YESTERDAY ★★★★☆
Directed by Danny Boyle. Starring Himesh Patel, Lily James, Ed Sheeran, Kate McKinnon
Yesterday, a musical fairy tale penned by Richard Curtis and directed with verve by Boyle, begins with a classic sci-fi "what if?" Jack (Patel), is a charming singer-songwriter struggling to find an audience in his native Clacton-on-Sea, despite the best efforts of his hard-crushing schoolteacher chum and part-time manager (James). Following a disastrous appearance at a music festival, Jack is on the verge of packing away his guitar for good when, following a mysterious worldwide blackout, he realises that he is now the only person who can remember The Beatles. One demo later and he's on tour with Ed Sheeran (who proves a good sport) and under the thumb of a steely American agent (McKinnon, going full panto villain). Patel has a wide-eyed charisma, James, although underused, is a delight, and the earnestly covered music ensures this is a magical mystery tour worth boarding. 12A cert, gen release, 116 min TB Full review/trailer
METAL HEART ★★★★☆
Directed by Hugh O'Conor. Starring Jordanne Jones, Leah McNamara, Moe Dunford, Seán Doyle, Aaron Heffernan
Two very different sisters – Jones the goth, McNamara the polished Heather – have adventures when their dad leaves them alone for the summer in middle-class Dublin. The temptation to reduce McNamara to an empty shell or oversell Jones' maverick status is resisted. "Just because you're miserable doesn't mean you're interesting," one barks. "Just because you're superficial doesn't mean you're nice," the other retorts. A generous, witty feature debut from actor O'Conor. 15A cert, lim release, 89 min DC Full review
APOLLO 11 ★★★★★
Directed by Todd Douglas Miller
Yes, you do need another doc on the moon landing. Miller incorporates newly discovered 70mm footage into a film that tells the story from lift-off to splashdown with a careering energy that no previous documentarian has managed. Clocking in at a tidy 90 minutes, laid out in ruthlessly linear fashion, the film plays like one deep breath nervously exhaled. It's also eye-wateringly beautiful to behold. There is little new information, but that scarcely matters. A classic. Club, lim release, 90 min DC Full review
SUPPORT THE GIRLS ★★★★★
Directed by Andrew Bujalski. Starring Regina Hall, Haley Lu Richardson, James LeGros, AJ Michalka, Dylan Gelula, Shayna McHayle, Lea DeLaria, Jana Kramer, Brooklyn Decker
Writer-director Bujalski has a knack for making entertaining, character-driven adventures in unlikely places. His sixth feature strikes a familiar baggy, frantic tone before it sneaks up with warmth and biting social satire. Lisa (Hall) is the beleaguered manager of low-rent roadside Hooters knock-off, Double Whammies. It's a terrible job under a mean-spirited, incompetent and racist boss (LeGros). But Lisa takes her duties and her co-workers seriously, rushing to kick out a rude biker, arranging last minute childcare for a young single mother (McHayle aka Junglepussy), and ensuring the uniforms don't reveal too much. Support the Girls can feel like a daytime, gender-swapped riposte to the cinematic meltdowns of Good Time or After Hours. Deep, thoughtful characterisations, right down to the smallest roles, make for something richer than nervous energy. 15 cert, QFT, Belfast; IFI, Dublin, 91 min TB
IN FABRIC ★★★★☆
Directed by Peter Strickland. Starring Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Hayley Squires, Leo Bill, Gwendoline Christie, Julian Barratt, Fatma Mohamed
There are hints of the occult about Dentley & Soper, the department store at the centre of this unnerving portmanteau, with its hypnotic television advertisements and in it's witchy, imposing staff. It comes to pass that hard-working, newly divorced Sheila (Jean-Baptiste) acquires a cursed frock. The second, less convincing story sees an unfortunate repairman (Bill) stuck with the dress as a prank at his bachelor party, before passing it on to his fiancee (Squires). Anthology films typically feature three stories, leaving In Fabric with either too few or too many. In common with Strickland's The Duke of Burgundy, the film is styled after the vibrant giallo films of the 1970s, notably those of Dario Argento and Mario Bava. Unlike Strickland's previous work, however, it always feels like homage rather than art in its own right. A fabulous, spooky thing just the same. 18 cert, gen release, 118 min TB
TOY STORY 4 ★★★☆☆
Directed by Josh Cooley. Voices of Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Annie Potts, Tony Hale, Keegan-Michael Key, Madeleine McGraw, Christina Hendricks, Jordan Peele, Keanu Reeves
Inevitable, wallet-pinching sequel to a series that seemed completed when it reached trilogy status. This time round the toys are on a road trip. Toy Story 4 is better than such late add-ons are normally allowed to be. The jokes are nippy and subversive. The inevitable middle-act chaos is less haphazard than that in Finding Dory. Some long-standing annoyances have been addressed. Bo Beep gets her story. Woody's status as a narc and a class traitor is undermined. G cert, gen release, 100 min Full review/trailer DC
Other ★★★★★ and ★★★★☆ films out and about: Amazing Grace, Booksmart, Diego Maradona, Gloria Bell, John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum, Rocketman, Sunset
