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.

Which one would you go see first?

The Disaster Artist

What we know

You’ve heard of The Room and Tommy Wiseau, right? Well here comes the movie about Wiseau, starring James Franco as the unusual dude himself, and his real-life brother Dave as friend Greg Sestero. You’re tearing me apart, Lisa!

What the critics say

• “There’s a surface resemblance to Ed Wood, but Tim Burton’s gee-whiz, Horatio Alger tone and affection for Wood’s sincerity is a world away from Franco’s Wiseau, with his nowhere accent, abiding paranoia, and creepy possessiveness. Wiseau is an enigma, a threat — and a source of high hilarity.” – Vulture
• “How many other Hollywood “heroes” might think of themselves similarly, even as they annoyed and alienated their friends and co-workers to achieve their dreams? How much stubbornness and arrogance is essential to the creation of art—even a work as “objectively” bad as The Room, which violates almost every basic law of visual storytelling? These are the questions James Franco picks at in The Disaster Artist…“ – The Atlantic

What’s it rated?

• RottenTomatoes: 7.8/10
• IMDB: 8.3/10

Song of Granite

What we know

This Irish movie – made by Pat Collins, who also made Silence – is a tribute to the sean nós singer Joe Heaney. The black and white film is Ireland’s entry for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar, due to the fact most of its dialogue is in Irish.

What the critics say

• “Shot in black-and-white, the movie tries to shake off the biopic doldrums, employing a fragmented structure that emphasizes isolated moments instead of a narrative arc.” – New York Times
• ““Song of Granite,” meanwhile, amounts to a sonic exploration of Ireland and its people, a communal history of hardship, dispersion and exile carried by its multiple singing voices. At the center of it, however, Heaney remains a lone, restless, ill-fitting figure, equally adrift on home turf, in London or in New York City, where he settled later in life.” – Variety

What’s it rated?

• RottenTomatoes: 7.6/10
• IMDB: 6.4/10

Stronger

What we know

This tells the real-life story of Jeff Bauman (played by Jake Gyllenhaal) who loses both his legs in the Boston Bombing. The film charts his recovery and the huge battle he faces in trying to get his life back together.

What the critics say

• “During much of “Stronger,” Jeff will be told he’s a hero and reminded to stay “Boston Strong,” but will question again and again just what that means. And then Green’s film subverts its own message about the commodification of tragedy to become something even more remarkable — a statement on the value of images of survival.” – RogerEbert.com
• “The performances, particularly from Gyllenhaal and Tatiana Maslany (as Bauman’s girlfriend, Erin Hurley), are certainly Oscar-worthy, and the story arc largely follows the inspirational parabola of Hollywood screenwriting. But the movie shouldn’t be dismissed as just another real-life drama to catch on cable TV someday; Stronger is a profound, sensitively made gem.” – The Atlantic

What’s it rated?

• RottenTomatoes: 7.7/10
• IMDB: 7.4/10

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