PLANNING ON HEADING to the cinema this weekend?

There are a few new movies out, but which is a must-watch, and are there any you should avoid? We take a look.

Fifty Shades Freed

What we know

It’s the final in the Fifty Shades trilogy, and sees Anastasia and Christian tying the knot (of the wedding kind, not the BDSM kind, though that’s probably in there too). You know what you’re getting here, in fairness.

What the critics say

• “With Mrs. Grey now mostly in her husband’s gilded grasp, the series’ former tart strain of battle-of-the-sexes comedy has bled almost entirely out of the enterprise, while even our heroine’s sporadic moments of defiance don’t stray far from a plush wish-fulfilment agenda.” - Variety
• “It’s obscenely gratuitous lifestyle porn, so personality-free that it could be watched without volume in a hotel reception, and it’s gradually and inevitably interspersed with more softcore porn, so soft and so boringly frequent that I could almost feel a collective audience sigh every time they got naked again.” - The Guardian

What’s it rated?

• RottenTomatoes: 5/10
• IMDB: 3.1/10

Loveless

What we know

The Russian director Andrey Zvyagintsev presents another fairly bleak but great film, this time about a boy who goes missing and the search to find him.

What the critics say

• “The terrible calamity throws everything into a sharper, clearer relief. And so far from falling into each other’s arms, or finding any kind of comfort in each other’s desperation, their existing unhappiness is exalted into an ecstasy of rage and self-hate.” - The Guardian
• ““Loveless” can be seen not just as a drama of marital dysfunction but as a fierce metaphorical indictment of the society that produced its characters.” - RogerEbert.com

What’s it rated?

• RottenTomatoes: 8.2/10
• IMDB: 7.8/10

The 15:17 to Paris

What we know

Clint Eastwood directs this true story of what happened when three Americans on holidays in Europe foil an attempted terror attack. It focuses more on the men’s lives than the attack, and is less of an action film than one that emphasises personal courage.

What the critics say

• “There’s an obvious precursor to “The 15:17 to Paris,” and that’s “United 93,” which I have never hesitated to call the one great post-9/11 drama. It, too, stayed as true as possible to the most mundane facts — and it also featured a number of non-actors (albeit in small roles, in the control tower) who’d actually lived through what they were depicting.” - Variety
• “ The one big commercial hope for The 15:17 to Paris (the very title of which may prove a bit confusing for the down-home crowd) lies in capturing a portion of the huge American Sniper audience, as the new film has patriotic and religious angles that may hold significant appeal for viewers across Middle and Southern America.” - Hollywood Reporter

What’s it rated?

• RottenTomatoes:
• IMDB: 7.0/10

The Mercy

What we know

This is the true story of Donald Crowhurst (don’t Google him unless you want to totally spoil the film), who set out in 1968 to take part in a round-the-world yacht contest.

What the critics say

• “ Colin Firth plays Crowhurst with a comic edge in the early stretches, but becomes a more human, tragic figure as he voyages into his own personal heart of darkness.”- Screen Daily
• “Through all the film’s bumps and scrapes, Firth does invest a lot of commendable energy in helping us grasp Crowhurst’s besieged state of mind.” - The Telegraph

What’s it rated?

• RottenTomatoes: 7.2/10
• IMDB: 7.0/10

Which one would you go see first?

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