ABOUT TIME ****
Dir: Richard Curtis (15, 123 mins) A time-travelling love story from the man who brought you Love, Actually may be cause for sentimental concern. Richard Curtis can be a brilliant writer, but his often cloying screenplays – such as Four Weddings And A Funeral, Notting Hill and Love, Actually – idealise a certain upper-middle-class world and About Time shares some of that DNA. Yes, there’s a central Brit/Yank relationship, in this case a very likeable Domnhall Gleeson (being Hugh Grant) and Rachel McAdams (much better than Andie McDowell), a fantastic family relationship between Dad, Bill Nighy and son Gleeson and loads of great character actors like Tom Hollander and Lindsay Duncan. What makes About Time far more tolerable and sweetly enjoyable is its central conceit: a man discovering he can time travel and using it to get a girlfriend is handled with depth. This is more than rom-com Groundhog Day, with writer/director Curtis bringing out real poignancy in his father/son pairing and the joy to be found in the small things in life. Upbeat, naturally, this has more thoughtful gravitas and less smugness than Love Actually and is all the better for it. A tissue may be required. Opens Sept 4
R.I.P.D. ***
Dir: Thomas Schwentke (12A, 96 mins) A blockbuster with a great Men In Black-style concept, an amusing turn from Jeff Bridges and CGI mayhem, this is an entertaining if unsubstantial misfire in a blockbuster-strewn summer. Small-eyed cop Ryan Reynolds is killed by his dastardly partner, a slimy Kevin Bacon, over some stolen gold only to find himself drafted into the ‘Rest In Peace Department’ – afterlife lawmen who roam Earth shooting Deados (the living dead disguised as humans) in the head, rather like 12A zombies. A mystical item has been reassembled and, with a deluge of Deados causing havoc, it’s up to Reynolds and Bridges to stop them. On Earth, Bridges takes the guise of a pneumatic blonde model and Reynolds an old Chinese man, cue sight gags. Br idges is clearly having an excellent time as the grizzled True Grit-esque cowboy to the bland heroics of Reynolds. It smacks of familiarity however the mash up of zombie films, the aforementioned MIB and Ghostbusters, come together into a sporadically entertaining and swift whole. Not as funny or as exciting as it could have been, R.I.P.D. is a diverting if forgettable bit of hokum that only comes back to life when Bridges chews the scenery. Opens Sept 20
FILTH ****
Dir: Jon S. Baird (18, 97 mins) James McAvoy excels in this adaptation of Irvine Welsh’s full on story of a bipolar, corrupt and bigoted policeman. McAvoy plays Bruce Robertson, a man barely holding on to his sanity as he struggles up the police ladder, aiming to get a promotion to win back his wife and daughter. Setting out to do this via manipulation, excessive drug use and the rife stealing of his police competitors may not be the most level-headed way to go. Eventually his increasingly unhinged actions bring him to the attention of a doctor played by Jim Broadbent, who also becomes part of his hallucinatory antics. Jamie Bell, Eddie Marsan, Shirley Henderson and Imogen Poots fill out a solid supporting cast and there is a very knowing cameo from ex-Hutch David Soul. Foul-mouthed, in your face and blackly comic, Filth is another quality Irvine Welsh adaptation that unsettles as well as entertains. Opens Sept 27
AUSTENLAND ***
Dir: Jerusha Hess (12A, 97 mins) A Jane Austen theme park? It could happen, probably somewhere near Bath. This becomes the escape for Keri Russell as she fails to find any redeeming features in modern men and escapes to a role playing experience to find her own Mr D’Arcy. Naturally the course of true love never did run smooth, and although she may find plenty of dashing courteous suitors, are they just a mere fantasy? This is a quirky, fun examination of relationships with Russell a likeable Austen obsessed heroine. Directed by the man behind Napoleon Dynamite, this still has some offbeat silliness and Twilight scribe Stephanie Meyer adds romance without too cloying an effect. Flight Of The Conchords’ Bret Mackenzie adds some winning charm playing the parts of the menial characters in the themed ‘experience’, whilst Jennifer Coolidge ignorant of Britain and Austen just wants something classy to happen to her. Gentle and likeable, Austenland is worth visiting. Reader, I watched it. Opens Sept 27
DIANA ***
Dir: Oliver Hirschbiegel (12A, 115 mins) Controversy ahoy as this bio-pic of the last two years of the people’s princess’ life comes to the big screen. Played by an excellent Naomi Watts, the film deals with her hounding by the paparazzi and her little known and less splashy love affair with Pakistani heart surgeon Hasnat Khan, played by Naveen Andrews. Key moments etched into the public consciousness are brought back to life by Downfall director Hirschbiegel, including the infamous Panorama interview. The film shows a woman trying to escape her celebrity and wanting to do some good, hence the landmine campaigns, but most of all still craving love in the form of heart surgeon Khan. Because Diana was such a cultural icon, this could be a film to very easily get wrong, so much has been written about her that reducing her into a two-hour film may seem glib. Watts certainly looks the part and, sensitively handled, this will no doubt prove Oscar bait. Too soon still though? Opens Sept 20
the ever reliable Mark Ruffalo and P!nk!! HAWKING (12A) Documentary about the brilliant scientist including interviews with him and his family, don’t get him started on black holes. COLD COMES THE NIGHT (15) Bryan Cranston plays a nearly blind baddie, with an outrageous accent, who is out to get money from single mum Alice Eve with predictable results. ANY DAY NOW (15) Alan Cumming shines in this 70s set drama about a gay couple wanting to adopt a mentally handicapped teenager who they have taken in, and end up fighting against a very biased legal system.