Is This Thing On? (15)
Directed by Bradley Cooper
★★★★☆

IT maybe hard to fathom but the real-life story of how British comic John Bishop became a stand-up comedian is the inspiration behind this heartfelt and beautifully drawn comedy-drama directed by Bradley Cooper and starring Will Arnett. 

The two longtime friends, who are both in the film, co-wrote it with Mark Chappell (See How They Run). It follows Alex Novak (Arnett) as his marriage to Tess (Laura Dern) is quietly unravelling and ends up in a New York comedy club. Not able to pay the $15 entrance fee he puts his name down for the open-mic night to get in free and when he is called up he starts talking about his impending divorce. That is what happened to John Bishop in Manchester, and the rest is history. 

The film isn’t about stand-up comedy per se but it is an honest and frank depiction of the break-up of a marriage, not due to any major catalyst but rather that both partners realise it just isn’t working any more. Plus the effects of breaking up on everyone concerned, especially the kids. 

Comic actor Arnett, best known for voicing Lego Batman, is at his most emotionally vulnerable here particularly in the stand-up scenes where he bares all as a newbie comedian. It is a raw and stripped-back performance alongside the sterling Dern who gives a quietly powerful turn as his wife. 

Surprisingly moving and charming, this is worth seeing and will clearly resonate more with British audiences. 
MD
In cinemas January 30.

Nouvelle Vague (12A)
Directed by Richard Linklater
★★★★☆

DIRECTOR Richard Linklater transports you to 1959 France and the birth of the French New Wave in this gorgeously shot drama about the making of Jean-Luc Godard’s groundbreaking feature debut Breathless.

Filmed in black and white and in French, Nouvelle Vague takes you behind the scenes of this revolutionary film, hailed as a masterpiece, and it embodies the style and spirit of Godard (a phenomenal Guillaume Marbeck). Linklater captures the chaos and the mayhem of the production as Godard made it up as he went along, changing the script, which he co-wrote with Claude Chabrol (Antoine Besson) and Francois Truffaut (Adrien Rouyard), on a daily basis, and not knowing what he was attempting to create until the final edit. 

You feel the exasperation of the film’s producer and cast and crew, particularly leading lady Jean Seberg (a mesmerising Zoey Deutch) at Godard’s lack of professionalism. Frankly, he comes across as a pretentious and entitled dick. 

Ten years in the making, this is a stunning looking love letter to film-making and the New Wave featuring a less well-known French cast who are absolutely outstanding. 

It shows what a creative and master film-maker Linklater is, though this is one solely for French New Wave fans. 
MD
In cinemas January 30.

Kangaroo (PG)
Directed by Kate Woods
★★★☆☆

 

THE saying “never work with children or animals” has never been more apt as the joeys at the centre of this sweet and heartwarming family comedy, set Down Under, completely steal the film and your hearts. 

Directed by Kate Woods, it is inspired by Chris “Brolga” Barns, who founded the world-renowned Kangaroo Sanctuary in Alice Springs/Mparntwe. 

The film follows disgraced ex TV weatherman Chris Masterman (Ryan Corr) who becomes stranded in a town outside Alice Springs where he teams up with 12-year-old Charlie (a captivating Lily Whiteley) to help rescue and rehabilitate orphaned joeys, which proves to be a life changing mission for both of them. 

Featuring breathtaking vistas of the outback and full of eccentric characters, this is a delightful and joyous film about two outsiders bonding and finding their place in the local community. 
MD
In cinemas January 30.

Shelter (15)
Directed by Ric Roman Waugh
★★★☆☆

JASON STATHAM is on brooding, monosyllabic and jaded form as a troubled ex-Special Forces soldier living off the grid on a remote Scottish island whose life is upended when he rescues a young orphaned girl.  

Directed by Ric Roman Waugh (Greenland), this is a lowkey but riveting action thriller, reminiscent of Safe, in which Statham as Mason goes into protective mode over Jesse (Bodhi Rae Breathnach, Hamnet) when Machiavellian former MI6 head Steven Manafort (a sublime Bill Nighy) tracks him down via an insidious new Big Brother surveillance technology. It becomes a tense race against time as Mason and Jesse are hunted down by a crack assassin.

Statham, armed with a massive gun, is on fighting form, while Breathnach holds her own opposite him as these two lost souls who bond as they go on the run.  

Statham fans won’t be disappointed. 
MD
In cinemas January 30.

Melania (PG)
Directed by Brett Rayner
☆☆☆☆☆

Nauseating neo-Caligula mannequin delirium. Avoid.
AR
In cinemas January 30.