Spectre (12A)
(Sam Mendes, 2015, UK/US) Daniel Craig, Léa Seydoux, Christoph Waltz. 148 mins
After the upheaval of Skyfall, the hallmarks of the traditional Bond movie are very much back in place here – and the good news is, Bond’s lightened up a bit too. There’s the expected polish to the action set-pieces and international intrigues, which acknowledge both Bond movies past and the post-Snowden present. On the downside, there’s little for the women to do apart from look alluring, and a lot of nonsense to forgive in a plot that feels more retro-fitted than meticulously planned.
Under Milk Wood (15)
(Kevin Allen, 2015, UK) Rhys Ifans, Charlotte Church, Julian Lewis Jones. 87 mins
This fresh, vigorous rendition of Dylan Thomas’s celebrated work revels in the earthy bawdiness and the surreal dreaminess, weaving a surrealistic web of coastal townsfolk together with an inventiveness that brings to mind Dennis Potter.
Taxi Tehran (12A)
(Jafar Panahi, 2015, Ira) 82 mins
The Iranian finds another enterprising way to defy his state-imposed film-making ban, becoming a taxi driver whose dashboard cam happens to capture the aspects of everyday Iranian society the authorities would rather keep a lid on.
Black Souls (15)
(Francesco Munzi, 2014, Ita/Fra) Marco Leonardi, Peppino Mazzotta, Fabrizio Ferracane. 109 mins
It’s crime family business as usual when a Calabrian turf war impacts on three brothers, one of whom is now a farmer trying to stay out of the game. It’s more subtle and smouldering than spectacular.
Vaaliba Raja (PG)
(Sai Gokul Ramanath, 2015, Ind) Santhanam, Sethu, Vishakha Singh. 119 mins
Tamil romcom.
Fresh Dressed (15)
(Sacha Jenkins, 2015, Fra/US) 83 mins
Kanye, Diddy, Damon Dash and others contribute to a free-ranging study of hip-hop’s relatively unexplored fashion aspects, touching on music, identity, race politics and obsessive sneaker-devotion.
The Vatican Tapes (15)
(Mark Neveldine, 2015, US) Olivia Taylor Dudley, Michael Peña, Dougray Scott. 89 mins
Run-of-the-mill possession horror resorting to shock tactics and theological nonsense in an effort to escape the Exorcist shadow.
Outcast (15)
(Nick Powell, 2014, Can/Chi/US/Fra) Nicolas Cage, Liu Yifei, Hayden Christensen. 99 mins
Risible attempt to shoehorn western “stars” into a Chinese period action epic, as Cage’s outlaw helps restore some prince to some throne, some time ago.
Do I Sound Gay? (15)
(David Thorpe, 2014, US) 75 mins
Why do some gay men adopt certain, stereotypically “gay” speech patterns? It’s a great question, but this doc misses a trick by framing the search for answers as a personal journey rather than a more journalistic inquiry.
Bound To Vengeance (18)
(José Manuel Cravioto, 2015, US) Tina Ivlev, Richard Tyson, Bianca Malinowski. 77 mins
A horror splurge expanding on the rape-revenge unpleasantness of Last House On The Left and co.
MSG-2: The Messenger (15)
(Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, Jeetu Aroral, 2015, Ind) Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, Arpit Ranka, Honeypreet. 134 mins
Bollywood action sequel.
Out from Friday
He Named Me Malala Documentary charting Malala Yousafzai’s remarkable journey from Taliban victim to Nobel laureate.
Brooklyn Saoirse Ronan stars as Colm Tóibín’s totemic Irish immigrant, torn between the old world and the new.
Kill Your Friends Nicholas Hoult leads a satire of the cut-throat 90s music industry.
Burnt Bradley Cooper plays a driven London chef on the road to reputational recovery.
The Closer We Get Documentary-maker Karen Guthrie investigates her family’s painful secrets.
The Runner Nicolas Cage plays a politician in damage-limitation mode.
Scouts Guide To The Zombie Apocalypse Self-explanatory wish-fulfilment horror comedy for teenage boys.
Brief Encounter Reissue of David Lean’s impeccably British love story.
Coming soon
In two weeks… Michael Fassbender is Steve Jobs… iPhone-shot transgender drama Tangerine…
In three weeks… The final course of The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2… Gaspar Noé’s sex odyssey Love…
In a month... Johnny Depp in a different guise in Black Mass… Tom Hanks leads Spielberg’s cold war thriller Bridge Of Spies…
