PLANNING ON HEADING to the cinema this weekend?

There are a few new movies out, but which is a must-watch, and are there any you should avoid?

We take a look.

The Lighthouse

What we know

Robert Eggers (The Witch) returns for his second feature – a weird, spooky tale about two lighthouse workers who are sent to a remote island and find themselves going slightly barmy. Stars Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe. Read our interview with Robert Eggers to find out more.

What the critics say

• “The first question that one could ask about The Lighthouse is – hey, what genre is this anyway? Because one moment it’s thriller, another it’s horror, another it’s a buddy movie. It’s always, always dark, and always mysterious.” – TheJournal.ie
• “There is rare excitement in seeing these two actors butt heads and trade difficult, complex period dialogue with such mastery and flair. And the screenplay by Robert and Max Eggers is a delicious and often outrageous homage to maritime speech and sea-dog lore, saltier than an underwater sodium chloride factory.” – The Guardian

What’s it rated?

• RottenTomatoes: 91%
• IMDB: 7.8/10

Queen & Slim

What we know

Melina Matsoukas is best known for her directing work for stars like Beyonce. This, her first feature, was written by Lena Waite and is about a couple who go on a Tinder date and end up on the run after shooting a police officer. Stars Jodie Turner Smith and Daniel Kaluuya.

What the critics say

• “Still, Kaluuya, far and away one of the most exciting young actors the UK has produced in recent years, is spellbinding. And newcomer Turner-Smith is a quietly forceful presence in her first starring role. You just wish they were surrounded by something that hung together less peculiarly.” – The Independent
• “ just as the real Bonnie and Clyde (a desperate pair of career criminals, hobbled by injuries and actually more prone to rob small grocery stores than banks) have been lost to the more seductive, romanticised 1930s legend, so too do runaways Queen and Slim (respectively, a similarly electric Jodie Turner-Smith and Daniel Kaluuya) find themselves as the baffled, scared recipients of wider public mythologising.” -Empire

What’s it rated?

• RottenTomatoes: 82%
• IMDB: 7.0/10

Richard Jewell

What we know

Clint Eastwood directs this feature based on the true story of security guard Richard Jewell, who discovers a suspicious backpack at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. When it turns out there’s a device in it, he’s hailed a hero. But soon, he finds himself in the eye of the storm.

What the critics say

• “The political fractures Eastwood exposes are more elemental than even the most ferocious partisanship. This is a morality tale — in a good way, mostly — about the vulnerability of the individual citizen in the face of state power and about the fate of a private person menaced by the machinery of publicity.” – NY Times 
• “Eastwood’s conceptions of heroism and villainy have always been, if not endlessly complex, at least never simplistic. One thing he’s not is a moral relativist; he clearly believes in good and evil, and in good actors and bad actors.” – RogerEbert.com

What’s it rated?

• RottenTomatoes: 75%
• IMDB: 7.6/10

Also in cinemas this week: A Beautiful Day in the Neighbourhood, The Man Who Killed Don Quixote, Plus One, Rhythm Section

Which one would you go see first?