Mr Holmes (PG)
(Bill Condon, 2015, UK/US) Ian McKellen, Milo Parker, Laura Linney. 104 mins
Where Benedict Cumberbatch and Robert Downey Jr’s Sherlocks were all lightning intellect and superheroic sleuthing, McKellen’s is considerably more sedate, verging on the doddering. But even in his country retirement, this 93-year-old Holmes has unsolved emotional cases to crack, though his greatest adversary is now dementia. It’s The Adventure Of The Disappearing Marbles. McKellen gives us a rich, ripe Holmes, by turns tender and cantankerous, but the gentle pace makes for a TV-movie feel. It could have done with a shot of the old seven-per-cent solution.
Entourage (15)
(Doug Ellin, 2015, US) Adrian Grenier, Jeremy Piven, Kevin Connolly. 104 mins
Just when you thought the Hollywood bro-com had run its course on TV, here it is running a pretty similar course on the big screen. It’s essentially Sex And The City for guys, with lifestyle porn, celebrity cameos and mildly consequential plotlines that’ll probably all work out fine.
Les Combattants (15)
(Thomas Cailley, 2014, Fra) Adèle Haenel, Kévin Azaïs, Antoine Laurent. 98 mins
Haenel’s agreeably atypical lead (intimidating, antisocial, militaristic) distinguishes a modern French anti-romance that promises a little more than it delivers. Her friendship with an aimless local lad leads them to army bootcamp and beyond.
The Burning (15)
(Pablo Fendrik, 2014, Arg/Mex/Bra/Fra/US) Gael García Bernal, Alice Braga. 98 mins
The wild west comes to Argentina as Bernal’s drifter helps Braga defend her rainforest patch against evil land-grabbers, with low-tech weaponry and eco-justice on his side. The arthouse brooding works against the action thrills, though.
Accidental Love (15)
(David O Russell, 2015, US/UK) Jessica Biel, Jake Gyllenhaal. 98 mins
Russell quit this troubled movie in 2010, but something has been cobbled together nonetheless. Biel’s smalltown waitress gets a nail lodged in her head, which takes her to Washington on a screwball healthcare crusade.
The Longest Ride (12A)
(George Tillman Jr, 2015, US) Scott Eastwood, Britt Robertson, Alan Alda. 128 mins
Intersecting love stories from different eras, soapy melodrama, button-pushing Americana and a ludicrous twist all add up to another corny Nicholas Sparks novel-based confection.
Natural Resistance (12)
(Jonathan Nossiter, 2014, Ita/Fra) 83 mins
Ten years after his global wine-making doc Mondovino, Nossiter returns with a more free-ranging study of organic winemakers who refuse to play by the commercial rules.
Legacy (15)
(Davie Fairbanks, Marc Small, 2015, UK) Franz Drameh, Amy Tyger, McKell David. 95 mins
Rather than putting on a show, these teens create their own club for a youth feelgood film with #bangin soundtrack!!!
The Long Good Friday (18)
(John Mackenzie, 1980, UK) Bob Hoskins, Helen Mirren, Dave King. 111 mins
Hoskins’s standout performance, in a tough London thriller capturing pre-Docklands London.
Out from Friday
Minions Despicable Me’s support crew get their own adventure.
Slow West Michael Fassbender saddles up for an off-kilter indie western.
The Overnight LA couples comedy.
She’s Funny That Way Peter Bogdanovich returns with a theatrical farce.
Knock Knock Keanu Reeves is the victim of Eli Roth’s home invasion horror.
Going Clear Alex Gibney lifts the lid on Scientology’s many murky dealings.
Station To Station Trans-American travelogue of brief artistic encounters.
Everly Salma Hayek has an action workout.
That Sugar Film Food doc on sugar in all its forms.
Everyone’s Going To Die Eccentric Brit comedy.
Concrete Clouds Bangkok brothers cope with recession.
Hippocrates Well-informed French drama.
Hustlers Convention Tribute to Jalal Nuriddin, the “grandfather of rap”.
The Wrecking Crew The backing band behind myriad 1960s hits opens up.
Coming soon
In two weeks… Winehouse remembered in bio-doc Amy… Schwarzenegger reboots for Terminator Genisys…
In three weeks… Beach Boys to men in Brian Wilson biopic Love & Mercy… Making babies is no picnic in Ted 2…
In a month… Paul Rudd packs a tiny punch as Ant-Man… Ryan Reynolds and Ben Kingsley fight over one body in sci-fi Self/less…
