The Woman in Black
(Momentum, cert 12, Blu-ray/DVD)
Having broken all sorts of box-office records for a UK film, it’s disappointing to report that this fabulous-looking homage to Hammer horror, starring Daniel Radcliffe as a meek lawyer in a strangers-round-these-parts village, is in fact a madwoman’s breakfast.
Carnage
(Studio Canal, cert 15, Blu-ray/DVD)
This collaboration between director Roman Polanski and playwright Yasmina Reza is a no-holds-barred smackdown between power-couple Kate Winslet/Christoph Waltz and carey-sharey John C Reilly/Jodie Foster. Incendiary acting.
Safe House
(Universal, cert 15, Blu-ray/DVD/Digital)
Another wander through Bourne territory with Denzel Washington as a rogue spy and Ryan Reynolds as the rookie trying to bring him in. The overcooked ending aside, it’s classy, urgent stuff.
Town of Runners
(Dogwoof, cert E, DVD)
On your marks for the Olympics, with an inspirational if chaotic documentary about the Ethiopian town that’s produced more than its share of the world’s great long-distance runners.
Roll Out the Barrel
(BFI, cert PG, DVD)
Subtitled The British Pub on Film, these shorts from the Forties to the Seventies views pubs through the prism of class — flat-capped sons of toil in the bar, cravat-wearing sorts in the lounge and “mine host” polishing glasses. A pungent, ghastly reminder of the way we were.
