There's something for everyone at the cinema this weekend so, before you book your tickets, make sure you check out our reviews!
Fury 3.5/5
Starring: Brad Pitt, Shia LaBeouf, Logan Lerman, Michael Peña
Director: David Ayer
15A
It's hard to look at this film without recalling Brad Pitt's character, Aldo Raine, in Inglourious Basterds, Quentin Tarantino's hilarious nod to an often maligned genre, WWII movies.
Obviously, Raine and Fury's Don 'Wardaddy' Collier look similar, and even the haircuts are identical. But this is an entirely different kind of war movie, although similarities are there, given that both films are about American soldiers getting behind enemy lines and killing Nazis.
Set during the final months of World War II, Fury follows the fortunes of a US Army sergeant and his tank crew as the Allies make their final push into Nazi Germany.
Pitt's Wardaddy is the leader of a tank that's filled with...
Read John Byrne's full review of Fury here.
Love, Rosie 2.5/5
Starring: Lily Colins, Sam Claflin, Suki Waterhouse
Director: Christian Ditter
16
The film adaptation of Cecelia Ahern’s 2004 bestseller novel, Where Rainbows End, has all the heart and charm of P.S I Love You, but the storyline fails to strike it lucky when it comes to finding its pot of gold.
The oh-so-familiar will-they-won’t they plotline comes into play in Love, Rosie, with the two main characters creating most of their scenes around longing glances and simmering sexual tension (think of Dawson and Joey in Dawson’s Creek and you’ll get the picture).
Rosie (Collins) and Alex (Claflin) are like two peas in a pod since they were kids and it’s clear that the pair have an attraction to each other. As the unspoken lovebirds prepare...
Read Laura Delaney's full review of Love, Rosie here.
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day 3/5
Starring: Steve Carell, Jennifer Garner
Director: Miguel Arteta
PG
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day is a classic Disney, real-people, fun-for-all-the-family comedy and it's something that you could definitely sit down and watch, and even enjoy, without feeling as though your head is being melted.
At the beginning of the film we meet Alexander the day before his 12th birthday party and everything seems to be going wrong for the poor guy; the cool kid in school is having his birthday party on the same night, he makes a fool of himself in front of the girl he likes and everyone else in his family seems to be living the perfect #Blessed lives. So, armed with the magic of his birthday wish, Alexander wishes that his family could experience a really bad day, and that's when things kick off; alarms are missed, diapers go astray, pre-prom pimples sprout up and both parents face...
Read Sinead Brennan's full review here.
The Babadook 4/5
Starring: Essie Davis, Noah Wiseman
Director: Jennifer Kent
15A
Let's get something out of the way first: this is not, as the hype would have you believe, one of the most terrifying films ever made. That's a fact, not a fault - even if you've sat through more horrors than hot dinners. But while The Babadook doesn't serve up jump-out-of-the-seat moments by the dozen, it has plenty of other dark treats.
It's brilliantly acted, beautifully shot, has loads of tension and announces newcomer Jennifer Kent as a writer-director of real class and depth. Her story of a mother and son trying to find their way in the seemingly endless forest of loss will have you thinking plenty in the days, but more especially nights, after you've seen it. This is not so much a case of feeling safer with the light on, but of being thankful that there's someone snoring close to you...
Read Harry Guerin's full review here.
The Book of Life 2/5
Starring: Christina Applegate, Ice Cube, Placido Domingo
Director: Jorge Gutierrez
G
"Well, when you go out to a movie as a family, you want it to be an outing like going to a great restaurant," Guilermo del Toro recently declared of his new animation feature, The Book of Life.
"And you go Chinese food, you go Italian food, you go Greek food. I think this is the biggest and most amazing Mexican meal we can offer the world, audio/visually, you know."
Well, if it is, what a disappointment then. What an insult to Mexican culture to try and palm off as genuine, something wrapped up in the smug comfort blanket of another Hollywood rent-a-celebrity voice production...
Read Paddy Kehoe's full review here.
This Is Where I Leave You 2/5
Starring: Jane Fonda, Jason Bateman, Connie Britton, Rose Byrne, Adam Driver, Tina Fey
Director: Shawn Levy
15A
In the immortal words of Jason Bateman's Arrested Development co-star Will Arnett "Come on!" Take a look at the cast above; check out the class on offer - so how does This Is Where I Leave You end up a disappointment?
Well, for a start it doesn't truly know whether it wants to be a drama or a comedy (better as the former), and then it doesn't give its stars enough to work with either way. There are a couple of small gems in the dust, but for a film all about life's biggest moments - bereavement, parenthood, divorce - This Is Where I Leave You feels strangely flat and uninvolving - family dysfunction that is unable to offer enough for ribs or heartstrings.
Marriage busted and high-paying job gone, Judd Altman (Bateman) is roused from his couch-sleeping, junk food-eating existence by the news that his...
Read Harry Guerin's full review here.
