1 Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them (12A)
(David Yates, 2016, UK/US) 133 mins.
This lavishly designed Potter prequel delivers on the promised magical menagerie, as wrangled by Eddie Redmayne’s wizarding wildlife whisperer (think Doctor Who meets David Attenborough). Equally intriguing is the alternative 1920s America he stumbles into: a society beset by segregation, paranoia and witch-hunts. It’s escapist spectacle with a dash of political substance.
2 Arrival (12A)
(Denis Villeneuve, 2016, US) 116 mins.
Marvellously stirring sci-fi that caters to both the head and the heart. Amy Adams and Jeremy Renner are enlisted to provide translation services when an alien race turns up on Earth with unfathomable intentions and an undecipherable language. There’s an eerie charge to their close encounters, which ties in with Adams’s bereavement issues in unexpected ways.
3 Your Name (12A)
(Makoto Shinkai, 2016, Jap) 106 mins.
A Miyazaki-sized smash in Japan, this anime begins as a teen gender-swap comedy (Tokyo boy and rural girl regularly wake up in each other’s bodies) but develops into something altogether less predictable and more epic. Natural disaster, time-travel and bittersweet romance are major ingredients in a unique story, rendered with some gorgeous animation.
4 Nocturnal Animals (15)
(Tom Ford, 2016, US) 117 mins.
Classy in its design and construction, Ford’s melodramatic thriller mixes fiction, past and present exquisitely. Amy Adams is sucked back to her Texan youth by her ex’s violent revenge novel, which impacts on her unhappy LA life in the present day.
5 Gimme Danger (15)
(Jim Jarmusch, 2016, US) 109 mins.
A highbrow fan doc, maybe, but the Stooges’ music and proto-punk attitude have barely dated, and a surprising number of band members are still alive to tell the tale; principally, the eloquent, ravaged Iggy Pop. It’s a definitive rock career, taking in life-threatening live shows, drug abuses, industry-related setbacks and an enduring, collective spirit.
