Power Station (12A)
Directed by Daniel Edelstyn and Hilary Powell
★★★★

POWER STATION charts the true story of artist-activists Hilary Powell and Dan Edelstyn and their quest to turn their road in Walthamstow, east London, into an energy-generating power station, installing solar panels on houses and a local school. It is reminscent of the Ealing comedy, Passport to Pimlico, but this is not fiction.

An inspirational and uplifting film, it documents a new way of living, with the vision of galvanising a wider movement towards community-owned sustainable energy alternatives across Britain.

It begins with beautiful shots of urban landscape and street views, then takes us indoors to meet Hilary and Dan who tell us about the project. In rather ragged, hand-held, cinema verite shots of the couple and their son going about their daily chores, we segue into a discussion of how everyone could save on energy bills if the whole street signs up to solar panelling and creates its own energy supply.

According to Dan and Hilary, if the government was to install solar panels on every house, the cost would be recouped within 10 years. Frustrated by the government’s inaction, and concerned by the cost-of-living crisis affecting so many people, Dan and Hilary take matters into their own hands.

There is off-the-cuff banter and joking, even though it’s a serious issue, and that gives the film a sense of real life and not artifice. Theirs may be a utopian project but they make it work. Taking “power” into their own hands, acting like the government should, at least on one street to begin with.

Twenty-seven per cent of people in Waltham Forest are considered to be living in fuel poverty, so this issue is of real concern and even a question of survival for many.

The response is overwhelming. A series of fundraising initiatives, where Dan and Hilary sleep on their roof in winter, raising £100k to get the project moving. Then they launch an attempt at a Christmas number 1. They issue “greenback banknotes” and sell them as works of art.

By turns funny and heartwarming, Power Station captures the life of a community and reveals the unexpected power of collective action, offering a testament to the art of the possible which isn’t at the mercy of utility giants, government policy or the markets.
JG
In cinemas October 3.

The Smashing Machine (15)
Directed by Benny Safdie
★★★

THIS gritty, documentary-style drama is based on the true-life story of pioneer US mixed martials arts and UFC champion Mark Kerr, who no-one has ever heard of till now. 

Writer-director Benny Safdie (Uncut Gems) joins forces with Dwayne Johnson, who gives the most transformative performance of his career, to bring Kerr’s biopic to the big screen. An unrecognisable Johnson put on just over 30 pounds of muscle and 22 prosthetic interventions to become Kerr.

Set between 1997 and 2000 when Kerr, who had never lost a fight, suddenly suffered his first defeat, we witness the resulting mental health issues, depression and addiction, alongside his volatile relationship with his demanding girlfriend Dawn Staples (a powerful Emily Blunt). 

Johnson and Blunt are extraordinary, raising their performances to a whole new level in a sports drama that is devoid of wrestling cliche, but which doesn’t pull any punches. It gives Kerr the credit that he deserves. 
MD
In cinemas October 3.

Don’t Let’s Go To The Dogs Tonight (15)
Directed by Embeth Davidtz
★★★

WITH her cheeky toothy grin, her feral wildness and her irreverent bluntness, you are instantly captivated by seven-year-old Bobo as she describes her life on the family farm in Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe. 

Set in 1980 at the end of the Zimbabwean war for independence and the forthcoming elections, you watch the changing political landscape, along with the fight for land, through the eyes of this young but razor-sharp white child played mesmerisingly by newcomer Lexi Venter. 

The film is based on Alexandra Fuller’s memoir which has been adapted for the big screen by actor-turned-director Embeth Davidtz, who also plays Bobo’s mother, a volatile woman with mental health problems. Bobo avoids her by riding off on her dirt bike and spending time with the hired help. 

It is an impressive debut feature by Davidtz which captures the beauty of the country, as well as its brutality, from a seven-year-old’s perspective. 
MD
In cinemas October 3.

The Shadow’s Edge (15)
Directed by Larry Yang
★★★

At 71, the legendary Jackie Chan shows he still has the fighting moves in this slick and stylish cyber heist crime thriller by writer-director Larry Yang. 

He uses whatever is to hand to battle his opponents be it a tablecloth, a hotel clothes rail or plastic wrapping. Chan is still a master craftsman and a joy to watch. 

He plays a retired cop who is brought in by the Macau Police to help find an elite criminal gang who have stolen billions in crypto currency and evaded capture by hacking into and outsmarting the police’s formidable new surveillance system. Wong Tak-Chung (Chan) assembles a surveillance team to track down the mastermind behind the heist, the elusive “Wolf King” (Tony Ka Fai Leung).  

It is the first time in 20 years that Chan and Leung have reunited to play hero and nemesis in this elaborate, gripping and wonderfully fun cat-and-mouse thriller. 
MD
In cinemas October 3.