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.

First Man

What we know

Ryan Gosling stars as the first man on the moon – geddit? – Neil Armstrong, in a film that delves into the impact of such a huge step on the man and his family. Plus seems to contain lots of scenes of Gosling undergoing mad physical tests to prepare him for the flight, if you’re into that sort of thing. Directed by Damien Chazelle (Whiplash).

What the critics say

• “The Kubrickian hallmark of space movies—majestic wide shots—is ignored (at least right until the film’s final sequence). From minute one, Chazelle wants things to feel tenuous and stressful; the Apollo program, after all, was no sure bet. It was, quite literally, a wild moonshot.” – The Atlantic
• “Chazelle restricts the action almost entirely to the point-of-view of the astronauts themselves: the things they literally see and hear during their missions (the movie eschews panoramic shots they aren’t privy to), along with what they’re thinking and feeling.” – Variety

What’s it rated?

• RottenTomatoes: 8.1/10
• IMDB: 6.6/10

Rosie

What we know

This Irish film – written by Roddy Doyle and directed by Paddy Breathnach – couldn’t be coming out at a more poignant time. It’s about a family – parents Rosie and John Paul – who have been evicted from their home and are left living in their car with their four children.

What the critics say

• “Doyle’s screenplay doesn’t go in for big political grandstanding, to its credit, but it’s hard not to watch this film and wonder why the system is so broken in a country whose economic prosperity has grown exponentially over the last 20 years.” – Hollywood Reporter
• “Set over a 36-hour period, the picture is staggeringly efficient in its detailing of the practical and emotional pressures that assail such people.” – Irish Times 

What’s it rated?

• RottenTomatoes: 8.5/10
• IMDB: 7.0/10

Mandy

What we know

Set in 1983 (and starring our own Olwen Fouéré alongside Nicolas Cage), this film is about a couple whose idyllic life is interrupted by a cult.

What the critics say

• “Mandy is not just hideous, hilarious and thrilling – although, it’s all of those and then some – it’s also a meditation on personal grief which loses no poignancy for all its blood-soaked insanity and eye-melting psychedelia.” – Cine-Vue
• “Imagine a live-action version of the cover art from a band that sang about dragons, Vikings and both Sodom and Gomorrah, set to a score from the late Jóhann Jóhannsson, that’s half the hardest basslines you’ll find outside a Berlin basement club and half atmospherics that would give Beelzebub himself the willies.” – Empire

What’s it rated?

• RottenTomatoes: 7.8/10
• IMDB: 6.8/10

Which one would you go see first?