OPENS SEPTEMBER 24, CERT 15 TBC, 105 MINS

Based on a Georges Simenon novel, this is nominally a thriller from the director of L’Ennui and Roberto Succo, C

OPENS SEPTEMBER 10, CERT 15, 79 MINS

Susan (Blanchard Ryan) and Daniel (Daniel Travis) are work-obsessed twentysomethings whose idea of fun is to go diving in shark-infested Caribbean waters so they can take underwater snaps of fish. But when their tour boat motors away by mistake, they’re suddenly stranded in the open sea, with no fresh water, compass, or a clue what to do apart from what they remember from TV nature documentaries. Before long, the fins start closing in…

Billed foolishly by early hype as The Blair Witch Project meets Jaws, Open Water is rather less than the sum of either of those parts. Instead, it’s a serviceable suspense movie, sort of an extreme-sports update on the yuppie nightmare movies (Pacific Heights) that fuelled our sense of schadenfreude during the ’80s. The two leads do admirable acting jobs, with mostly just heads and shoulders visible above the water, their characters growing increasingly panicky, edging towards despair. Look at it another way and it’s a great metaphor for doomed relationships.

OPENS SEPTEMBER 24, CERT 15, 110 MINS

London, 1660. The theatres, banned for the past 11 years by rule of Cromwell, have been re-opened with the restoration of the monarchy under Charles II. A young woman is desperate to defy convention and play the female role, which has always been performed by a man in drag. So far, so Shakespeare In Love. But this raucous adaptation of Jeffrey Hatcher’s stage play by former National Theatre artistic director Richard Eyre, is way superior to that rom-com-in-tights. Billy Crudup plays Ned Kynaston, the most beautiful man on the British stage, a legend for playing female roles. Waiting in the wings is the genuine article? Maria (Claire Danes), a stage-struck costume assistant who dreams of dying on stage as Desdemona. She gets her chance, but finds herself dying in all the wrong places?Maria, it seems, is not over-burdened with natural talent.

Danes and Crudup kick up sparks in their scenes together, and Eyre wins you over with an energetic mix of bawdy humour and quick-fire wit.

OPENS SEPTEMBER 17, CERT 18, 93 MINS

Although it’s unlikely to be anyone’s idea of a fun night at the movies, Marina de Van’s debut follows through on its twisted premise with clarity and courage. de Van, who cut her teeth as a writer and actor for Francois Ozon, plays Esther, a young woman who accidentally gashes her leg and subsequently becomes obsessed with her wound. It’s not long before she’s opening up new sutures?presented in explicit, head-for-the-exit close-ups-and exploring the limits of her own flesh in ways that become increasingly sexualised. Tough as it is to summon laughter, de Van isn’t above playing some of this for black comedy; a scene in a restaurant where one of Esther’s limbs takes on a life of its own brings the film’s mind-body split subtext to the surface while playing as ingenious, queasy farce. Those brave enough to peek at this compelling skin-crawler from between their fingers will recognise the influence of early Cronenberg and Ferrara’s The Addiction. Otherwise, this is out there on its own-strange, scarred, beautiful.

DIRECTED BY Zhang Yimou

STARRING Jet Li, Tony Leung, Maggie Cheung Opens September 24, Cert 12A, 99 mins

Hero is dazzling, a great leap forward in movie-making: state-of-the-art CGI and editing techniques used not as a dumb fireworks display but as a starting-point for a visually sublime, thematically simple and universally appealing work of art. The most expensive movie ever made in China (rumoured to be over $30m), it raises the bar clean out of sight.

It’s a graceful meditation on honour, heroism and love set in ancient China, with the country divided into seven warring kingdoms. The movie opens in a rain-lashed, slate-grey courtyard where county sheriff Nameless (Jet Li) and Sky (Donnie Yen) are kicking seven shades out of one another in Wire-Fu slo-mo. Finally, Yen goes down. Turns out Yen was the Quin kingdom’s Most Wanted, and Li travels to the Quin King’s palace to announce that Sky and two other equally notorious assassins, Broken Sword (Tony Leung) and Flying Snow (Maggie Cheung), are now dead. Li’s story unfolds in flashback?how he infiltrated the assassins and set them against one another. But is Li really who he seems? In flashback after flashback, the same story is told, Rash

DIRECTED BY Andrew Lau and Alan Mak

STARRING Anthony Wong, Eric Tsang, Carina Lau, Francis Ng

Opened August 20, Cert 15, 119 mins

THE CHARGED, HAUNTED atmosphere of Infernal Affairs, with its tortured cops and brooding criminals, seemed to suggest that somewhere along the line we’d missed out on something. The prologue alone hinted at past events to which the ensuing narrative could only allude. Well, prequel Infernal Affairs II?in true Godfather fashion?provides the back story, explaining how cop Yan (Tony Leung) ended up undercover in the triads and gangster Ming (Andrew Lau) became a mole in the police force. Suffice to say, it’s not exactly simple to follow…

Leung and Lau’s roles are taken here by Hong Kong pop heartthrobs Shawn Yue and Edison Chen, although their characters are given little more to do than react with increasing concern as events around them spiral out of control. The main focus this time is on their superiors, Inspector Wong and mob boss Sam (Anthony Wong and Eric Tsang, reprising their roles from the original), who orchestrate a series of betrayals and double-crosses in their shared desire to bring down the head of the Ngai crime family (Francis Ng). Wong, being on the ‘right’ side of the law, is the more compromised of the two, and it’s his efforts to exercise some sort of control over proceedings that gives the film its real dramatic power. Further complicating matters is the presence of Sam’s mistress Mary (Carina Lau), whose involvement in these tangled conspiracies expands the narrative range beyond the first film’s cat-and-mouse simplicity.

Relentlessly busy, IA2 contains more character detail and plot revelation than any viewer could hope to absorb. But directors Lau and Mak adhere so closely to genre archetypes that you can happily follow its drift even if you miss some of the particulars. Although bloated by operatic, slo-mo set-pieces seemingly designed to force it into epic territory, the film gives action fans the kicks they crave while deepening some already memorable and complex characters. No wonder Scorsese wants a bit of this for himself with a remake?the spadework’s been done, and the classic ingredients are all here.

OPENS SEPTEMBER 10, CERT 12A, 114 MINS

You’ll anticipate heinous sacrilege, this being Hollywood’s cover version of Gilles Mimouni’s magical 1996 French romance-thriller L’Appartement, with dozy Josh Hartnett in the Vincent Cassel role. Yet with Brit Paul McGuigan (Gangster No 1) at the helm, they not only get away with it but almost match the original’s cerebral and emotional punch. It’s heavily over-stylised, but the complex affairs tug towards a satisfying, powerful climax.

In case you’ve forgotten the story (shame on you), Matthew (Hartnett) is on the verge of a career marriage when he glimpses the long-lost love of his life: Diane Kruger. He tries to track her down (the titular park’s their old meeting place), but becomes embroiled with her friend (Rose Byrne), a neurotic actress. Serving as buddy and chorus is Matthew Lillard, toning down his excesses and even conveying a broken heart with due pathos. Mimouni’s labyrinthine plot remains miraculous even if you know the twists, and the direction’s slick but smart. A crazy, impassioned conceit which shouldn’t work but does.

DIRECTED BY Michael Mann

STARRING Tom Cruise, Jamie Foxx, Jada Pinkett Smith Opens September 17, Cert 15, 120 mins

Taxi driver Max (Foxx) pulls out onto Sunset and into his nightshift. His first couple of fares are nothing special. Then, when Jada Pinkett Smith gets in, we may feel the movie is about to pick up speed. In fact, it slows down for a lengthy dialogue scene.

Michael Mann is in no hurry to cut to the chase in this, his first film since the poorly received Ali. Rather, he wants to slip into the rhythm of the ride, to savour the LA nocturne ?after all, it’s his favourite tune.

What a pleasure to submerge yourself in this masterly film-maker’s vision?except that an Armani-grey Tom Cruise is about to commandeer both the cab and the movie. “Vincent”, as he calls himself, has five names on a list, a loaded gun and need of a dependable chauffeur between hits. Fasten your seatbelts, it’s going to be a bumpy night.

Highly improbable, to put it mildly, Collateral could easily have been downright laughable, save for the acumen with which Mann pulls the strings. By his own high standards, this is a cartoon caper, but judged beside what passes for thrillers these days, Collateral has the texture and gravity of an old-school classic.

The mental?or rather philosophical?duel played out between Vincent and Max is prime Mann: it echoes the battle of wits and wills in Heat (another Vincent) and Manhunter?and if Cruise looks something like William Petersen in that film, it’s surely no coincidence (guess they couldn’t afford the real thing.) Max is Joe Schmo, stuck in a dead-end job, dreaming of the better life forever round the corner. Vincent is the existential super-ego who jazzes himself taking the cabbie for a ride.

If Collateral ultimately fails to transcend its join-the-dots plotting, at least Mann gives it the allure of something crafty. He’s on home ground here; it’s a predictable winner.

OPENS SEPTEMBER 10, CERT 18, 88 MINS

Those who first encountered director Kim Ki-Duk via this year’s serene Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter… And Spring are in for a surprise if they’re expecting more of the same. Finally getting a UK release following a run-in with the BBFC that left it lighter by almost two minutes, The Isle both seduces and repels. Set on a lake dotted with floating cabins in which men live, fish and entertain local hookers, the film zeroes in on suicidal artist Hyun-Shik and silent prostitute Hee-Jin. Unconventional by anyone’s standards, their courtship involves self-mutilation with fish hooks, strenuous sex and defecation, some animal torture and a lot of primal screaming. It’s painful stuff for both characters and audience, but Kim dives deep to touch on loneliness, artistic and sexual frustration, societal divides and personal redemption. The film shimmers on the surface-it’s as visually pleasing as Spring, Summer…?but its enigmatic nature and wince-inducing violence is sure to put people off. Get past the fish hooks though, and you’ll find it mesmerising.

OPENS SEPTEMBER 24, CERT 18, 124 MINS

Marvel’s resident vigilante originally turned up as a supporting character in The Amazing Spider-Man and limped along as a bit character for 30 years. That is, until writer/artist duo Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon revamped him, adding a darker edge and filling his adventures with ultra-violence and black humour. First-time director Jonathan Hensleigh uses Ennis and Dillon’s opening story arc, “Welcome Back, Frank”, as a jumping-off point for this screen rendering of the revenge-obsessed Castle.

Bulked-up indie actor Thomas Jane nails Big Frank’s cold-eyed stare and growling voice, Hensleigh whips up an enjoyably dopey revenge fantasia in which Castle doles out bloody retribution to the man who slaughtered his family, corporate gang boss Howard Saint (John Travolta, chubbier than ever). Hensleigh struggles with the humour, which lurches between ill-judged and outright embarrassing, but his gloriously violent action sequences have a refreshingly downbeat ’70s exploitation edge. Nasty, brain-dead fun.

OPENS SEPTEMBER 24, CERT PG, 84 MINS

Dour, taciturn men in fur hats. Vast expanses of frozen steppe. A cheap, poisonously alcoholic beverage called Vodka Lemon. And the kind of mordant black comedy that thrives in extreme hardship. This atmospheric, starkly beautiful film is set in a small, ice-bound Kurdish village that’s struggling to come to terms with life after Soviet rule. With the fall of Communism comes the free market, but that’s small comfort for the villagers who have no money to buy and little to sell. And widowed former army officer Hamo really starts to feel the cold now that gas and electricity are no longer free.

But there are flashes of hope amid such privation. A letter from Hamo’s son in Paris is a cause for misplaced optimism for the whole village. And Hamo quietly and sorrowfully finds himself falling in love with a woman he sees at the cemetery. With the bleak humour of Aki Kaurism

OPENS SEPTEMBER 17, CERT 15, 87 MINS

Harold And Kumar (John Cho and Kal Penn) falls into the elusive ‘not as dumb as it looks’ sub-category of American gross-out comedies (see also the original American Pie). On the one hand, it’s got two English girls having a defecating competition and Neil Patrick Harris (aka Doogie Howser) snorting coke off a girl’s ass in a moving car. On the other, it offers a spliffed-up riff on that corny American ideal, the pursuit of happiness, even if that means nothing more than frying your brain with the finest weed and then pigging out on greasy burgers?our heroes’ ultimate goal. Who’d have thought something so smart could come from the director of Dude, Where’s My Car?

Admittedly, Cheech and Chong were up to similar high jinks 25 years ago, but the classic inebriated double-act gimmick is smartly updated by making the leads just very unlucky rather than stupid. And, what’s more, there’s not a shred of ‘just say no’ preachiness. Sublime.

OPENS SEPTEMBER 17, CERT 15, 93 MINS

Imagine a society where past events, friends and lovers can be wiped from your memory using high-tech neuroscience. Now imagine that Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind has been surgically scrubbed from your own brain. No matter, because here is a bizarrely similar plot reborn as a globe-trotting sci-fi romance from Michael Winterbottom and Frank Cottrell Boyce, the prolific director-writer team behind 24 Hour Party People and other Britfilm gems. Tim Robbins and Samantha Morton play illicit lovers whose brief encounter sets off a lethal domino effect across a scarily plausible globalised class system, where only possession of the right genetic insurance papers allows escape from the Third World wasteland into the fortress citadels of privilege. Shot in China, India, Dubai and Britain, Winterbottom’s latest effort may nod to Gattaca or Minority Report in style, but it also serves as a companion piece to his docudrama In This World. Although slow and opaque, there are more provocative ideas lurking in these low-budget depths than in a dozen Will Smith blockbusters.

Here are some things you’re unlikely to see in any other film this year: a cop vs bees shoot-out; a steam-cleaner anal probe; a fat trapeze artist crushed to death by a robot… I could go on.

The point being that Save The Green Planet is either an insight into a dizzying and unfamiliar culture or a jumble of off-cuts that can’t decide if it’s a na

OPENS SEPTEMBER 10, CERT 15, 104 MINS

Ken Loach has taken his title from a poem by Robert Burns-“Ae fond kiss, and then we sever/Ae fareweel, alas, for ever!” ? so you wouldn’t expect his inter-denominational love story to run smoothly. Loach wanted to explore the issues of racial and religious identity, with one eye on the climate of intolerance since 9/11. Second-generation Pakistani Casim (Atta Yaqub) is a Glasgow DJ gripped by the ambition to buy his own club. He meets schoolteacher Roisin (Eva Birthistle), tumbles into an affair, then is forced to confront the entrenched attitudes of his Muslim family, who plan for him to marry a cousin from Pakistan. The contrast between the new generation of assimilated Pakistanis and the medieval conservatism of their forebears is skilfully depicted, but Loach also peels strips off the Catholic church, which hauls Roisin over the coals of hellfire. Loach’s improvisatory style means there are a few gaffes and bald patches, but it’s a price worth paying for the insight and passion of the narrative.