STRUGGLING to find a film to watch this evening? Here are some ones to try.

Boyz N the Hood (1991) (BBC2, 10.45pm)

John Singleton's debut blew audiences away when it was released all those years ago in 1991, offering a gritty exploration of the social problems of the time. It also marked the beginning of a remarkable career for Cuba Gooding Jnr, who went on to scoop an Oscar for his role in Jerry Maguire. In this sensational film he plays Trey, a young man struggling to come to terms with life on the dangerous streets of South Central LA, along with his two pals, who find it marginally more difficult to cut themselves off from a life of crime. Sterling support comes from Laurence Fishburne, Ice Cube, Morris Chestnut and Nia Long.

Dirty Pretty Things (2002) (BBC2, 12.30am)

Stephen Frears's spry thriller depicts a side to modern London which never makes it into the guide books. Okwe (Chiwetel Ejiofor) is a Nigerian national, living illegally in London, who works as a taxi driver by day and a hotel concierge by night. He room shares with Turkish refugee Senay (Audrey Tautou), a maid in the same hotel, who dreams of travelling to New York. By chance, Okwe discovers a covert organ transplant operation in the hotel, and alerts the manager Sneaky (Sergi Lopez) to the underhand goings-on. It quickly becomes clear that Sneaky is involved with the organ ring, and the manager blackmails Okwe into keeping his mouth shut. Ejiofor and Tautou are both convincing as the invisible workers, horribly exploited by the authorities and unscrupulous employers.

Side Effects (2013) (Channel 4, 12.30am)

Office worker Emily Taylor (Rooney Mara) is crippled with anxiety about the impending release of her jailbird husband, Martin (Channing Tatum), who has served four years for insider trading. Top psychiatrist Jonathan Banks (Jude Law), who has been asked to assess her after a failed suicide attempt, prescribes a new medication called Ablixa to calm Emily's nerves. Soon after, in a drug-induced haze, the wife commits an unspeakable act and as the media swarms, attention turns to Jonathan's culpability for supplying the pills. A strong cast, which also includes Catherine Zeta-Jones, shines in Steven Soderbergh's tense thriller.