1 Final Portrait (15)
(Stanley Tucci, 2017, UK) 90 mins
With Tate Modern’s Giacometti retrospective soon to close, here’s a more intimate encounter with the great Swiss artist, courtesy of Geoffrey Rush. Meanwhile, Armie Hammer is elegantly witty as the American writer who came for a brief portrait sitting, but stayed for a very odd sort of friendship.
2 The Hitman’s Bodyguard (15)
(Patrick Hughes, 2017, US) 118 mins
This is the kind of old-fashioned action comedy that used to rule the box office. It’s got some problems, but casting isn’t one of them. Ryan “Deadpool” Reynolds and Samuel L Jackson co-star as a top security guard and the assassin-turned-witness under his protection. There’s also Gary Oldman as the evil despot on trial and Salma Hayek as Jackson’s even deadlier spouse.
3 The Odyssey (PG)
(Jérôme Salle, 2016, Fra) 120 mins
Lambert Wilson reclaims that famous red beanie from Steve Zissou for this definitive biopic of celebrity oceanographer Jacques Cousteau. Despite a focus on his relationship with his doomed son Phillipe, and the starry presence of Audrey Tautou, it doesn’t ever dive quite as deep as its legendary subject.
4 An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power (PG)
(Bonni Cohen, Jon Shenk, 2017, US) 98 mins
Like many politicians, former US vice president Al Gore produces enough hot air to power several wind turbines. But he has put his output to good use, warning of impending environmental catastrophe in impassioned documentary form. Watching Gore sign India up to solar power is impressive, but not even he has enough gravitas to slow the melting of the ice caps.
5 A Ghost Story (12A)
(David Lowery, 2017, US) 92 mins
David Lowery directs this cosmic, comic exploration of human transience, starring Rooney Mara as a bereaved girlfriend and Casey Affleck as the ghost who comes back to haunt her — white bedsheet and all. The sweetest and saddest film of the year.
