TRUE THINGS ★★★★☆
Directed by Harry Wootliff. Starring Ruth Wilson, Tom Burke, Hayley Squires. 16 cert, limited release, 102 min
Staid Kate (Wilson) and dangerous Blond (Burke) embark on a scary affair. Kate's carnality, even when soundtracked by PJ Harvey, exists on a crevice of romantic rooting and dismay. Several scenes will leave the viewer shouting at the heroine as if she were descending into the cursed basement of a horror film. "Don't give him your car keys!" Expertly poised performances from Wilson and Burke ensure that one will equally and perversely root for their foolish relationship all the way down. Confirms Wootliff, director of infertility romance Only You, as an unmissable talent. Full review TB
MORBIUS ★★☆☆☆
Directed by Daniel Espinosa. Starring Jared Leto, Matt Smith, Adria Arjona, Jared Harris, Al Madrigal, Tyrese Gibson. 15A cert, gen release, 104 min
"We have to push the boundaries," the scientist who looks like a street conjurer cackles. "We have to take risks." Yeah, well that always works out for the mad scientist. Leto play an ill man who becomes a vampire in the latest of Sony's films made from the bits of the Spider-Man Universe that fell out of Spidey suitcase when he ran away from home to become Tom Holland. Feels chopped down from a more lucid, but almost certainly more boring first cut. We need more Matt (panto camp) and less Leto (absurdly straight). Full review DC
SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 2 ★★☆☆☆
Directed by Jeff Fowler. Starring James Marsden, Jim Carrey, Tika Sumpter, Natasha Rothwell, voices of Ben Schwartz, Idris Elba. PG cert, gen release, 123 min
One might reasonably imagine that with all the current troubles in the world, no one would be malicious enough to launch a second Sonic the Hedgehog film upon us unsuspecting masses. And yet here we are. The actors are ill-served by a script that carps on about finding your moment or some such. Can't a hedgehog go on a quest to find a magic master emerald without this constant haranguing? Couldn't we have a Sonic movie that doesn't feature the phrase "I love you, Sonic"? Worse still, there's the run time. Isn't Sonic supposed to be speedy? Full review TB
THE BAD GUYS ★★☆☆☆
Directed by Pierre Perifel. Voices of Sam Rockwell, Marc Maron, Anthony Ramos, Craig Robinson, Awkwafina, Richard Ayoade, Zazie Beetz, Lilly Singh. G cert, gen release, 101 min
The "bad" animals – Mr Wolf, Mr Piranha, Ms Tarantula and so on – in a universe where anthropomorphic creatures coexist with humans make an effort to live the clean life. This relentlessly unimpressive animated adaptation of an Australian graphic novel begins with a homage to the diner scene in Goodfellas and a variation on an ancient joke. Neither works particularly well, but you do at least feel the filmmakers have an objective in mind. The animation then slides into a drab morass of bad-ass cliches. The one redeeming feature is Ayoade's voice turn as an insufferably self-righteous guinea pig. Full review DC
