The Revenant (15)
(Alejandro González Iñárritu, 2015, US) Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy, Domhnall Gleeson, Will Poulter, Forrest Goodluck. 156 mins
There have been epic wilderness westerns before, but none quite as epic or wild as this. At times it’s so viscerally real and outrageously grand, you can’t quite believe what you’re seeing, let alone imagine how they did it – not least the already-infamous bear-attack scene. That show-stopping mauling sets DiCaprio’s fur trapper on a purgatorial cross-country survival/revenge mission through a freezing cold gamut of frontier adversities, natural and human. The story, based on a true account, is pretty old-fashioned at heart, but the execution is state of the art.
Room (15)
(Lenny Abrahamson, 2015, Ire/Can) Brie Larson, Jacob Tremblay, Joan Allen, William H Macy, Sean Bridgers. 118 mins
Adapting Emma Donoghue’s bestseller about a boy raised with his mother in one-room captivity has its challenges – maintaining a child’s-eye view is far easier on the page. But this one-of-a-kind story pays off thanks to terrific acting and a sensitivity that never spills into sentimentality. It’s a story of two halves, divided by an escape plan. Both confinement and freedom have their challenges.
Creed (12A)
(Ryan Coogler, 2015, US) Michael B Jordan, Sylvester Stallone, Tessa Thompson. 133 mins
It’s a little heavy on its feet at times, but this belated Rocky episode is an unexpected bonus, and surprisingly up-to-date – not least in its African-American hero. Apollo Creed’s illegitimate son must fight his father’s legacy as well as opponents in the ring. As his sage mentor, Stallone has his own battles to fight.
Dragon Blade (15)
(Daniel Lee, 2015, Chi) Jackie Chan, John Cusack, Adrien Brody. 99 mins
East meets west in yet another fruitless attempt to create a pan-global blockbuster. This time, the encounter takes place somewhere along the Silk Road during Roman/Han dynasty times. The rest isn’t history. Epic battle action is a given; hammy drama makes a nonsense of it.
Ip Man 3 (12A)
(Wilson Yip, 2015, HK) Donnie Yen, Zhang Jin, Mike Tyson. 105 mins
Bruce Lee’s real-life mentor has become an unlikely franchise folk hero, here facing off against domestic problems and Tyson’s American crook in 1950s Hong Kong. As usual, Yen has the gravitas and fighting skills to make it work.
Breakdown (15)
(Jonnie Malachi, 2016, UK) Craig Fairbrass, James Cosmo, Emmett J Scanlan. 110 mins
Plenty of slick, macho action thrills as a former hitman protects himself and his family from hostile heavies – primarily by shooting them all.
Patience, Patience You’ll Go To Paradise! (NC)
(Hadja Lahbib, 2015, Bel) 85 mins
An uplifting alternative to recent stories of Belgian Islamic extremism: a doc following seven good-humoured Muslim women exploring the country 50 years after first emigrating there.
Out from Friday
The Assassin Qi Shu leads a wuxia tale from Taiwanese auteur Hou Hsiao-Hsien.
The Big Short Christian Bale leads a snappy comedy on the men who bet against the banking system.
Our Brand Is Crisis Sandra Bullock has her work cut out managing a Bolivian presidential campaign.
The Last Diamond Yvan Attal and Bérénice Bejo caught up in a French heist with romantic complications.
The 5th Wave Chloë Grace Moretz signs up to fight off an apocalyptic alien invasion.
Lost In Karastan Matthew Macfadyen leads a film-making farce set in a corrupt Caucasian dictatorship.
Ride Along 2 Another buddy-cop comedy assignment for Ice Cube and Kevin Hart.
Attacking The Devil: Harold Evans And The Last Nazi War Crime Documentary on the editor’s exposé of the thalidomide scandal.
The Visit: An Alien Encounter Documentary asking what would happen if an alien visited Earth.
Coming soon
In two weeks… Acclaimed church abuse drama Spotlight… Michael Caine and Harvey Keitel in Sorrentino’s Youth…
In three weeks… Toby Jones spearheads the return of Dad’s Army… Strap in for the remake of Point Break…
In a month… Ryan Reynolds has another stab at superheroism in Deadpool… Ben Stiller is so this season in Zoolander 2…
