<< THIS WEEK'S NEW CINEMA RELEASES >>

Ok ... off to the cinema this week? Here's what's new...

MY TOP PICK TO SEE

I've been waiting to see my top pick this week - the last movie that Philip Seymour Hoffman acted in before his untimely death. It's A MOST WANTED MAN. A Chechen Muslim illegally immigrates to Hamburg, where he gets caught in the international war on terror. Based on a John Le Carré novel, it should be good. Entertainment Weekly's reviewer says it ’Crackles with a jigsaw-puzzle intelligence and features a superbly subtle lead performance from the late Philip Seymour Hoffman, who single-handedly gooses the post-9/11 procedural through some of its slower patches.’ Can't wait!

OTHERS TO SEE

THE SELFISH GIANT is a contemporary fable about two scrappy 13-year-old working-class friends in the UK who seek fortune by getting involved with a local scrap dealer and criminal, leading to tragic consequences. According to The Playlist’s Jessica Kiang, ’The Selfish Giant preaches compassion by showing us in its very closing moments, the fathomless goodness that can lie beneath even the spittingest, snarlingest exterior.’

If you're into Scandinavian crime (and who isn't!), you must check out THE KEEPER OF LOST CAUSES about police inspector Carl Mørck who is put in charge of a department of cold cases, joined only by his assistant, Assad. They dig into a case about a disappeared woman. I saw this recently at the Scandinavian film festival here in Adelaide and will provide my review shortly. I really enjoyed it.

Back to Australia - and THESE FINAL HOURS arrives in general release. A self-obsessed young man makes his way to the party-to-end-all-parties on the last day on Earth, but ends up saving the life of a little girl searching for her father. Their relationship ultimately leads him on the path to redemption. Another one I have seen - at the Adelaide Film Festival back a while. It's a 5-star movie for me and I'll repost my review soon.

I'm a big fan of Scarlett Johansson and she returns to our screens this week as LUCY. Lucy is a woman, accidentally caught in a dark deal, who turns the tables on her captors and transforms into a merciless warrior evolved beyond human logic. I'm catching this on Sunday morning so will let you know more about it then. The Guardian reckons ’The end of the movie goes completely off the rails, but in a way that is charming in its stupidity.’ We'll see!

MAYBE/MAYBE NOT

Stanley Tucci stars as a man who surprises his former mistress (Alice Eve), claiming to have left his wife in SOME VELVET MORNING. Before too long, a dark history between the two has come into focus. For NPR’s Ella Taylor, ’Like most of LaBute's work, Some Velvet Morning ends as it begins, more clever than wise.’

That's it for this week. See you at the movies!

NB: synopses of movies are adapted from IMDB. Opinions are mine unless quoted from cited sources.