THE BATMAN ★★★★☆
Directed by Matt Reeves. Starring Robert Pattinson, Zoë Kravitz, Paul Dano, Jeffrey Wright, John Turturro, Peter Sarsgaard, Andy Serkis, Colin Farrell. 15A cert, gen release, 176 min
Reeves's take on (the) Batman is almost entirely without jokes, but even its firmest supporters will find themselves occasionally sniggering at all this self-importance. That is not, however, to suggest that the film does not own and occupy its chosen environment. Indeed, this is the most well thought-through outing for the caped crusader since Christopher Nolan's durable The Dark Knight in 2008. It differs from earlier movie incarnations in its commitment to a more traditional mystery plot and its engagement with contemporary cynicism. Pattinson is great as a more youthful Bruce Wayne. With Farrell unrecognisable as the Penguin, Kravitz a rough-hewn Catwoman. Full review DC
ALI & AVA ★★★★☆
Directed by Clio Barnard. Starring Adeel Akhtar, Claire Rushbrook, Ellora Torchia Shaun Thomas, Natalie Gavin. Mona Goodwin. 15A cert, limited release, 95 min
Barnard first came to prominence with The Arbor, an engrossing, lip-synched experimental docu-drama about Bradford playwright Andrea Dunbar. The director returns to Dunbar's locale for this magical Yorkshire reworking of All That Heaven Allows. Ali (Akhtar), an enthusiastic amateur DJ, and Irish-born classroom assistant Ava (Rushbrook) are not obvious candidates to interpret Rock Hudson and Jane Wyman from Douglas Sirk's 1955 classic. Their mature, star-crossed romance, however, retains the same emotional punch. An early scene in which Ali and Ava win over stone-throwing youths with banging tunes on the car stereo is emblematic of the film's infectious resilience. Full review TB
YOU ARE NOT MY MOTHER ★★★☆☆
Directed by Kate Dolan. Starring Hazel Doupe, Carolyn Bracken, Ingrid Craigie, Paul Reid, Jordanne Jones, Jade Jordan. 16 cert, gen release, 93 min
Dolan's promising debut feature opens with an indelible sequence in which a baby in a buggy is parked in the middle of a suburban Dublin street. A woman walks from her house and pushes the infant into nearby woods, only to assemble and light a strange, ritualistic fire around the mewling child. Thus begins an unholy marriage of Irish folklore and familial dysfunction. At its best, You Are Not My Mother's intergenerational portrait of women and strange goings-on recall the slow-burning Alzheimer's horror of Natalie Erika James' Relic. The director skilfully escalates her heroine's predicament even if the final mythological explanation is muddled. Full review TB
NIGHTRIDE ★★★☆☆
Directed by Stephen Fingleton. Starring Moe Dunford, Joana Ribeiro, Gerard Jordan, Ciaran Flynn, John Travers, Stephen Rea. Netflix, 97 min
Fast-moving, one-shot thriller that sends drug-dealer Dunford driving around Belfast on "one last job" before he retires to set up a garage. As if often the case in single-take movies, a little too much happens in too short a time. But the script is a model of design and economy. The dilemmas remain clear. The solutions mostly make sense. Dunford has never been better. It also helps that there is strong vocal work from the likes of Desmond Eastwood and an unprecedentedly gruff Stephen Rea. I do wish people would say "goodbye" before hanging up on his hands-free calls though. Full review DC
