FAST AND FURIOUS 7 ***
GOOD KILL ****
Dir: James Wan (12A, 140 mins) The tragic death of Paul Walker casts a long shadow over this sequel to one of the most bafflingly lucrative movie franchises of the last few years. Shooting was left on hiatus as scriptwriters worked out how to move forward in this rather epic car chase/heist/revenge thriller. The Fast And Furious films rebooted themselves around film four with Vin Diesel returning to a stagnating car chase marathon and reinforcing the idea of family. The Rock added his own brand of adrenalin to the next two instalments' scripts and now Jason Statham ups the ante as the villain in this outing. He’s out to avenge his brother’s death – Luke Evans in number six – and it’s up to the gang to fight back. The scripts have never been fantastic, the spectacle always has. This time out the gang parachute from a plane in their cars, drive through skyscrapers and other physically impossible stunts. Diesel and the Rock grunt, Michelle Rodriguez, Tony Jaa and (new MMA addition to the team) Ronda Rousey fight, Tyrese Gibson and Ludacris do comic relief amidst a plot swamped with characters and high-octane incident. This is a mayhem-fuelled continuation of stunt and CGI wizardry that revs at high speed with little logic, but lots of adrenalin. Opens Apr 3
Dir: Andrew Niccol (15, 102 mins) A family man is forced to question the ethics of his job as a drone pilot in this tense drama. Ethan Hawke is excellent in this role, a former US fighter pilot wrestling with the psychological strain of killing by remote control. Stuck in an airless antiseptic cubicle, thousands of miles from the event itself, Hawke takes out Taliban fighters then drives home to wife January Jones, on whom his worries are taken out. Zoe Kravitz plays a young recruit who Hawke can allay some of his fears wtih, whilst Bruce Greenwood’s Commander barks war mongering epithets. It’s a morally complex film that works. The toll that the job is taking on Hawke is evident, whether that be the ethics or simply missing the excitement of flying a plane itself on these bombing missions. There are telling points made about the changing face of warfare, kids recruited from shopping malls based on their joystick skills, the lack of emotional engagement with your enemy, not seeing them face to face. Writer/director Niccol has fashioned his best work since Gattaca, which also starred Hawke, sneaking in social critique amidst thriller elements with gripping, probing results. Opens Apr 10
THE GOOD LIE ***
THE SALVATION ****
WHILE WE’RE YOUNG ****
Dir: Philippe Falardeau (12A, 110 mins) Reese Witherspoon stars in an 'uplifting' true life story of helping Sudanese refugees settle Stateside, like they do in the movies. Thankfully the African refugees take centre stage, rather than it being about how a white American saved them. Two brothers and a sister, displaced when soldiers massacre their village in the Sudan, join up with other fleeing children and travel across Kenya plagued by warfare, illness, dehydration and conscription into child soldiering. Five of them reach a camp where they spend 13 years before being offered a chance to go to the USA, unfortunately, this separates them. Witherspoon’s employment agent finds herself doing more than getting them jobs, however, setting out to reunite the siblings and friends. The African leads, kids and adults are superb. Ger Duany, Emmanuel Jal, Kuoth Wiel and Arnold Oceng is especially good as child soldier Mamere. Directed sensitively by Falardeau, this is a worthy tale hopefully illumined by Witherspoon’s star wattage. Opens Apr 24
Dir: Kristian Levring (15, 92 mins) Ah, the Western. Once a prolific cinematic treat, guaranteed good box office, now a rarely seen genre, despite its mythic qualities. So it’s good to see a cowboy film set in the 1870s with such a classy cast and a Danish twist. Mads Mikkelsen stars as a peaceful settler, making a new home in America until his wife and child are murdered by a bandit. He subsequently takes his revenge, only to find himself hunted down by the bandit’s powerful villainous brother, played by Jeffrey Dean Morgan. Mikkelsen has to stand up to this corrupt landowner but who will stand with him? Not many of the scared local townsfolk, that’s for sure, which places him in even more danger. Violent and relying on some old Western clichés, this is still a beautifully shot cowboy movie, with a fabulous supporting turn from a mute Eva Green as a possibly vengeful widow. Worth a saddle up. Opens Apr 17
Dir: Noah Baumbach (15, 97 mins) Ben Stiller reteams with Greenberg director Baumbach for a slice of midlife crisis comedy – which is far more broad and less of a quirkfest than the excellent Frances Ha, and quite lovely for it. Stiller plays a documentary maker stuck in a rut in both his work and marriage with Naomi Watts. They strike up a friendship with 20s couple Adam Driver and Amanda Seyfried and their mojos are reignited. Driver is a massive fan of Stiller’s work, and is in turn trying to get his documentary about Facebook off the ground. Initially charmed by the youngsters, events take a darker turn as Stiller and Watts start to question what they really want. Mostly, however, this is a farcical comedy with plenty to say on age gaps, nostalgia, peer pressure and life in general. Charles Grodin appears as Stiller’s judgmental father, former Beastie Boy Adam Horovitz plays a stay-at-home dad and the central quartet have great chemistry. While We’re Young is Baumbach’s most accessible film yet. Opens Apr 3
addiction. Toni Collette and Will Poulter anchor the grit. PAUL BLART MALL COP 2 (12A) They did. They made this. It’s the end of days. STONEHEARST ASYLUM (15) Based on an Edgar Allen Poe story, this is a period set thriller set in a mental institution where all is not as it seems. Kate Beckinsale, Jim Sturgess, Ben Kingsley and Michael Caine add their weight to the schlock. KURT COBAIN: MONTAGE OF HECK (15) Authorised documentary of the Nirvana singer who became a poster boy for a generation and sold plenty of tshirt/posters, oh and did that album, before tragically killing himself. KIDNAPPING FREDDY HEINEKEN (15) The tale of the kidnapping of the head of the beer company back in the early 80s. Anthony Hopkins chews the scenery as Heineken whilst Jim Sturgess and Sam Worthington are amongst his kidnappers.