1 Sausage Party (15)
(Greg Tiernan, Conrad Vernon, 2016, US) 89 mins.
No food-related double-entendre is left behind in this adults-only animation, and a fair few national stereotypes are reheated for good measure. You can get away with an awful lot simply by being funny, though, and the voice cast is a veritable hall of fame, led by Seth Rogen and Kristen Wiig. Beneath the rapid-fire raunch and freeform absurdity, there’s also some nutritional content.
2 Things To Come (12A)
(Mia Hansen-Løve, 2016, Fra/Ger) 102 mins.
Quality European dramas starring Isabelle Huppert are starting to feel routine, but we really can’t complain. And who better to portray an intellectual everywoman in late-life crisis? This intelligent, sensitive drama casts her as Nathalie, a spirited philosophy teacher, daughter, mother and wife – roles that all become unstable before the summer’s up, testing her long-held principles.
3 Café Society (12A)
(Woody Allen, 2016, US) 96 mins.
It could almost be the product of an automated Allen movie generator, but this breezy 1930s showbiz/crime romp still has charm, style and wisdom. Jesse Eisenberg is the east coast newbie in Tinseltown, hired by his movie-mogul uncle Steve Carell. Kristen Stewart is also in the office. Go figure.
4 Julieta (15)
(Pedro Almodóvar, 2016, Spa) 99 mins.
Vintage Almodóvar, in terms of both vibrant visual style and narrative intricacy, this blends three Alice Munro short stories involving mothers, daughters, memories and myth. The result is a noirish melodrama that wears its complexity lightly.
5 Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping (15)
(Akiva Schaffer, Jorma Taccone, 2016, US) 87 mins.
A 21st-century pop parody that shoots most of the fish in the barrel, as Andy Samberg’s former boyband artiste gets a much-needed ego bath shortly into his solo career. Pastiche songs, celeb-culture satire and enjoyable cameos seal the deal.
