DOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS ★★☆☆☆
Directed by Sam Raimi. Starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Elizabeth Olsen, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Benedict Wong, Xochitl Gomez, Michael Stuhlbarg, Rachel McAdams. 12A cert, gen release, 126 min
Sam Raimi never gets to properly be himself in the latest chaotic entry to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. We were promised a dash of horror, a smidgeon of psychedelia and a splat of black humour. Those things are there, but they have been allowed to curdle in the no-jeopardy CGI pottage. The film is not a dead loss. The sheer chaos of the thing is welcome in an age when big-budget films travel along too-straight lines. Raimi is allowed a few moments of characteristic invention. But nothing here suggests there is much room to manoeuvre within the Marvel straitjacket. Full review DC
ONODA: 10,000 NIGHTS IN THE JUNGLE ★★★★☆
Directed by Arthur Harari. Starring Yuya Endo, Kanji Tsuda, Yuya Matsuura, Tetsuya Chiba, Shinsuke Kato, Kai Inowaki. Limited release, 167 min
The story of the isolated Japanese soldier who refused to surrender for decades after the end of the second World War has become an allegory for anyone unable to face long-confirmed defeat. Yet one Hiroo Onoda really did maintain a guerrilla campaign in the Philippines for 29 years. Working with a modest budget, Harari has turned his story into a well-made drama of the old school. The film is perhaps a little overstretched, but the longueurs press home the extraordinary time frame. Endô and Tsuda, playing the hero at different stages, paint a respectful portrait of a puzzling figure. DC
WAKE UP PUNK ★★★☆☆
Directed by Nigel Askew. Featuring Vivienne Westwood, Joe Corré, Ben Westwood, Eddie Tudor-Pole, Jordan Mooney, Daniel Lismore, Nick Reynolds. Limited release, 84 min
Nigel Askew chronicles Joe Corré's 2016 protest, in which he burned £5 million worth of memorabilia to decry the commodification of punk. Corré, cofounder of lingerie label Agent Provocateur, is part of punk's first family – the son of British fashion designer Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm McLaren. His chats at the kitchen table with his mum and brother Ben make for the most affecting and lively scenes in this documentary. There are obvious omissions (notably John Lydon) in this mad mash-up of documentary and fantasy. Still, if the film is formally jagged and uneven in content, it compensates with attitude. TB
WILD MEN/VILDMÆND ★★★☆☆
Directed by Thomas Daneskov. Starring Rasmus Bjerg, Zaki Youssef, Sofie Grabol, Bjorn Sundquist. Limited release, 104 min
Middle-aged Martin heads into the Scandinavian wilderness to live as a hunter-gatherer. Masculinity doesn't get more flawed and lunkheaded than in this amusing Danish excavation of midlife malaise and overgrown capering. Add a suitcase of drugs and/or money (a McGuffin beloved in the early post-Tarantino years, lately resurrected by such voguish projects as Euphoria) and it's a very boy's own adventure. Daneskov's pleasing comedy doesn't make enough of its oddball buddy dynamics, nor does it delve too deeply into the source of Martin's existential dread, preferring the absurd to the astute. TB
