Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 ★★★☆☆
Directed by James Gunn. Starring Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldaña, Dave Bautista, Karen Gillan, Pom Klementieff, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Sean Gunn, Chukwudi Iwuji, Will Poulter, Maria Bakalova. 12A cert, gen release, 150 min
Marvel’s gang of incorrigible space cowboys go up against an intergalactic Dr Moreau to save plucky Rocket Racoon from a sorry death. For all the extravagant special effects and efforts to tug at our heartstrings, what we get is more of an epic variety show than coherent space opera. Happily, most of the turns are up to scratch. Poulter is hilariously pompous. Debicki gives good cackle as his malevolent mother. Bautista retains his sweet charm. As a distraction from growing worries about where Marvel is headed next, GOGV3 will do well enough. Full review DC
Lakelands ★★★★☆
Directed by Robert Higgins, Patrick McGivney. Starring Éanna Hardwicke, Danielle Galligan, Lorcan Cranitch, Dafhyd Flynn, Oisin Robbins. 15A cert, gen release, 100 min
The fast-rising Hardwicke appears as Cian, a star Gaelic football player and all-round boyo in a tight midlands town. His happy complacency is shattered when, on a night out in a neighbouring hotspot, he gets a punched about the head. Cian’s unwillingness to face up to the danger allows the debut filmmakers to probe worries about contemporary male insecurity. The film comes at you stealthily. It doesn’t appear to deal with great concerns. But it ultimately connects deeply with a thoroughly realised rural community. Simon Crowe’s damp twilit photography is particularly impressive. Full review DC
Return to Seoul ★★★★☆
Directed by Davy Chou. Starring Ji-Min Park, Oh Kwang-rok, Guka Han, Kim Sun-young, Guka Han. 15A cert, limited release/Mubi 120 min
An ambivalent, accusatory tale, Return to Seoul mines Korea’s controversial adoption history to craft a smart if maddening character study. Remarkable newcomer Ji-Min Park is Freddie, a grown-up French national — one of at least 200,000 South Korean children who have been sent overseas since 1953. Upon returning to the country where she was born, Freddie insists that she hasn’t come in search of her biological parents, only to make her way to the adoption agency. The film finds darkness in Frankie’s superficial success story, revealing a cautionary tale for would-be western adoptive parents. Full review TB
The Blue Caftan/Le Bleu du Caftan ★★★★☆
Directed by Maryam Touzani. Starring Lubna Azabal, Saleh Bakri, Ayoub Missioui. Limited release, 118 min
The central character in Touzani’s second feature is a Moroccan master tailor who painstakingly embroiders the traditional ceremonial gowns of the title. “It’s a dying art,” Halim (Bakri) explains to his young apprentice. The embroidery dictates the pace of this slow-burning drama – a premiere at Cannes’ Un Certain Regard last year – as it probes love in many guises. Superb performances and the warmth of Touzan and Nabil Ayouch’s screenplay offset the clumsier tropes. Virginie Surdej’s cinematography bathes daylit scenes in golden light to contrast the thread Halim uses on his petroleum-blue creation. Full review TB
