HDTV Movie Premieres: July 10-16

I Love You, Man: Sky Movies, 8.30pm Saturday.

Quipped Entertainment Weekly of this comedy about a friendless groom-to-be who embarks on a run of “dates” to find a bloke he can bond quickly enough with to be his best man: “By far the best Judd Apatow comedy that Judd Apatow had nothing at all to do with.” John Hamburg, who scripted the upcoming Little Fockers, directs his own screenplay; Paul Rudd (Role Models), Rashida Jones (Cop Out), Jason Segel (How I Met Your Mother), Jaime Pressly (My Name Is Earl) and JK Simmons (The Closer) star. (2009)

Coraline: Sky Movies, 4.45pm Sunday.

Writer/director Henry Selick’s freakiest movie since The Nightmare Before Christmas was released theatrically in 3D but looks almost as eye-popping in high definition. About a bored youngster who discovers a secret passage to a seemingly happier, alternate reality, it’s a dazzling, unhinged showcase of stop-motion animation. Dakota Fanning, Teri Hatcher and Dawn French lend their voices. (2009)

Night at the Museum 2: Sky Movies, 8.30pm Sunday.

On his instructive Blu-ray commentary for this bigger-budget sequel, director Shawn Levy describes it as a “marriage of quick, sharp, comedic edge with a warm heart”. Less of the latter and more of the former could have made Museum 2 as impressive an exhibit as its virtuosic visual effects. These, along with a handful of ingenious creative flourishes, make the movie if not must-see at least less musty (especially in HD).  Ben Stiller, Amy Adams, Owen Wilson, Robin Williams, Steve Coogan and Ricky Gervais star. (2009)

Observe and Report: Sky Movies, 8.30pm Tuesday.

This straight-to-Blu-ray release is one of those dark comedies that mistakes obnoxiousness and immorality for cutting edge. Seth Rogen plays a shopping mall security guard whose romantic and professional ambitions – he wants to be a cop – are thwarted by his bipolarity and a car park flasher. Even worse than the objectionable characters and feeble, profane humour is observing an actor of Ray Liotta’s calibre reporting in for such drivel. Michael Pena (World Trade Center) co-stars. (2009)

Adoration: Sky Movies, 4.45pm Wednesday.

How refreshing to see an arthouse movie debut in HD on Sky rather than languish in SD on the Rialto Channel – even if it is one of Atom (The Sweet Hereafter) Egoyan’s lesser works. Variety best summed up its mixed reception: “This ambitious thinkpiece ultimately smothers its good intentions in didactic revelations, earnest pleading and incessant violin music. Engrossing nonetheless, the story of a high schooler troubled by his parents’ legacy reps one of the Canadian writer-director’s most accessible efforts.” (2008)

Samantha Morton blitzes the screen in this rambling but moving and atmospheric semi-autobiographical drama. She and Paddy Considine play the anguished Irish parents of five- and 10-year-old daughters (Emma and Sarah Bolger) who uproot to New York City in the wake of their son’s tragic death. Director Jim Sheridan partly based In America on his own life and dedicates the film to his late brother, Frankie. He wrote the first draft 10 years earlier, and then commissioned his daughters, Naomi and Kirsten Sheridan, to flesh it out with their own experiences. Their collaboration exquisitely captures the nuances of a couple in denial and the lost innocence of the eldest daughter who’s left to carry the family through hard times. The storytelling loses steam but the characters remain compelling and their predicament is keenly observed. (2002)