MAUDIE (12A)

Director Aisling Walsh's moving drama paints a dignified portrait of Canadian folk artist Maud Lewis, who weathered agonising rheumatoid arthritis as she shared her vision of the world in brightly coloured paintings. Filmed on location in Ireland and Newfoundland, Maudie celebrates the endurance of one indefatigable human spirit in a bitterly cold, tumbledown shack at the mercy of the elements. Sally Hawkins is extraordinary in the demanding title role. It's a transformative performance reminiscent of Daniel Day-Lewis' stellar work in My Left Foot, capturing Lewis' dignity and determination as her physical state deteriorates.

VALERIAN AND THE CITY OF A THOUSAND PLANETS (12A)

Armed with a reported budget of around 200 million US dollars, French writer-director Luic Besson delivers a rip-roaring spectacle that assaults the eyes but seldom touches the heart. It brazenly melds elements of Star Wars and Avatar to explore the destruction of otherworldly races in the 28th century. It's evident that this is the opening salvo of a potential franchise but it's hard to see further adventures for these poorly sketched characters when on-screen chemistry between leads Dane DeHaan and Cara Delevingne is inert and plotting is so haphazard.

THE BIG SICK (15)

Based on the real-life courtship of Pakistani-American stand-up comedian Kumail Nanjiani and his wife Emily V Gordon, who co-wrote the script, The Big Sick is a small, perfectly formed gem, which is polished to a dazzling glister by a superb ensemble cast. Nanjiani plays himself to deadpan perfection and he catalyses molten screen chemistry with co-star Zoe Kazan as the luminous object of his awkward affections.

Trickles of saltwater tears are mopped up with swathes of sincere, warm-hearted humour. If laughter is the best medicine then a spoonful of Michael Showalter's film is a tonic that leaves the sweetest feeling.

GIRLS TRIP (15)

Sugar and spice and all things nice – that’s not what girls are made of in director Malcolm D Lee’s raucous comedy. The central quartet of fun-loving forty-somethings (Regina Hall, Queen Latifah, Jada Pinkett Smith, Tiffany Haddish) are more likely to smear the ingredients of the 19th century nursery rhyme over their bodies, or chug them down with absinthe as they enjoy a weekend to remember in New Orleans. Scriptwriters Kenya Harris and Tracy Oliver don’t spare the characters’ blushes, including one delirious sequence involving a deluge of bodily fluids that gives new meaning to raining on someone’s parade. A delirious guilty pleasure.

CAPTAIN UNDERPANTS: THE FIRST EPIC MOVIE (U)

Adapted from Dav Pilkey’s series of colourful children’s books, David Soren’s energetic computer-animated adventure is like a pair of oft-worn Y-fronts: saggy and frayed in places, but structurally sound. Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie embraces puerile humour with a goofy grin and repeatedly trots out fart and poop gags to keep youngsters in the audience sniggering with glee.

DUNKIRK (12A)

Brevity is the soul of writer-director Christopher Nolan’s harrowing wartime drama. In his shortest feature since his acclaimed 1998 debut Following, the Oscar-nominated filmmaker crafts a stunning mosaic of personal stories of triumph and defeat against the sprawling backdrop of the largest evacuation of allied forces during the Second World War. Nolan adopts a stripped back approach to storytelling that jettisons dialogue for long sequences. He sets our nerves on edge in the hauntingly beautiful opening scene, and steadily tightens the knot of tension. Unmissable.

WAR FOR THE PLANET

OF THE APES (12A)

The third chapter of the rebooted sci-fi franchise sees a cataclysmic showdown between the last remnants of mankind and genetically enhanced primates, who have collectively weathered the storm of Simian Flu. It’s a glittering showcase for Andy Serkis’ motion-capture portrayal of the leader of the ape uprising, begging tantalising questions about where performance ends and state-of-the-art trickery begins. Everyone has blood on their hands and the contemplative script corrupts characters on both sides of the conflict in the name of survival.

CARS 3 (U)

The second sequel to the 2006 computer-animated comedy Cars continues the misadventures of anthropomorphised vehicles, who orbit championship racing car Lightning McQueen (voiced by Owen Wilson) as he ponders retiring from the track. Fond memories of mentor Doc Hudson (Paul Newman) compel Lightning to hit the comeback trail and he heads to the Rust-eze Racing Center where a trainer promises to improve Lightning’s speed and stamina. Cars 3 is the most poignant film in the series, striking a pleasing balance between heartfelt sentiment, belly laughs and dazzling artistry. Admittedly, it does not reinvent the steering wheel, but it does tinge even the most colour-saturated scenes with a wistful yearning for the simple pleasures of the past.

THE BEGUILED (15)

Writer-director Sofia Coppola’s fable of female empowerment. Set against the backdrop of the American Civil War, The Beguiled lovingly reupholsters a shabby Gothic melodrama starring Clint Eastwood with stunning cinematography courtesy of Philippe Le Sourd and impeccable production design. The focus of Coppola’s version is an isolated household of women and girls led by Nicole Kidman, who unwittingly invite a wolf in military clothing (Colin Farrell) into their hen house, and must take control of their destiny, using force if necessary. The Beguiled largely delivers on the intoxicating promise of the title, casting a heady spell.

SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING (12A)

Jon Watts’ slick reboot of the Marvel Comics superhero – the third iteration in 15 years – spins an impressive web of rites-of-passage drama, buddy comedy and bombastic spectacle. Several months have passed since the destruction of the Avengers headquarters and Peter Parker (Tom Holland) has managed to conceal his crime-fighting alter ego from Aunt May (Marisa Tomei) with the help of his mentor, Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr). When salvage company owner Adrian Toomes (Michael Keaton) takes flight as a larcenous winged menace called Vulture, Peter foolishly tries to prove himself to the Avengers by tackling the airborne madman alone.

Song to Song (15)

It has been tempting to regard Terrence Malick’s recent films, with their gorgeous settings, handsome casts and minimal dialogue, as bordering on perfume ads with knobs on. This love triangle drama, set in the music scene in Texas, seems at first like more of the same. It does have beautiful people (Ryan Gosling, Rooney Mara and Michael Fassbender), but it also has something resembling a story and celebrity cameos besides.

Tommy’s Honour (PG)

A drama about the early years of golf, made in Scotland and directed by the son of Shir Shean himself: what could be more Scottish? Peter Mullan and Jack Lowden star as Tom and Tommy Morris, the father and son players who helped shape the multi-million-pound game as seen on TV today. While Lowden and Mullan turn in watchable performances, some of the rest of the acting is as wooden as the clubs and the budget limitations are only too obvious. Strictly for golf fans, though given the dullness of the piece even they may consider this a good walk to the cinema spoiled.

IT COMES AT NIGHT (15)

If you go down to the woods in writer-director Trey Edward Shults’ efficient psychological thriller, you’re sure of a nasty surprise. Set in the aftermath of a viral outbreak that has decimated America, It Comes At Night gradually tightens the thumbscrews until we’re prickled with the same paranoia as the characters. History teacher Paul (Joel Edgerton) and his wife Sarah (Carmen Ejogo) ride out the storm with their 17-year-old son in their fortified home in the woods. When a desperate man breaks into the house, claiming to be looking

for water for his wife, Paul must make tough decisions to protect his brood from harm.

THE HOUSE (15)

Comedy The House, about a couple who start an illegal gambling den to fund their daughter’s university, hits a losing streak in the opening frames and haemorrhages our patience at an alarming rate. The script bets heavily on the high-rolling comedic talents of Will Ferrell, Amy Poehler and Jason Mantzoukas to recoup big laughs from a loopy plot, garish characterisation and two sequences of gratuitous blood-letting. Sadly, almost everything the cast risks in pursuit of sympathy giggles – including lopping off a limb of actor Jeremy Renner – is a bust.

DESPICABLE ME 3 (U)

Despicable Me 3 is a pick’n’ mix of half-formed ideas, crudely stitched together with flimsy subplots that lack any forward momentum. The third chapter relies heavily on the googly-eyed Minions and there are fleeting giggles involving the comical stooges and their high-pitched lingo of Esperanto meets gobbledygook. Alas, human protagonists are a drab bunch by comparison, even with the introduction of a long-lost twin brother for lead character Gru (voiced by Steve Carell) and a new arch villain, Balthazar Bratt (Trey Parker), who is stuck in a 1980s time warp. Visuals are slick and colourful, but beneath the wrapping it is Despicable Meh.

BABY DRIVER (15)

Dorset-born filmmaker Edgar Wright burns rubber to a toe-tapping soundtrack in the high-octane crime caper Baby Driver. Expertly staged car chases get the adrenalin pumping like Nicolas Winding Refn’s thriller Drive, which put Ryan Gosling behind the wheel. Here, 23-year-old rising star Ansel Elgort, who broke teenage hearts in The Fault In Our Stars, comes of age with aplomb as the eponymous speed demon. He plays Baby, who has suffered tinnitus since the age of seven when he was involved in a horrific car accident. In order to drown out the ringing in one ear, he listens to music at a deafening volume, which allows Baby to focus on his duties as a getaway driver for criminal mastermind Doc (Kevin Spacey). For his final drive, Baby assists Buddy (Jon Hamm), his fiery girlfriend Darling (Eiza Gonzalez) and trigger-happy rebel Bats (Jamie Foxx) to pilfer millions of dollars in money order slips.