This week's latest releases reviewed
PRIVATE PROPERTY/NUE PROPRIÉTÉ ****
Directed by Joachim Lafosse. Starring Isabelle Huppert, Jérémie Rénier, Yannick Rénier, Kris Cuppens. 15 cert
A divorced woman (Huppert), longing for her new relationship to blossom, plans to sell the family home. Her indolent grown-up twin sons (played by the real-life Rénier brothers, who are not twins) are dismayed, releasing their tensions through sibling rivalry in this intense, intimate drama set on the outskirts of a city somewhere in Belgium. - MICHAEL DWYER
A COMEDY OF POWER/L'IVRESSE DU POUVOIR ***
Directed by Claude Chabrol. Starring Isabelle Huppert, François Berland, Patrick Bruel, Robin Renucci, Maryline Canto, Thomas Chabrol. 15 cert
Huppert turns up again, as a pallid workaholic judge zealously investigating white-collar crime in Chabrol's factually based, slow-burning drama, which is engrossing but not as tightly wound as his finest thrillers. - MICHAEL DWYER
FUNNY GAMES ***
Directed by Michael Haneke. Starring Naomi Watts, Tim Roth, Michael Pitt, Brady Corbet, Boyd Gaines, Siobhan Fallon. 16 cert
Two smug American youths take a bourgeois couple hostage in their remote holiday home. Haneke's shot-by-shot remake of his 1997 Austrian think piece remains shocking and thought-provoking. However, not a great deal is gained by moving events across time and space. Watts is convincingly fragile as the imprisoned mother. - DONALD CLARKE
AZUR & ASMAR: THE PRINCES' QUEST ***
Directed by Michel Ocelot. Voices of Steven Kyman, Nigel Pilkington, Suzanna Nour, Nigel Lambert, Leopold Benedict. G cert
Full of wise messages, this decent French animation, taking place in France and north Africa during the 17th century, details the relationship between a Muslim boy and his aristocratic Caucasian friend. The visuals should be sufficiently intoxicating to distract most children from the fact that the film is dealing with "issues". - DONALD CLARKE
27 DRESSES ***
Directed by Anne Fletcher. Starring Katherine Heigl, James Marsden, Malin Akerman, Judy Greer, Edward Burns. 12A cert
Surprisingly agreeable confetti-com starring Heigl as a perennial bridesmaid in love with the wrong guy.
It's a bit drippy, but the star has just the right sort of brow - easily furrowed - for the comedy of frustration and, aided by unfussy direction, she carries the flick to some pleasing places. - DONALD CLARKE
RESERVATION ROAD ***
Directed by Terry George. Starring Joaquin Phoenix, Mark Ruffalo, Jennifer Connelly, Mira Sorvino. 15 cert
Going directly to DVD here, the new film from Irish writer-director Terry George (Hotel Rwanda, Some Mother's Son) introduces two close father-son relationships in a Connecticut town.
Then, in a hit-and-run accident, one, a lawyer (Ruffalo), kills the 10-year-old son of the other, a college professor (Phoenix).
This sets in motion a taut psychological thriller as the grieving father becomes obsessed with discovering the identity of the driver.
The pressure becomes unbearable for both men - one wracked with grief, the other with guilt - and the relationship between the lecturer and his wife (Connelly) comes under severe strain.
The cast delivers strong, committed performances as the drama builds towards an awkward resolution. - MICHAEL DWYER
