Empire UK

NEW RELEASES

135

MORE OF THIS MONTH’S NEW RELEASES

Moomins On The Riviera

★★★★

FROM SEPTEMBER 28 / CERT. U

➞ Tove Jansson’s perennial favourites

pack up and head to France’s Riviera

soon to be tested by its trinkets and

temptations. Marrying Jansson’s beguiling

melancholic whimsy with a broader Gallic

humour isn’t an obvious fi t but directors

Xavier Picard and Hanna Hemilä pull it

off under the watchful eye of the author’s

niece associate producer Sophia.WT

A Royal Night Out

★★★

FROM NOW / CERT. 12

➞ As World War II offi cially ends

cosseted princesses Elizabeth (Sarah

Gadon) and Margaret (Bel Powley) mix

with the hoi polloi on a celebratory night

out and oh what larks ensue. It’s tonally

uneven — parts feel a tad Carry On The

King’s Speech — but Powley’s fi ne

performance alleviates the industrial

levels of jolly japery. NP

Tracers

★★★

FROM NOW / CERT. 12

➞ Taylor Lautner literally throws himself

into the role of a New York freerunner in

this mash-up of heist fl ick and parkour

display: every tic tac and wall spin is

performed without a stunt double. The

plot clonks into a few lampposts but the

action much of it shot on drones and

head cams makes last year’s Brick

Mansions look positively pedestrian. SC

Unfriended

★★★

FROM NOW / CERT. 15

➞ Both quite clever and a bit dull

this tale of a haunted Skype session is

ingeniously staged on one screen. But

as a group of Facebook friends are

tormented by the ghost of a suicide

victim the story becomes repetitive and

the fi nal reveal has no ta-da factor. Still

it’s quite an achievement to keep your

attention as long as it does. NP

The Tribe

★★★★

FROM NOW / CERT. 18

➞ Set in a Ukrainian boarding school

for deaf-mute teens and concerning the

harrowing experiences of a feral violent

gang and its rookie recruit The Tribe

unfolds entirely without dialogue subtitles

or score. Inventive unfl inching direction

and an ensemble of balletic performances

ensure the brutal story is clear and driven

right through to its shocking climax.NA

Mr. Holmes

★★★

FROM OCTOBER 26 / CERT. PG

➞ Ian McKellen plays Sherlock Holmes

across two eras in this handsome if slight

drama. Long retired a 90-something

Holmes tries to reconstruct his last case

while we watch his 70-odd self tangle

with seemingly irreconcilable facts.

McKellen is as good as you’d expect

but the case is so underplayed that this

doesn’t grip as tightly as it might. HOH

Ruth & Alex

★★

FROM SEPTEMBER 28 / CERT. 15

➞ Gentle to the point of narcolepsy

this good-natured marital vignette ambles

along in no particular hurry and with no

great consequence. Diane Keaton and

Morgan Freeman play downsizing seniors

reassessing their lives together. While

it’s hardly a stretch for its leads there’s

the odd touching moment in between

the gazumpings. PDS

Marshland

★★★★

FROM NOW / CERT. 15

➞ Transcending its familiar subject

Alberto Rodríguez’s award-winning latest

gives the mismatched-cops thriller an

elegant makeover. Set in 1980 it finds

the ravaged inhabitants of Andalusia still

suffering the fallout from Franco’s reign

while a serial killer lurks among them.

This political policier has smarts to match

its suspense and grips like a strangler.ES

Bad Words

★★★

FROM NOW / CERT. 15

➞ Jason Bateman pulls double-duty

in this Bad Santa-aping dark comedy

directing and starring as a 40 year-old

misanthrope who exploits a loophole to

compete in a spelling bee. It may have

skipped UK cinemas but it’s fun to watch

Bateman cut loose as a foul-mouthed

loser — look out for an inspired moment

involving a lobster and a toilet. NDS