The Three Stooges (PG)

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Dirs: Bobby and Peter Farrelly

With: Sean Hayes, Will Sasso and Chris Diamantopoulos

Running time: 91 minutes

FROM the comedically warped minds that gave the world There's Something About Mary and Dumb and Dumber comes this reboot of a half century old vaudeville act. Modern kids will bash themselves on the heads with bemusement as Larry, Curly and Mo tawk like New Yoik wiseguys while knocking seven bells out of each other in this tale of an orphanage going bust.

It's completely bonkers and the stunts are definitely not to be tried at home, kids, but I have to admit laughing at the sheer insanity of it all, particularly when Larry "Curb Your Enthusiasm" David turned up as a grouchy nun. It's that kind of caper.

Silent Souls (15)

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Dir: Aleksei Fedorchenko

With: Igor Sergeev, Yuliya Aug

Running time: 77 minutes

AIST is a 40-year-old paper mill worker in one of Russia's many remote corners. Living alone, he starts to look into the ancient culture from which he came as a way of understanding his modern self.

The past and the present merge when a friend's wife dies and the two go on a road trip to bury her. Aleksei Fedorchenko's drama is strange, slow, but also strangely moving in the plain, pared down way it looks at grief and friendship.

Filmhouse, Edinburgh, August 27-30.

Donkeys (15)

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Dir: Morag McKinnon

With: James Cosmo, Martin Compston and Kate Dickie

Running time: 76 minutes

JUST as the country myth has it that you'll never see a donkey die, so some of us have wondered over the years if Morag McKinnon's Scottish drama would ever break out of the festival circuit and see the mainstream light of day. After winning a Scottish Bafta for best film, it now has a DVD release. James Cosmo is outstanding as the dad trying to right the many wrongs in his past, with Martin Compston and Kate Dickie are among those lending support. The humour is as bleak as the grave, but there's a lot of warmth here too.

Available to rent or buy on DVD.