A Little Chaos (12A)
(Alan Rickman, 2014, UK) Kate Winslet, Alan Rickman, Matthias Schoenaerts. 117 mins
The traditions, and cliches, of British costume drama are grafted on to French history in this fairly orthodox tale of an unorthodox landscape gardener. Winslet’s wild designs shake up Louis XIV’s clipped Versailles, hunky landscaper Schoenaerts in particular. The result is somewhere between Dangerous Liaisons and Gardeners’ Question Time.
Child 44 (15)
(Daniel Espinosa, 2015, US/UK/Cze/Rom) Tom Hardy, Gary Oldman. 137 mins
Non-Russians put on their accents for a dense, fact-based thriller detailing the hunt for a postwar Soviet serial killer – hampered by the authorities’ refusal to admit that murder itself exists.
The Salvation (15)
(Kristian Levring, 2014, Den/UK/SA/Swe/Bel) Mads Mikkelsen, Eva Green. 92 mins
A solid, Nordic take on western conventions, as Mikkelsen takes a stand, High Noon-style, against a tyrannical gang leader.
The Last Five Years (12A)
(Richard LaGravenese, 2014, US) Anna Kendrick, Jeremy Jordan. 92 mins
Kendrick’s singing and acting strengths are to the fore in this dissection of a failed romance – which doesn’t have many other strengths.
The Town That Dreaded Sundown (15)
(Alfonso Gomez-Rejon, 2014, US) Addison Timlin, Veronica Cartwright. 84 mins
Generic small-town slasher remake with meta references to the 1976 original.
Glassland (15)
(Gerard Barrett, 2014, Ire) Jack Reynor, Toni Collette, Will Poulter. 93 mins
Reynor stands out in a powerful Irish indie, playing a hard-up taxi driver facing difficult choices to support his alcoholic mother (an equally forceful Collette).
Home From Home: Chronicle Of A Vision (15)
(Edgar Reitz, 2013, Ger/Fra) Jan Dieter Schneider, Maximilian Scheidt, Marita Breuer. 231 mins
Accomplished sort-of prequel to Reitz’s towering Heimat series, faithfully chronicling village life in 19th century Germany.
Amar Akbar & Tony (15)
(Atul Malhotra, 2015, UK) Rez Kempton, Sam Vincenti, Martin Delaney. 96 mins
Cheery Hounslow-set multicultural comedy.
Gente De Bien (12A)
(Franco Lolli, 2014, Col/Fra) Brayan Santamarià, Carlos Fernando Perez. 84 mins
Father-son drama with a non-judgmental eye for Colombia’s rich-poor divide.
Cry Of The City (12A)
(Robert Siodmak, 1948, US) Victor Mature, Richard Conte, Shelley Winters. 91 mins
Atmospheric cop/killer noir capturing a New York Italian-American neighbourhood.
Rurouni Kenshin 3: The Legend Ends (15)
(Keishi Ohtomo, 2014, Jap) Takeru Sato, Masaharu Fukuyama. 134 mins
Finale of the hit samurai saga.
Stones For The Rampart (15)
(Robert Glinski, 2014, Pol) Tomasz Zietek, Marcel Sabat, Kamil Szeptycki. 112 mins
Polish teens band together against the Nazis in this resistance thriller.
Dark Horse (PG)
(Louise Osmond, 2015, UK) 86 mins
Feelgood doc on a racehorse bred by Welsh villagers.
The Invisible Life (PG)
(Vítor Gonçalves, 2013, UK/Por) Filipe Duarte, João Perry, Maria João Pinho. 103 mins
Muted, introspective study of a solitary Lisbon bureaucrat.
Tin (12A)
(Bill Scott, 2014, UK) Jenny Agutter, Dudley Sutton. 94 mins
Low-budget Cornish drama involving travelling actors caught up in a mining swindle.
The Amityville Playhouse (15)
(John R Walker, 2015, Can) Monèle LeStrat, Linden Baker. 99 mins
Teen horror “inspired by” the notorious name.
Last Knights (12A)
(Kazuaki Kiriya, 2015, Cze/S Kor) Clive Owen, Morgan Freeman, Aksel Hennie. 115 mins
Overblown medieval action saga clearly hoping for some Game Of Thrones crossover.
Out from Friday
Harlock Space Pirate Expensive CG reboot of a Japanese anime favourite. Out from Wed
Avengers: Age Of Ultron Another stellar showdown for Marvel’s super-team. Out from Thu
A Pigeon Sat On A Branch Reflecting On Existence Musings on mortality from Sweden’s Roy Andersson.
The Emperor’s New Clothes Russell Brand and Michael Winterbottom stick it to The Man in their new activist documentary.
Au Revoir L’Eté Tender story of a Japanese teen and her rural summer.
The Good Lie Reese Witherspoon stars in this Sudanese refugee drama.
The Falling Maisie Williams leads a girls’ school drama.
Exit Portrait of a Taiwanese woman dealing with ageing.
Stonehearst Asylum Kate Beckinsale and Ben Kingsley star in a Poe-adapted tale.
Tea & Sangria Anglo-Spanish romcom.
Rigor Mortis Hong Kong vampire horror.
Coming soon
In two weeks... Carey Mulligan in the new Far From The Madding Crowd… Shirley MacLaine/Christopher Plummer romance Elsa & Fred…
In three weeks... Chris Rock gives up comedy in Top Five… Jon Stewart directs Iranian political drama Rosewater…
In a month... Back to the dystopian Oz future in Mad Max: Fury Road… Anna Kendrick tunes in for Pitch Perfect 2…
