Also Released - Film

Bug (18) 101min ••• William The Exorcist Friedkin’s film adaptation of Tracey Letts’ nausea-inducing play about a couple of depressed white trash lovers holed up in a rundown hotel, and their slow realisation that something may be crawling under their collective skins. Though deeply unpleasant, this darkly comic horror is actually pretty compelling. Out now on selected release.

Brick Lane (15) 101min ••• Good, low-key adaptation of Monica Ali’s bestselling novel which concentrates on the love story aspect of the book rather than the community politics. Excellent performances and strong direction from first timer Sarah Gavron make for a superior British drama. General release from Fri 16 Nov.

Weirdsville (15) 90min •••• Lovable losers Dexter (Scott Speedman) and Royce (Wes Bentley) tear around in the Canadian midwinter, pursued by dealers, dwarves and diabolists in this screwball stoner comedy from the director of Empire Records. Weirdsville is a feast of hallucinogenic randomness with a nostalgic Gen-X feel which offers some satisfying gags, and an unexpected standout comic performance from Bentley (American Beauty). Selected release from Fri 16 Nov.

August Rush (PG) 113min • Dreadful ‘heartwarming’ drama about a musically gifted orphan, August Rush (Freddie Highmore), who, on finding out his parents are still alive sets out to find them in New York City. Keri Russell, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Robin Williams and Terrence Howard also star. This sentimental slop is directed by Kirsten Sheridan, screenwriter on In America and daughter of the director of that film Jim In the Name of the Father Sheridan. General release from Fri 23 Nov.

The Darjeeling Limited (15) 104min •••• Three eccentric brothers (Owen Wilson, Adrien Brody and Jason Schwartzman) cross India by train in an attempt to deal with the recent death of their father. Clever and kooky comedy drama that plays on the theories of bereavement cycles as put forward by Swiss psychiatrist Dr Elisabeth Kübler-Ross among others. On this evidence writer/director Wes Anderson (Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums) is fast becoming the John Cheever of US cinema. This film is preceded by Anderson’s short called Hotel Chevalier, and it is imperative you see this film in order to understand what follows. A delight. General release from Fri 23 Nov.