edwards Burns and Tony Shalhoub co-star. (103min)

Brothers of the Head (2005)

Channel 4, 11.40pm

An uneven mix of rock allegory, sci-fi mystery and mock documentary, Brothers of the Head chronicles the doomed career of a punk-era novelty band fronted by a pair of conjoined twins. Harry and Luke Treadaway play the brothers, physically inseparable but emotionally torn apart by managers, girlfriends and outside pressures. This macabre curio is enjoyably bizarre, but never very convincing. (93min)

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