HDTV Movie Premieres: October 23-29

The Grudge: Sky Movies Greats, 8.30pm Saturday.

Unlike The Ring, this Japanese horror film re-made retains the spirit of the original, along with the director, crew and setting. The biggest difference is the casting of Hollywood leads, with Sarah Michelle Gellar playing a caregiver in a house that would give even Buffy the Vampire Slayer nightmares. It’s a slim premise – an Amityville Horror of the Orient – that’s padded out with overlapping, intriguing storylines and languid pacing enlivened by spooky, sometimes startling effects. (2004)

The Invention Of Lying: Sky Movies, 8.30pm Sunday.

Ricky Gervais’ movie directing debut opens as a novel and engaging take on a parallel universe in which lying doesn’t exist, until one overweight, snub-nosed loser exploits his discovery for romantic and career conquests. But then the screenplay he wrote with co-director Matthew Robinson sacrifices its fable-esque magic for broad, religious satire that’s not inventive enough to sustain even barely 90 minutes. Jennifer Garner and Tina Fey co-star. (2009)

Seabiscuit: Sky Movies Greats, 8.30pm Monday.

Handsome but ham-fisted true-life heart-warmer about a racehorse that went from the knackers’ yard to becoming a winning post phenomenon of the Great Depression. Director Gary Ross (Pleasantville) shovels on the schmaltz with his own screenplay — he also has a cameo as a track announcer — but at least the rest of the cast is blue ribbon: Tobey McGuire, Jeff Bridges, Chris Cooper and William H Macy. (2003)

I Love You, Beth Cooper: Sky Movies, 8.30pm Tuesday.

High school hottie Hayden Panettiere (TV’s Heroes) dates nerd Paul Rust (Inglourious Basterds) after he says he loves her in his graduation speech. Critics were less infatuated. Among the kinder reviews was The Washington Post’s: “Perhaps the best thing that can be said about I Love You, Beth Cooper is that the title is correctly punctuated.” Chris Columbus (Home Alone, Mrs Doubtfire) directs a screenplay by Simpsons vet Larry Doyle. (2009)