Brooklyn (12A)
(John Crowley, 2015, Ire/UK/Can) Saoirse Ronan, Emory Cohen, Domhnall Gleeson. 112 mins
It could almost be Mills & Boon: a 1950s Irish girl is torn between her new life in New York and her old one back home – with a dishy suitor in each country to sharpen the dilemma. Between Colm Tóibín’s source novel, the attention to historical detail and a finely textured performance from Ronan, it becomes something far richer, even if the plot is disappointingly straightforward.
Burnt (12A)
(John Wells, 2015, US) Bradley Cooper, Sienna Miller, Daniel Brühl. 101 mins
For those who can’t get enough of Gordon Ramsay-style kitchen bad boys, here’s Cooper as an ego-tripping but, of course, prodigiously talented chef whose career has deflated like a bad souffle. Can he get back on the road to redemption, romance and Michelin stars? Despite some appetite-whetting cameos, it’s a familiar recipe.
He Named Me Malala (PG)
(David Guggenheim, 2015, UAE/US) 87 mins
Malala Yousafzai’s journey from Taliban victim to Nobel laureate and articulate campaigner is undeniably inspiring, so you can’t blame this slightly overawed documentary for telling it as an uplifting fable. It’s the sort of film you could play to school pupils, even if that means avoiding the trickier political and cultural implications.
Kill Your Friends (18)
(Owen Harris, 2015, UK) Nicholas Hoult, Tom Riley, Rosanna Arquette. 103 mins
Those were the days, when there was money to be made in the music industry. Hoult’s A&R antihero stops at nothing to get to the top of the 1990s scene in this dark satire, whose countless episodes of sex, drugs, violence and musical differences get rather repetitive, even if the soundtrack is spot-on.
The Runner (15)
(Austin Stark, 2015, US) Nicolas Cage, Sarah Paulson, Connie Nielsen. 88 mins
Another week, another Nicolas Cage turkey. This time he’s a far-from-saintly Louisiana politician who takes a principled stand on the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. His profile becomes a blessing and a curse, and an unsophisticated political drama.
Scouts Guide To The Zombie Apocalypse (15)
(Christopher Landon, 2015, US) Tye Sheridan, Logan Miller, Joey Morgan. 93 mins
No surprises with this teen wish-fulfilment horror, which sits somewhere between, but far below, Superbad and Shaun Of The Dead.
The Closer We Get (PG)
(Karen Guthrie, 2015, UK/Ethiopia) 91 mins
Documentary-maker Guthrie investigates her family past with moving intimacy here, prompted by her mother’s debilitating stroke and her father’s return after a mysterious past event.
Brief Encounter (PG)
(David Lean, 1945, UK) Celia Johnson, Trevor Howard, Stanley Holloway, Joyce Carey. 86 mins
Less is so much more with Lean’s beautifully restrained, archetypally British romantic drama. A love affair thwarted by societal codes, wagging tongues and train timetables, it still has the power to move.
Out from Friday
Ronaldo Documentary shadowing the superstar kicker on the pitch and off. Out on Monday
The Lady In The Van Maggie Smith plays Alan Bennett’s cantankerous neighbour.
Steve Jobs Product launch for Danny Boyle and Michael Fassbender’s biopic.
Tangerine Lively low-budget drama set among LA’s trans sex workers.
Fathers And Daughters An emotional rollercoaster awaits Russell Crowe and Amanda Seyfried.
The Fear Of 13 A death row inmate tells his true, twist-packed story.
Tell Spring Not To Come This Year Report on Afghanistan’s anti-Taliban efforts, minus assistance.
The Hallow City folk regret a move to rural Ireland.
Warriors Meet the young men changing Masai society through cricket.
A Christmas Star A girl saves her village in this Northern Irish feelgood.
Closer To The Moon Comedy about Romanian-Jewish bank robbers forced to make a movie.
Coming soon
In two weeks … The final course of The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 … Gaspar Noé’s 3D sex odyssey Love …
In three weeks … Johnny Depp in a different guise in Black Mass … Pixar goes prehistoric with The Good Dinosaur …
In a month … Daniel Radcliffe is assistant to Victor Frankenstein … Festive Seth Rogen comedy The Night Before
