1 Alien: Covenant (15)
(Ridley Scott, 2017, US/UK/Aus/NZ) 122 mins
Finding an Earth-like planet that’s too good to be true is never a good sign in an Alien film, and sure enough, a crew of would-be settlers (including Michael Fassbender and Katherine Waterston) is pitched into an altogether deadlier mission than anticipated – thanks to lax exploration protocols and some familiar local fauna. More exciting and less messy than Prometheus, this feels like a “proper” Alien movie.
2 Frantz (12A)
(François Ozon, 2016, Fra/Ger) 114 mins
The ever-versatile Ozon crafts a stately, suspenseful interwar drama. German villager Anna (Paula Beer) is surprised to see a young Frenchman visiting her fiance’s grave. What was his relationship to the deceased? It’s far from straightforward.
3 The Levelling (15)
(Hope Dickson Leach, 2016, UK) 82 mins
Flood-ravaged Somerset is the atmospheric location for a British drama that’s both down-to-earth (literally) and hauntingly lyrical. Ellie Kendrick plays a daughter returning to the family farmstead after her brother’s suicide, to find her repressed father, an ailing business and a host of other problems.
4 Lady Macbeth (15)
(William Oldroyd, 2016, UK) 89 mins
Making a virtue of its low budget, this minimalist 19th-century thriller gives stuffy old Brit costume drama a real jolt, with a full-blooded plot, a handsomely restrained aesthetic and a refreshingly multi-racial cast. Florence Pugh is outstanding as a teenage bride installed in an austere country home, whose patriarchal confines she soon starts rebelling against.
5 Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 (12A)
(James Gunn, 2017, US) 136 mins
Fewer surprises, but still plenty of bang for your buck with Marvel’s space odyssey sequel, whose mix of colourful sci-fi spectacle and wacky ensemble comedy still works a treat. Family baggage is the theme this time round, chiefly Chris Pratt’s reunion with his long-lost father (Kurt Russell).
