HDTV Movie Premieres: March 5-11

Someone Like You: TV3, 8.30pm Saturday.

Bland romantic-comedy starring Ashley Judd as a talkshow talent scout who vents her spleen on men by writing a sexist magazine column about their mating habits. Hugh Jackman, Greg Kinnear, Ellen Barkin and Marisa Tomei co-star while Judd’s mother, Naomi, has a cameo as a make-up artist. Dexter vet Tony Goldwyn, who starred in The Last Samurai and the NZ-made The Last Tattoo, directs the Elizabeth Chandler (The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants) screenplay. (2001)

Waitress: TV3, 10.35pm Saturday.

Motherhood and virtually every pie except apple are at the heart of this quirky comedy/drama about a pregnant, small-town waitress (Keri Russell) who tries to win $25,000 in a pie-making contest to flee her abusive husband (Jeremy Sisto). Mixing kitchen sink concerns with light and fluffy humour, Waitress resonates warmth and truth but isn’t risky or wry enough to cut it as an American pie fable. Castle’s Nathan Fillion and writer/director Adrienne Shelly co-star; Shelly was murdered six months after Waitress’ release.  (2007)

Alice in Wonderland: Sky Movies, 8.30pm Sunday.

Alice in Wonderland looks sensational in HD. This may not be the 3D version of the theatrical release but so rich and vibrant are the colours and contrast, and so jaw-dropping the visual effects, that the 2D dimension is preferable, anyway. Yet again, director Tim Burton has created such an immersive, funny and frequently dark fairy tale for adults — it’s not only youngsters who will be unsettled by some scenes — that it will have you wanting to dance “The Futterwaken” vigorously as soon as it ends. (2010)

Into the Blue 2: The Reef: Sky Movies, 8.30pm Wednesday.

Said DVD Verdict of this made-for-video sequel about the search for Christopher Columbus’ treasure: “It does its best to give the audience the nudity and action it wants, even if budgetary constraints keep it from fully realising those goals.” Stephen Herek, whose otherwise undistinguished credits include Mr Holland’s Opus, directs; his latest is the new to Blu-ray WWE actioner, The Chaperone. The OC’s Chris Carmack and Smallville’s Laura Vandervoort star. (2009)