SPEED (1994)
Monday, 8 p.m., FX
Heart-racing good times pack this thriller starring Keanu Reeves as a cop on an L.A. city bus. The bus has been wired by mad-bomber/extortionist Dennis Hopper to blow if the speed drops below 50 mph. When the driver gets injured, plucky passenger Sandra Bullock takes the wheel. Astounding: Who knew anyone took the bus in LA?
LAWRENCE OF ARABIA (1962)
Thursday, 1:30 p.m., TCM
Peter O’Toole never looked more gorgeous than in this powerful epic of T.E. Lawrence, the brilliant young intelligence officer stationed in Cairo in 1916. He led the successful Arabian guerilla attacks against the mighty Turks in WWI. The 7-Oscar winner movie’s A-list cast includes Omar Sharif, Alec Guinness, Jack Hawkins and Anthony Quinn.
THE ILLUSIONIST (2006)
Friday, 9 p.m., Starz
This film presents a tale as complex as an intricate magic trick. The protagonist is an illusionist, (Edward Norton) who is separated from his true love (Jessica Biel), a girl above his station in early1900’s Vienna. When the illusionist achieves fame as a magician, he uses all his powers to free her from her engagement to the Crown Prince.
THE OMEN (2006)
Saturday, 8 p.m., Cinemax
This terrifying remake of the 1970s horror film is almost as good as the original. An American diplomat and his wife (Liev Schreiber and Julia Stiles) discover that a baby has been substituted for their dead infant. Damn if the substitute–baby Damien–doesn’t turn out to be the son of Satan! Don’t you hate when that happens? Mia Farrow is terrific as the dastardly Mrs. Baylock.