Jane Austen Wrecked My Life ★★★★☆
Directed by Laura Piani. Starring Camille Rutherford, Pablo Pauly, Charlie Anson, Annabelle Lengronne, Liz Crowther, Alan Fairbairn, Frederick Wiseman. 15A cert, gen release, 97min
Charming, clever romcom that casts Rutherford as a French bookseller who gets cast into a messy love triangle at a Jane Austen retreat across La Manche. The film does occasionally struggle with getting England right. We are always aware this is a French film-maker looking through the window at the crumpets on their doilies. But there is a mischievous intelligence at work that complements the embrace of sometimes-broad misunderstandings. It’s worth it alone to hear Agathe identify, in the most Gallic of vowels, one character with a particular work. He suggests, apparently, Mr Bertram in “Mahnsfeeld Perk”. Full review DC
How to Train Your Dragon ★★★☆☆
Directed by Dean DeBlois. Starring Mason Thames, Nico Parker, Nick Frost, Gerard Butler, Gabriel Howell, Julian Dennison, Bronwyn James, Harry Trevaldwyn, Peter Serafinowicz. PG cert, gen release, 125min
Live-action remake of 2010 animated hit about a young Viking who makes friends with a dragon. One could bang on all day about how familiar so much of this seems. But it is only fair to acknowledge that, judged as an independent entity, the current film works as sleek, funny entertainment. Much of that is down to the cast. Thames, as the spirited protagonist, doesn’t let his fragile ingenuousness get in the way of moral determination. If we must have such retreads then let them at least be carried off with this degree of amusing gusto. Full review DC
Tornado ★★★☆☆
Directed by John Maclean. Starring Tim Roth, Jack Lowden, Takehiro Hira, Joanne Whalley, Koki. 15A cert, limited release, 90min
Maclean returns to the austere storytelling that defined Slow West, his well-regarded 2015 debut. Set in a rugged and unnamed corner of 18th-century Scotland, the film follows the taciturn young circus performer of the title and her father as they are drawn into a deadly pursuit. The McGuffin is familiar: an opportunistic theft, a misplaced bag of swag and double-crossing rogues on the rampage. Will frustrate the giblets out of those seeking narrative momentum. But viewers willing to sit with its stark silences and oppressive atmospherics can look forward to a singular, if rarely easy, watch. Full review TB
Lollipop ★★★★☆
Directed by Daisy-May Hudson. Starring Posy Sterling, Idil Ahmed, TerriAnn Cousins, Tegan-Mia, Stanley Rhoads, Luke Howitt, Aliyah Abdi, Johanna Allitt. 15A cert, gen release, 100min
We’re not sure why Molly (played with fraying precision by Sterling) has served four months in prison, but her attempts to chart a path back to normalcy are unjustifiably frustrating. Her longed-for reunion with her two children is spoiled when only her daughter arrives, and then only for a minute. Hudson has staked a significant claim in the rich terrain of Britain’s socially conscious, kitchen-sink milieu. There’s no triumphalism here, but there’s enough grit and community spirit to coalesce into a decent outcome. Maddening and urgent viewing, nonetheless. Full review TB
