Film reviews: The best of the new cinema releases

Published on 05/08/2012 00:00

Patricio Guzmán’s astonishing documentary about Chile’s Atacama desert, one of the best places to see the stars but also the site of some brutal atrocities.

Nostalgia for the Light (12A)

****

Featuring interviews with both astronomers and Pinochet survivors, it’s painfully beautiful.

Filmhouse, Edinburgh from Wednesday; Cameo, Edinburgh from 14 August

Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry (15)

***

Portrait of Chinese artist and activist Ai Weiwei, who risks his life continually and publicly to defy his government with provocative artwork, such as his millions of hand-painted ceramic sunflower seeds scattered on Tate Modern’s floor. He’s a compelling subject, and begs for a more imaginative and rigorous documentary than this one.

Glasgow Film Theatre from Friday; Cameo, Edinburgh from 16 August

360 (15)

***

Fernando Meirelles ponders modern La Ronde couplings around Europe, with some gratuitous stereotypes along the way (a Slovakian hooker? Well I never). Jude Law and Rachel Weisz play a married couple, while Antony Hopkins pops up as an angry dad and Ben Foster plays the world’s shiftiest sex offender. Much scenery was chewed during the making of this film.

Glasgow Film Theatre from Friday

Step Up 4: Miami Heat (PG)

***

Say what you like, Step Up has legs: the series that first introduced us to Tatum Channing’s pelvic pop-and-lock returns with a new cast of unknowns to bust dance moves in some of Miami’s most recognisable locations. It’s also available in 3D, though the chat between dance routines remains fearlessly one dimensional.

On general release from Friday

Offender (15)

**

Set against the backdrop of last year’s London riots, a teenager (Joe Cole) deliberately gets sent to prison so he can avenge his battered girlfriend (Kimberley Nixon). Points for topicality, but the film is crudely executed and hilariously besotted with slow-motion.

On general release from Wednesday