Coriolanus (15)
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Dir: Ralph Fiennes
With: Ralph Fiennes, Vanessa Redgrave, Gerard Butler
Running time: 122 minutes
DELIVERING Shakespeare as younger audiences might like it is the battle plan of Ralph Fiennes in his directorial debut. RSC stalwarts Fiennes, Vanessa Redgrave and Brian Cox join forces with Paisley's own Gerard Butler and Jessica Chastain (The Tree of Life) to update one of the playwright's bloodiest tragedies. Shot in Belgrade, with echoes of the Balkans conflict, Fiennes maintains an impressive pace throughout. It still feels like English homework at times, but terrific fight scenes, and a powerhouse turn from Butler, cheer things up no end. Watch out for Jon Snow of Channel 4 News playing a Shakespeare-spouting broadcaster. Don't give up the evening job, mate.
Haywire (15)
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Dir: Steven Soderbergh
With: Gina Carano, Ewan McGregor
Running time: 92 minutes
EVEN in the hyper-hyphenated world of Hollywood there aren't many mixed martial arts champs-actresses to a pound, but Gina Carano is one of them and my does she kick and punch her way to movie stardom in Steven Soderbergh's actioner. The story is a heroically daft affair concerning covert ops personnel, among them Ewan McGregor and Channing Tatum, who have taken an extreme dislike to one of their own (Carano). Soderbergh keeps the tale roaring along, giving Carano ever more inventive ways of showing the boys she's not a mere girl. Soderbergh at his grooviest.
L'Atalante (PG)
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Dir: Jean Vigo
With: Dita Parlo, Jean Daste
Running time: 89 minutes
JEAN Vigo's romantic drama is approaching 80 years old but its appeal endures. Dita Parlo and Jean Daste are Juliette and Jean, newlyweds embarking on life's fantastic voyage on Jean's barge. Quintessentially French both in attitudes and setting, and rarely off filmmakers' best lists, Vigo's salute to free spirits remains a delight.
Filmhouse, Edinburgh, until January 26.
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