The Equalizer (15)
The Equalizer (15)
Dir: Antoine Fuqua
With: Denzel Washington, Melissa Leo
Runtime: 132 minutes
DENZEL Washington and Antoine Fuqua, the successful partnership behind Training Day, reunite to reboot the old Edward Woodward TV series about a vigilante trying to do good in a bad world, one questionable act at a time.
Fuqua has no desire to tiptoe through any moral maze as he executes the straight down the line story of Robert (Washington), a DIY superstore worker by day and avenging knight by night. In this world, characters are either wholly good (plucky hooker, plucky wannabe security guard) or out-and-out evil (Russian gangsters who cross Robert's path), with the result that no-one and nothing surprises. Washington is as supremely watchable as ever, but one would have hoped for something more from the duo than this.
Ida (12A)
Dir: Pawel Pawilkowski
With: Agata Kulesza, Dawid Ogrodnik
Runtime: 82 minutes
SHOT in black and white and set in Poland as the Sixties begin, Pawel Pawilkowski's drama about a nun discovering a past she never knew about is exquisitely rendered and powerfully executed.
Agata Trzebuchowska and Agata Kulesza are superb as the devout niece and the wayward, hard-drinking aunt who take a road trip across the country in search of answers, both about themselves and the family's wartime experiences.
No tricks, no artifice, just pure, formidable storytelling at work.
Glasgow Film Theatre and Filmhouse, Edinburgh, from tomorrow. DCA, Dundee, October 10; Eden Court, Inverness, Belmont, Aberdeen, Mareel, Shetlands, from October 31; Thurso, November 11; Robert Burns, Alloway, November 21.
I Origins (15)
Dir: Mike Cahill
With: Michael Pitt, Steven Yeun
Runtime: 106 minutes
AFTER 2011's science fiction romance Another Earth, writer-director Mike Cahill makes good on his promise as a strange and wonderful kind of filmmaker with this beguiling drama.
Michael (Boardwalk Empire's Jimmy Darmody) plays a professor studying the evolution of the human eye.
Through romance, chance and circumstance, he and lab partner Karen (Brit Marling) are led on to a path that will take them far beyond the world of microscopes and test tubes.
Original, engrossing, and quietly lovely, this is one of the most distinctive films you are likely to see this year.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article