Love old or unusual movies but never know when they're on? Here are four to watch this week:

Girl, Interrupted (1999): Before making the hits Walk the Line and 3:10 to Yuma, director James Mangold helped Angelina Jolie become a star with this film.

It revolves around a gaggle of women in a mental hospital: Winona Ryder (borderline personality disorder), Brittany Murphy (obsessed with her father's chicken) and Jolie (a poisonous psychopath).

Everything is a bit "movie-filtered," but the acting is honest and first-rate. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest it's not, but Girl, Interrupted is pretty darned good. -- 2 a.m. Monday, Cinemax

Live Free or Die Hard (2007): Cop John McClane had one more adventure in him after all. Who would have thought this action series could be great fun again, 12 years after the last installment?

Bruce Willis effortlessly slips back into the shoes of his world-weary cop, and this time has to protect the country from a "fire sale," meaning a terrorist attack that knocks out most of the country's electronic systems (phone, Internet etc.).

Justin Long is along for the ride as a geek who learns from the master. Grab your popcorn and turn up the volume for the explosions. -- 8 a.m. Monday, Cinemax

Hi De Ho (1937): This short film is basically a primitive music video featuring the great Cab Calloway performing his legendary Minnie the Moocher with its "hi de ho" scat. The song is almost indescribable, and its call-and-answer structure gets under your skin.

Travel down memory lane and enjoy a great performer of the 20th century doing his most famous song. -- 4:40 a.m. Thursday, Turner Classic Movies

Brute Force (1947): This edgy prison drama was directed by American director Jules Dassin, a very talented artist whose career was disrupted by the '50s blacklist.

The film tells of a sadistic prison warden (Hume Cronin) and the prisoner who leads a bloody rebellion against him (Burt Lancaster). In only his second film, Lancaster delivers a stunning, tough-as-nails performance.

The movie has a beautiful look, largely because of cinematographer William Daniels, who won the Oscar for black-and-white cinematography the next year with The Naked City.

Luckily for film fans, Dassin went on to work in Europe and make classics such as Raffia and Topkapi. -- 9 p.m. Saturday, Turner Classic Movies

Trivia Question 227: In what movie did Burt Lancaster play a Nazi general?

Answer to Trivia Question 225: James Cagney reprised his role as George M. Cohan in 1955's The Seven Little Foys.

• Bryan native Ray Ivey is a writer and movie fan in Hollywood, Calif. He would love to hear from you at rayivey@ca.rr.com. His blog is at www.rayivey.com/wordpress.

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