Film

Six of the best films to see at the cinema this weekend

New this week: Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, McQueen, All the Wild Horses, The Boy Downstairs

Things that go Stomp! in the night: Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom

Donald Clarke
Tara Brady
Fri Jun 8 2018 - 06:00

JURASSIC WORLD: FALLEN KINGDOM ★★★
Directed by JA Bayona. Starring Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Rafe Spall, Jeff Goldblum, Justice Smith, Daniella Pineda, James Cromwell, Toby Jones, Ted Levine, Geraldine Chaplin. 12A cert, general release, 128 min
Adequate follow-up to the world-crushing Jurassic World. This time round, Howard and Pratt are asked to help the dinosaurs escape from a volcanic eruption. But evil men in suits have ulterior motives. The action is satisfactory, but what sets Fallen Kingdom apart is the decision to allow Bayona, director of the spooky The Orphanage, to turn the last act into a variation on the haunted house movie. The mesh doesn't really work, but it remains an interesting experiment. Full review/trailer DC

MCQUEEN ★★★★
Directed by Ian Bonhôte and Peter Ettedgui. Featuring Alexander McQueen. 15 cert, general release, 111 min

On the night that fashion designer Alexander McQueen took his own life in 2010, his long-time collaborator and friend Mira Chai Hyde felt a presence in her room. It sounds unlikely, and yet, watching this well-crafted biographical documentary, one can empathise. The film-makers have properly scoured the archives in search of their subject and yet McQueen remains a ghostly, unknowable presence throughout. There are illuminating contributions from Hyde, from assistant designer Sebastian Pons, and from art dealer Detmar Blow, the widower of McQueen's former mentor, Isabella Blow, as this elegantly constructed film outlines the biographical details. Full review/trailer TB

ALL THE WILD HORSES ★★★★
Directed by Ivo Marloh. Featuring Donal Fahy, Richie Killoran. Club, IFI, Dublin, 90 min

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Drawing inspiration from an early version of the Pony Express established by Genghis Khan, the Mongol Derby, the world's longest horserace, sends competitors across 1,000km of gruelling Mongolian terrain. Marloh's documentary is formally conventional, but the story it tells is unendingly fascinating: heat stroke, bucking semi-wild horses, mad Irishmen, the odd broken neck. This is one of those uncomplicated documentaries on a fascinating subject that could generate a cult. DC

THE BOY DOWNSTAIRS ★★★★
Directed by Sophie Brooks. Starring Zosia Mamet, Matthew Shear, Deirdre O'Connell, Diana Irvine, Sarah Ramos, Arliss Howard, Deborah Offner, David Wohl. 12A cert, QFT, Belfast, 91 min

Girls alumnus Zosia Mamet is all bittersweetness and light in this hugely likable New York rom-com. Returning from three years in London, Diana (Mamet) finds the perfect apartment. Her new brownstone home comes with a fun, free-spirited, widowed owner-occupier (O'Connell) and – whoops – Diana's ex-boyfriend Ben living in the basement. This post-mumblecore, millennial When Harry Met Sally trades on good-humour and scarlet-making awkward situations. TB

MY FRIEND DAHMER ★★★★
Directed by Marc Meyers. Starring Ross Lynch, Alex Wolff, Anne Heche, Dallas Roberts, Miles Robbins, Vincent Kartheiser. 15A cert, limited release, 107 min

Moving study of Jeffrey Dahmer, future serial killer, as he grows up awkwardly in 1970s Ohio. Those unaware of Dahmer's fate could see the film as an angular take on 1970s loserdom played to melodies from the Lars Von Trier songbook (stark, liquid camerawork; awkward riffs on learning disability). Most of the audience will experience something else: a variation on Carrie that ends with the actual death of 17 men. Full review DC

THE BREADWINNER ★★★★
Directed by Norah Twomey. Voices of Saara Chaudry, Soma Chhaya, Laara Sadiq, Shaista Latif, Ali Badshah, Kawa Ada. 12A cert, general release, 93 min

The latest from Kilkenny's Cartoon Saloon concerns a girl in Taliban-controlled Kabul who is forced to dress as a boy to support her family. If the previous Cartoon Saloon features, Song of the Sea and The Secret of Kells, had a flaw, it was a lack of discipline in their narrative structure. Despite its frequent diversions into high fantasy, The Breadwinner has greater momentum and a more secure story arc. As ever, the visuals are gorgeous. Full review DC