Les Miserables (15)
Directed by Ladj Ly
★★★★

THIS isn't yet another adaptation of Victor Hugo's epic historical novel but a gripping and gritty French crime thriller centred around social inequality, the social divide and rampant racism.

Inspired by the 2005 Paris riots, co-writer and director Ladj Ly's short film is set in the Parisian suburb of Montfermeil where Hugo based his legendary work.

But the film starts with France's World Cup win celebrations in the centre of the capital, with hundreds of thousands of people united by a football victory which transcends race, creed and class.

The film then follows Stephane (Damian Bonnard) as he joins the anti-crime squad and is shown the ropes and the neighbourhood by his new colleagues Chris (Alexis Manenti), a racist white cop, and Gwada (Djebril Zonga), his black sidekick. He soon discovers tensions are running high between local gangs.

The film depicts the reality of daily life in the suburb with scores of different nationalities living side by side despite their differences, before switching gears and plunging you into the explosive action which results as the delicate balance holding the area together is shattered.

Events are viewed through the eyes of the upstanding Stephane, who is truly shocked to see the shady deals and compromises his racist colleagues have struck with the differing gangs and the mayor to maintain the peace. When the trio are overrun by a mob of angry teenagers following an arrest the situation spirals out of control.

Ly's arresting debut feature is a remarkable combination of acute social commentary and tense and compelling crime action which culminates in a heart-stopping finale in which the disenfranchised finally retaliate against the authorities.

The film doesn't make any judgements — everyone is a victim in some way of the system. Brutal and at times difficult to watch, it certainly resonates and strikes a nerve in the current political climate.

In cinemas.

I'm Thinking of Ending Things
Directed by Charlie Kaufman
★★★

IN LINE with his previous works, Charlie Kaufman delivers a mind-bending horror film about relationships which plays with reality and time.

Based on Ian Reid's book, it has Jessie Buckley as a young woman who agrees to travel with her new boyfriend Jake (Jesse Plemons), who she has been seeing for just six weeks, to meet his parents (Toni Collette and David Thewlis) at their isolated farm.

Full of misgivings on the car ride there, she is thinking of ending things and it is as if Jake can read her mind.

Once they arrive at his parents, things turn mighty weird as the characters grow old and young again and there is a sense of a loss of time.

The question is what is real, imagined, remembered or dreamt, but what is beyond doubt are the mesmerising performances from Buckley and Plemons who keep you invested throughout. Collette and Thewlis are equally impressive.

If you are expecting straight answers by the end then you may be disappointed — this is a Kaufman film after all.

Streaming on Netflix.

Mulan (12A)
Directed by Niki Caro
★★★

WITH its arresting visuals and captivating performances from its ensemble cast — Chinese, or of Chinese descent — this is a thrilling and inspiring adventure.

Based on the Chinese Ballad of Mulan and Disney's 1998 animated feature, it centres on a fearless young woman (Yifei Liu) who disguises herself as a male warrior in order to save her ailing father going to war and, in the process, becomes one of the greatest warriors China has ever known.

Liu is superb as the heroine who does not need rescuing by a man but instead puts her life on the line for her family and to save her country.

In the end, in a film that's sure to captivate and inspire young female fans, she wins the recognition and the respect she deserves and has earned as a woman soldier.

Streaming on Disney+.

Koko-di, Koko-da (18)
Directed by Johannes Nyholm
★★

A GRIEVING couple whose relationship is on the rocks keep reliving their worst nightmare involving three weirdos in this relentlessly brutal psychological horror film.

Having lost their daughter on her eighth birthday three years earlier, Tobias (Leif Edlund) and Elin (Ylva Gallon) go on a camping trip to reconnect again. But they are plagued by a short man in a white suit and spats who's accompanied by two towering companions, one with a vicious dog on a lead the other carrying a dead canine.

They torture and rape the couple and just as they are about to kill them Tobias and Elin wake up in their tent again. He remembers everything but she doesn’t as the trio appear once more and attack them. Whatever Tobias does, it is the same outcome.

This is the horror version of Groundhog Day and it certainly isn’t for the faint hearted. Is it a recurring nightmare or is it real? Or is it a manifestation of their struggles with grief?
If you love horror films, this is for you.

On video on demand from September 7.

Bulletproof
Directed by Joel Souza
★★★

THIS gritty crime drama follows a pair of Los Angeles Police Department officers over the course of one memorable night as they hunt two cop killers in a city which is about to explode.

Veteran officer Ray Mandel (Thomas Jane) is teamed up with rookie cop Nick Holland (Luke Kleintank). The former is jaded while the latter, bright-eyed and bushy tailed, is uber-ambitious.

During the next eight hours what Holland discovers is that Mandel is himself 20 years from now and the work is more challenging than he expected.

Writer-director Joel Souza delivers a solid feature which explores both the dangers the police face every day in serving the public as well as the downside of officers who cross the line.

Elevated by Jane and Kleintank's inspired pairing — think Training Day meets End of Watch — Bulletproof is no trailblazer but it does raise some interesting questions, including what kind of person it takes to do the job in the LAPD.

On digital HD.