Tonight in HD: April 5

Late-Night Novelty: Angel and the Badman (TV3, 1.15, R) When an outlaw is nursed back to health by a kind and religious woman, he must choose between his old life and the new one she has shown him. Lou Diamond Phillips, Luke Perry, and Deborah Kara Unger star. Said DVD Talk of this direct-to-disc release: “I’ll never watch it again and will likely be vaporised from my memory cells eight weeks from now, but I was moderately entertained by this faithful – if officially uncredited – remake of a fair-to-middling John Wayne Western melodrama. For Western fans, this is Recommended.” Echoed Film Intuition: “Much to my surprise, this Canadian filmed take on Duke’s 1947 Angel and the Badman, centered on the love of a good Quaker woman taming a gun-slinging cowboy, is ratcheted up a few gun belt notches by excellent production values and a tender, emotional turn by The Game and 88 Minutes actress Debra Kara Unger.” Wayne’s grandson, Brendan, has a cameo but otherwise, said Variety, “there’s precious little reason to sit through this slow-moving oater, other than the camp allure of seeing Luke Perry snarling dialogue under an oversized eye patch. Those unfamiliar with the original will be struck by the plot’s echoes of Witness, though quality-wise, any similarity ends there.” (2009) ✮✮✮

Sky Movies Greats Premiere: The Lake House (Sky 22, 8.30, 5.1) Speed’s Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock reunite for this agonisingly slow, physics-defying fantasy that indulges in quantum leaps of logic to sustain its star-crossed storyline about how an architect and the former owner of his lake house fall in love – even though one’s living in 2004 and the other in 2006. Christopher Plummer co-stars. (2006) ✮✮

Home & Away (TV3, 5.30) Liam and Bianca decide to keep the truth about the baby secret; Ruby pulls out of the Surf Comp at the last minute; Brax is knocked out in Angelo’s. ✮✮

Friends (TV2, 6.30, R) Joey attempts ballroom dancing to help Monica and Rachel keep their illegal sublet; Phoebe is attracted to one of her massage clients; Chandler has trouble leaving a gym. ✮✮✮✮

Shortland Street (TV2, 7.00) Vasa gives in to passion; Phoenix’s romantic attempts fall flat; Nicole and Lana witness a betrayal. ✮✮✮

Once Upon a Time (TV2, 8.30) Emma tries to help two homeless children find their father before they’re separated and put into foster care; the Evil Queen coerces Hansel and Gretel into stealing an important artefact from a blind witch. ✮✮

The Finder (TV3, 8.30, 5.1) A NASA scientist seeks Walter’s help to find the matching pair of a red stiletto left behind by a woman he met at a bar. ✮✮

Crash Course (TV2, 11.30) Greg Murphy and friends put unwarranted cars through their paces; Los Angeles locals go loco when a police chase comes home to the hood. ✮✮