It's a bumper week for new movies - but before you decide what to shell out your hard-earned cash, read and watch our reviews of the latest releases.
Carol *****
Director: Todd Haynes
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Rooney Mara, Kyle Chandler, Sarah Paulson
Cert: 15A
Duration: 118 minutes
Carol, Todd Haynes' utterly immersive tale of forbidden same-sex love in 1950s New York, resonates on many levels and is a truly transportative experience.
There's so much to love here, from the faultless performances, sumptuous costumes and sets, the subtlety of emotions which are conveyed so perfectly with just a passing glance to the vivid and often unexpected cinematography.
Cate Blanchett is mesmerizing as the titular character, drawing you in with her mysterious gaze, yet never revealing too much, leaving her character fundamentally unknowable. Carol is an unhappily married, wealthy housewife who seems dissatisfied with all aspects of her life apart from her young daughter, whom she dotes on...Read Sarah McIntyre's full review here.
The Good Dinosaur ****
Director: Peter Sohn
Starring: Jack Bright, AJ Buckley, Sam Elliott, Frances McDormand, Raymond Ochoa, Anna Paquin, Marcus Scribner, Jeffrey Wright, Steve Zahn
Cert: PG
Duration: 101 minutes
For the first time in its history, Pixar have released two films in a calendar year, as The Good Dinosaur follows on from the summer hit Inside Out. It's purely coincidental, though, because this is also the first movie Pixar abandoned midway through filming and started again from scratch. Well, almost.
The pitch remains: what if the meteor that caused the extinction of dinosaurs missed the earth entirely and they remained the dominant species on Earth?
The story begins with a family of Apatosaurus farmers, where the youngest of the three kids, Arlo, is on the timid side and can't seem to get his act together, unlike his two brothers who constantly tease him...Read John Byrne's full review here.
Black Mass ***1/5
Director: Scott Cooper
Starring: Johnny Depp, Joel Edgerton, Benedict Cumberbatch, Rory Cochrane, Kevin Bacon, Jesse Plemons, Corel Stoll, Peter Sarsgaard, Dakota Johnson
Cert: 15A
Duration: 122 minutes
It was looking for quite a while there as if Johnny Depp really was past his best, an A-lister who'd lost his way by choosing The Lone Ranger, Transcendence and Mordecai in succession - wasting his talent, and our time.
But Depp's journey through that particular widescreen wilderness comes to an end with the relentlessly nihilistic hoodlum biopic Black Mass. It's not a great film, but right at its charcoal heart is a deeply unsettling, must-see performance from Depp, one that makes it feel like his fourth Oscar nomination is just a formality. Can he win? Well, that depends on just how far his peers and the rest of the Hollywood elite are willing to travel into the void. As a film fan, you should go all the way....Read Harry Guerin's full review here.
Being AP ****1/5
Director: Anthony Wonke
Starring: Tony McCoy
Cert: 12A
Duration: 103 minutes
AP McCoy is regarded as the greatest jump jockey who's ever sat in a saddle, and this fascinating documentary follows his last year on the track.
As he passes his 40th birthday, which is pretty ancient in jockey terms, McCoy remains incredibly focused on winning, breaking records and maintaining his position at the top of the pile.
Meanwhile, his wife Chanelle would like nothing better than for her husband to retire, get more involved in family life, and enjoy the trappings of his success.
As well as getting behind the scenes of his daily routine of being driven to a racecourse, weighing-in and (almost always) winning, Being AP delves into this man's obsessive nature, his unquenchable desire, and an almost child-like disdain for any other activity... Read John Byrne's full review here.
Bridge of Spies
Director: Steven Spielberg
Starring: Tom Hanks, Mark Rylance, Sebastian Koch, Domenick Lombardozzi, Austin Stowell, Amy Ryan, Dakin Matthews, Will Rogers, Jesse Plemons, Alan Alda, Eve Hewson
Cert: 12A
Duration: 141 minutes
Spielberg reunites with Tom Hanks for an entertaining Cold War spy swap drama but neither can resist the urge to preach
Tom Hanks takes another role as a decent man battling sinister forces and moral ambiguity in Steven Spielberg’s true story Cold War drama. Hanks plays James Donovan, a noble-minded Irish-American lawyer caught between the machinations of Soviet/USA state intelligence at a time (1957 to 1961) when relations between the East and West plummeted to freezing point and doomsday was a distinct possibility.
Indeed, at one point in Bridge of Spies we see school classes transfixed in terror at those eerie fifties government information films about nuclear attack - houses are blown away, trees bend and snap and citizens are urged to crouch and duck. The threat of annihilation hangs heavy and New York is a viper’s nest of KGB agents... Read Alan Corr's full review here.
