1 Detroit (15)
(Kathryn Bigelow, 2017, US) 143 mins
Chiming with the Black Lives Matter era, Bigelow restages the city’s 1967 race riots with documentary-like authenticity and real-time urgency, steadily homing in on a single, awful incident of police brutality. Muscular storytelling and powerful performances (including Algee Smith, John Boyega and Will Poulter) make for a gruelling experience. And if the ending is somewhat unsatisfactory, perhaps that’s only appropriate.
2 Logan Lucky (12A)
(Steven Soderbergh, 2017, US) 119 mins
Soderbergh comes out of “retirement” to deliver a breezy, lovably shambolic heist comedy that’s everything Ocean’s Eleven wasn’t. Channing Tatum plays an embittered, unemployed country boy who cobbles together a plan to rob a Nascar race, and a ragtag crew to execute it – including Adam Driver, Daniel Craig and Riley Keough.
3 Final Portrait (15)
(Stanley Tucci, 2017, UK) 90 mins
Another finely shaded character study for Geoffrey Rush’s eccentric genius gallery, in the form of Swiss artist Alberto Giacometti. His unstable mix of charm, self-doubt, contempt and wilfulness comes to the fore when admirer Armie Hammer agrees to sit for a portrait.
4 Hotel Salvation (PG)
(Shubhashish Bhutiani, 2016, Ind) 102 mins
Touching gently on death, modernity and Hindu philosophy, this Indian drama will leave you feeling a little more human. It is primarily set in scenic Varanasi, where an elderly father has come to die, reluctantly accompanied by his grownup son.
5 The Untamed (18)
(Amat Escalante, 2016, Mex/Den/Fra/Ger/Nor/Swi) 98 mins
Seekers of the strange and twisted will find plenty to suck on in this bizarro Mexican story, which hinges on a mysterious, alien creature that unleashes the libido of humans. Artfully mysterious and played straight, it’s one to file alongside Stalker and Zulawski’s Possession.
