As the four-day weekend is tantalisingly close, you're going to find yourself with a lot of free time on your hands. So, whether it's in the depths of Saturday / Sunday / Monday Fear or if you're looking to kill a couple of hours, we've got a great selection of highly-recommended films to watch.

Take a look!

10. TURNER & HOOCH

Tom Hanks. A loveable mutt. Police work. If you've seen Turner & Hooch and didn't find it to be one of the most endearing buddy-cop films ever made, then pal, we don't even wanna know you. Also, mid-1980s Tom Hanks when he was in his comedy phase is best Tom Hanks.

9. GATTACA

This is a great, thought-provoking, slick sci-fi film. In the future, society is split according to their genetic makeup. The brightest and best work for Gattaca, a massive space program that's working towards creating sustainable life off-planet. Ethan Hawke's an "in-valid", someone who doesn't have the genetic requirements to become one of the elite. Desperate to get ahead, he assumes the identity of Jude Law's character and joins the program. It's a gorgeously made film with a great soundtrack and a really interesting story. Definitely worth your time.

8. STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS

The sequel to 2009's Star Trek, Benedict Cumberbatch stars as a cryogenically-frozen supervillain who's out to wreak havoc across the galaxy. Don't let the title of Star Trek fool you - this is a fast-paced blockbuster that's got some fantastic action sequences and a cracking story to boot.

7. FRENCH KISS

Starring Meg Ryan and Kevin Kline, French Kiss is a perfect Sunday Morning Hangover film. It's light, it's fluffy, it's predictable and it doesn't involve any loud explosions. Ryan flies to Paris to confront her fiance who's left her for a beautiful Frenchwoman. However, she meets scallywag Kevin Kline who uses her to smuggle something illicit into France. As you'd expect, the two are joined together by circumstance and it soon becomes something more.

   

6. ESCAPE FROM ALCATRAZ

If you're in the mood for something a bit more weighty and, y'know, the exact opposite of a Meg Ryan film, Escape From Alcatraz is for you. Considered to be one of Clint Eastwood's greatest films, it tells the story of the only man to escape the infamous island prison. Directed by longtime collaborator Don Siegel and co-starring Patrick McDoohan, it's one of those great 1970s thrillers that's really required viewing.

5. YOUNG ADULT

This highly-underrated dramedy stars Charlize Theron as, well, a bitch. Sort of. She plays a moderately successful young adult author who's left her small-town life behind for the big city. When she returns to find her high-school sweetheart is welcoming a new child, she decides to rekindle the relationship - except he's married and, as we said, has a daughter. Theron completely embraces the fact that her character is totally unlikeable and it's one of her best performances to date. And we include Monster in that statement, too.

4. THE TAKING OF PELHAM ONE TWO THREE

If you've watched Reservoir Dogs, then you'll know that the characters are named after colours, i.e. Mr. Blonde, Mr. Blue and so on. So where does that come from? This film. Walter Matthau plays a New York cop who's trying to work through an unusual hostage situation. A group of heavily-armed men have taken over a subway train and are threatening to shoot one passenger every 15 minutes unless a ransom is paid. But how will they get out when they're underground? For our money, Taking of Pelham 123 is Walter Matthau's best performance and Robert 'Quint' Shaw's best performance, outside of Jaws. Also, tidbit of information - the director of this was originally in line to direct Jaws, but dropped out and was replaced by some guy called Steven Spielberg.

3. LAYER CAKE

This film was essentially the performance that won Daniel Craig the role of James Bond. Playing a slick drug dealer who's planning his retirement, he's drawn into a fateful one last deal with an out-of-control gangster. Featuring a who's-who of talent including Ben Whishaw, Sally Hawkins, Sienna Miller, Colm Meaney, Tamar Hassan and Michael Gambon, Layer Cake's a solidly-made British crime thriller.

2. ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND

If you've never watched Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind, this weekend is the weekend you rectify that glaring mistake. Easily the best film Jim Carrey has ever done - and we include Ace Ventura in that statement, by the way - Eternal Sunshine isn't just a film, it's a life-changing experience. Carrey plays a hopeless romantic who falls in love with Kate Winslet. A brief, but turbulent relationship ensues and in a desperate attempt to rid himself of her, he agrees to have his memory wiped. Frequently weird, desperately beautiful and visually stunning, Eternal Sunshine is one of the best films of the last twenty years. Really.

1. AIRPLANE!

Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit amphetamines.