BOILING POINT ★★★★☆
Directed by Philip Barantini. Starring Stephen Graham, Vinette Robinson, Alice Feetham, Jason Flemyng, Ray Panthaki, Malachi Kirby, Lourdes Faberes, Izuka Hoyle. 15A cert, limited release/VOD, 95 min
One-shot drama following one night's service in a stylish East London restaurant. the film gives a real sense of the frantic stress that underlies such operations. The lack of cuts presses home the real-time scenario and allows no escape from the hurtling momentum. Stephen Graham winds worry round pressure to create a believably one-the-edge chef. The medium is definitely part of the message. More than anything else, Boiling Point is about the wretchedness of the public. A racist boor asks for the most expensive bottle of wine. Others wave around their Instagram followers. A convincing nightmare. Full review DC
A HERO ★★★★☆
Directed by Asghar Farhadi. Starring Amir Jadidi, Mohsen Tanabandeh, Fereshteh Sadre Orafaiy, Sarina Farhadi. Limited release, 127 min
A man temporarily released from debtors' prison seeks to get his affairs in order. It would not be entirely accurate to describe Asghar Farhadi's sixth feature as a thriller and yet, from the opening seconds, A Hero exerts a vice-like grip on the viewer. In common with the Iranian director's most-admired films – including the Oscar-winning A Separation – A Hero seamlessly marries genre kicks and social circumstance. The bustling streets of Shiraz make for a lively soundscape and spectacle behind the various dilemmas. Full review TB
MUNICH: THE EDGE OF WAR ★★★☆☆
Directed by Christian Schwochow. Starring Jeremy Irons, George MacKay, Jannis Niewöhner, Sandra Hüller, Liv Lisa Fries, August Diehl, Jessica Brown Findlay, Anjli Mohindra. Netflix, 123 min
Irons makes for a terrific and complicated Neville Chamberlain at the heart of this adaptation of Robert Harris's 2017 bestseller. The screenplay and Irons' clever performance leaves Chamberlain open to interpretation. "So far as my personal reputation is concerned, I am not in the least disturbed about it," the British prime minister once wrote. Munich: The Edge of War is more concerned than Chamberlain was. He's bumbling and in error, but he's equally traumatised by the first World War and the prospect of future conflict. Full review TB
THE 355 ★★☆☆☆
Directed by Simon Kinberg. Starring Jessica Chastain, Lupita Nyong'o, Penélope Cruz, Diane Kruger, Fan Bingbing, Sebastian Stan, Édgar Ramírez. 12A cert, gen release, 123 min
The female stars listed above appear as a group of secret agents hunting down an apocalyptic electronic doohickey. This largely useless film stands as a quaint tribute to a vanished era in which movie stars could open films. In 2022 you may as well try and flog a thriller on celebrity ventriloquists. Kruger manages to set the right sleek tone. The rest struggle with underwritten parts and half-formed dialogue. The 355 emerges from an honourable aspiration to find action roles for female stars. But it has no energy. Full review DC
