Blackthorn (18, Chelsea Films, 98 mins)
Sam Shephard stars in this western as the sort of grizzled and hardened character you’d expect from the esteemed actor. Shepherd is Butch Blackthorn, aka Butch Cassidy, the young gunslinger having survived the shoot down with the Bolivian army immortalised in the Newman and Redford movie and now very much alive and living out his days in a quiet village. Before he dies, he decides to return home from his self-imposed exile to see his family, and becomes embroiled in one last adventure. Celebrated for not just its central performance as an ageing Cassidy, but also its beautiful vistas of Bolivia, this is a western that deserves to find an audience beyond the usual dust-bowl fans.
Battleship (12A, Universal, 131 mins)
Transformers at sea, essentially, this adaptation (cast Taylor Kitsch and Brooklyn Decker alongside director Peter Berg pictured top at the South Korea premiere) of the Hasbro board game sees Taylor Kitsch and Alexander Skarsgard as two brothers in the Navy who, when out on a routine training mission, wind up defending the world when truckloads of aliens turn up looking to exterminate mankind. It’s loud, stupid (particularly the climactic battle’s WTF moment!), and lacking much sense of fun but while the money’s up there on the screen for all to see it ultimately leaves you cold.
Cabin In The Woods (15, Lionsgate, 95mins)
After sitting on the shelf for 18 months after MGM folded, this smart, postmodern horror from director Drew Goddard (writer behind Cloverfield) and writer-producer Joss Whedon (Buffy The vampire Slayer) nails genre conventions to the wall. A group of college kids go out to spend the weekend at a secluded country cabin – what could go wrong? Prettty much everything, as it would happen, but not in the way(s) you might expect. Subverting expectations, this is a knowing send up of horror movies in general that never takes itself too seriously and is a riot as a result.
Check out our review of the film here.
Delicacy (12A, StudioCanal, 109 mins)
Audrey Tautou, who shot to fame in Amelie and then blew it all by allowing herself to be a part of the monstrous misfire that was The Da Vinci Code, stars in this comedy-drama about a woman who embarks on a relationship with a work colleague after the death of her husband.
A Night to Remember (PG, Park Circus)
One of the defining movies about the ship that will not be forgotten comes back to screens to battle with James Cameron’s re-released epic to celebrate the centenary of the ship’s sinking.
