THIS WEEK'S MEW CINEMA RELEASES

Four new movies to think about seeing this week.

TOP PICK

Top of the list this week is a Turkish drama that was the winner of the Palme D'or (Best Film) at Cannes this year. In WINTER SLEEP Aydin, a former actor, runs a small hotel in central Anatolia with his young wife Nihal with whom he has a stormy relationship and his sister Necla who is suffering from her recent divorce. In winter as the snow begins to fall, the hotel turns into a shelter but also an inescapable place that fuels their animosities... (Written by Cannes Film Festival). It’s very, very long at 196 minutes. But it looks like a worthwhile movie to see if The Telegraph’s Robbie Collin is right when he describes it as ‘… a beautiful, bold, intently serious film.’

OTHERS TO SEE

I've been seeing the trailers for THE DROP for a while now. Starring Tom Hardy, Noomi Rapace and the late James Gandolfini, this crime drama tells the story of Bob Saginowski who finds himself at the center of a robbery gone awry and becomes entwined in an investigation that digs deep into the neighborhood's past where friends, families, and foes all work together to make a living - no matter the cost. Looks good. The Hollywood Reporter’s John DeFore is impressed: The city isn't the star of the film, nor is Lehane's excellent dialogue, and neither is Roskam, here making a sure-footed jump to America after his Belgian debut Bullhead. The picture belongs to Tom Hardy, whose astonishingly sensitive performance even the great James Gandolfini steps gently around.

MAYBE/MAYBE NOT

Yet another British comedy drama arrives, accompanied by Kevin Kline, Kristin Scott Thomas and Maggie Smith. In MY OLD LADY, An American inherits an apartment in Paris that comes with an unexpected resident. As is to be expected with this particular genre, the general viewing public don't mind it, and the critics are not quite so forgiving. According to The Playlist's Kevin Jagernauth, Though Horovitz's directing is workmanlike solid, and while the movie has a certain charm that makes it easy to walk in the door, it gives you little reason to stay.

ONE TO AVOID

Just one movie to avoid this week: LET’S BE COPS. Two struggling pals dress as police officers for a costume party and become neighborhood sensations. But when these newly-minted "heroes" get tangled in a real life web of mobsters and dirty detectives, they must put their fake badges on the line. I saw this movie on one of my plane trips recently - and it is really terrible. If I get time to review it, I will, but I’d give it just 1 star and consider it an absolute waste of time. The Hollywood Reporter’s Frank Scheck agrees with me: The screenplay co-written by Nicholas Thomas and director Luke Greenfield fails to mine the potentially humorous premise for the necessary laughs, with nearly all of the gags falling thuddingly flat. Give it a wide berth.

NOTE: Movie summaries are adapted from IMDB. Comments on the movies are mine unless otherwise acknowledged.