Companion (15)
Directed by Drew Hancock 
★★★★ 

 
 
THIS is one of those films that the less you know about it going in the better you will be wowed by it. 
 
It centres on three couples who meet up for the weekend at a luxury lake house in the middle of nowhere. What could possibly go wrong, you ask?
 
Written and directed by Drew Hancock this is a deliciously twisted and wicked genre bending dark comedy. It is part thriller, part sci fi and part horror film, and a killer love story which defies all their tropes. Plus it has eye-opening hidden depths as it explores AI and its moral ethics which prove surprising.

I would love to elucidate on this but it would mean revealing a key plot spoiler. Let’s just say this isn’t a film about AI gone wrong. Maybe I have said too much. 
 
Companion follows Iris (Sophie Thatcher) who is taken by the love of her life Josh (Jack Quaid) to spend time with his friends at the remote home of a Russian billionaire (Rupert Friend). Iris is convinced Josh’s BFF Kat (Megan Suri) hates her. 
 
Thatcher, last seen as a Mormon nun in Heretic, is outstanding delivering an unforgettable  performance as the beautiful and loving Iris who seems to have come straight out of the 1950s or ’60s, while Quaid is her perfect foil as her idyllic boyfriend.
 
This is a wonderfully smart, fun romp full of genius surprises which will defy all expectations. 

In cinemas January 31

Saturday Night (15)
Directed by Jason Reitman
★★★ 

As Saturday Night Live (SNL) celebrates its 50th anniversary this year this film depicts what it took to put the first show on air on October 11 1975. 
 
It was a revolutionary trailblazer created and run by 29-year-old little-known producer Lorne Michaels (Gabriel LaBelle), who is still the showrunner today. It starred unknown  20-something comics Dan Ackroyd (Dylan O’Brien), Chevy Chase (Cory Michael Smith) and Jon Belushi (Matt Wood), as well as Jim Henson (Nicholas Braun) and his Muppets, and Andy Kaufman (also Braun). 
 
Co-written and directed by Jason Reitman, it features an ensemble cast (which also includes Willem Dafoe and JK Simmons) some of whom appear in multiple roles much like the SNL cast. It captures the race against time with Michaels and his team working by the seat of their pants, without a script or knowing what kind of show they were producing, while the network bosses were banking on them failing. Instead they revolutionised American TV. 
 
It is a fascinating and nail-biting behind the scenes look which, sadly, may not resonate with a British audience who won’t have seen or heard of SNL. 

In cinemas January 31

The Tasting (15)
Directed by Ivan Calberac
★★★ 
 
 

A DIVORCED man in his 50s and a middle-aged woman are drawn together by their love of wine in this delightful yet bittersweet French romcom from writer/director Ian Calberac. 

It is based on Calberac’s play which he adapted for the big screen, and is driven by Isabelle Carre and Bernard Campan’s heartfelt and captivating performances as an unlikely couple. Both had played these roles in the stage version. 
 
Carre portrays Hortense who is determined not to stay single as she contends with her highly critical elderly mother and cooks dinner for a group of homeless people once a week, while Campan is Jacques who is the terribly grumpy owner of a small wine shop and has a drinking problem. 
 
The pair are adorable to watch together as both of them are emotionally closed off and act awkwardly around each other being out of practice. 
 
They both have baggage and issues, but it is refreshing to see a film about second chance love which also explores alcoholism, grief, the disenfranchised and the importance of giving juveniles a helping hand in the workplace. 
 
It is a charming and unexpected gem. 

In cinemas January 31

The Colors Within (U)
Directed by Naoko Yamada
★★★ 
 
 
 

YOU do not expect to see religion feature in an anime coming of age film, which also explores the power of music alongside synaesthesia, but that is the backdrop to director Naoko Yamada’s visually captivating film. 
 
It follows the shy Totsuko (Sayu Suzukawa) who attends a convent school run by Catholic nuns and sees people as colours. Think Pharrell Williams. She secretly forms a band with fellow student Kimi (Akari Takaishi) and Rui (Taisei Kido), a young lad she met in a local bookstore – blue and green respectively.
 
Totsuko finds her faith is tested as she lies about being in the group and befriending Kimi in her dorm after she is expelled from school for talking back to a nun. Where is the forgiveness and giving others a chance to redeem themselves? 
 
Featuring some catchy and powerful songs and arresting animation, the film shows how music can heal, inspire and unite people. Even nuns.  

In cinemas January 31