FAST & FURIOUS 9 ★★★☆☆
Directed by Justin Lin. Starring Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Chris "Ludacris" Bridges, John Cena, Jordana Brewster, Charlize Theron, Kurt Russell, Helen Mirren. 12A cert, cinema release, 143 min
Latest film in the astonishing successful vehicular franchise. The plot involves disputes between Dom (Diesel) and his evil brother (Cena), as well as the search for a magical spheroid that will allow the bearer to launch missiles from any superpower towards any other superpower. It really isn't worth trying to keep up. Immerse yourself rather in the sillier stunts and genuinely sparky interplay between committed action stars Rodriguez, Gibson, Brewster and Cardi B(!). Ponder also how, more than any indie release, Fast & Furious has forwarded diversity. We'll miss them when they're gone. Full review DC
SUPERNOVA ★★★★☆
Directed by Harry Macqueen. Starring Colin Firth, Stanley Tucci, Pippa Haywood, Peter MacQueen, James Dreyfus. 15A cert, cinema release, 95 min
Firth plays a pianist trying to cope as his novelist partner (Tucci) slides into early-onset dementia. It is a terrific piece of writing about the difficulties of living on the fringes of a catastrophe – acknowledging the danger, but rarely addressing the true terrors that await. Maybe it gives in to sentimentality. But the consolations of a softer film like Supernova are not to be disdained. The two flawless performances, presented in the polite shades of prestige British cinema, make a winning case for the virtues of seasoned affection. Full review DC
FATIMA ★★★☆☆
Directed by Marco Pontecorvo. Starring Joaquim de Almeida, Goran Visnjic, Stephanie Gil, Joana Ribeiro, Harvey Keitel, Sônia Braga. 12A cert, cinema release/premium video on demand, 113 min
Thoughtful study of the Marian apparitions at Fatima. Ten-year-old Lucia (Gil) and her younger cousins are visited by Mary (Ribeiro), who tells Lucia she must pray the rosary and suffer if the first World War is to end. Decades later, Keitel's cynical author is interviewing the older, still-insistent Lucia (Braga), who became a nun after her visions. This later timeline adds clout to a film that is gorgeously shot and designed. But might it be a sin to hide Braga, a wonderful carnal presence, under religious garb and a confessional screen? Full review TB
THE HITMAN'S WIFE'S BODYGUARD ★☆☆☆☆
Directed by Patrick Hughes. Starring Ryan Reynolds, Samuel L Jackson, Salma Hayek, Frank Grillo, Richard E Grant, Antonio Banderas, Morgan Freeman. 16 cert, cinema release, 100 min
This unwelcome sequel reunites Reynolds's suspended bodyguard with the titular hitman (Jackson) and his con-artist wife (Hayek). Their mission is to stop a megalomaniac (Banderas) with many embroidered jackets from destroying Europe. Random objects, including a mace, duly pop up in random European locations. Random misfortunes pop up between random bad guys. And just when you think it can't put its cast to greater waste, here comes the Morgan Freeman cameo. Cinemas are finally open; it's hard to think of a worse way to mark the occasion. Full review TB
