How I ended this summer

Dir: Aleksey Popogrebskiy. Starring: Grigoriy Dobrygin, Sergey Puskepalis

Not to be confused in any way with I Know What You Did Last Summer, this is a Russian film, a taught investigation of mistrust and isolation which very much defines the term 'psychological thriller”.
The set-up is simplicity itself: at a polar station on an isolated island in the middle of the Arctic Sea two men run the once important research base, taking readings, reporting them and catching the odd fish. One, Sergei, is an old veteran, the other, Pavel, is a recent college graduate. They are not well matched. Then an important radio message comes for Sergei, received by Pavel. It's bad news and he waits for the right time to pass it on. But his delays cause small lies and deceptions, suspicions to start building and the two men become increasingly poisoned towards each other…
So there we go. It's basically a two-hander, with a backdrop of magnificent foreboding scenery. It unfolds with slow precision, a taut examination of stress and miscommunication, the sparse dialogue building tension and allowing the viewer to really absorb the setting.
Don't expect a fast-paced Hollywood thriller; the slow-burn here has its own attractions.

The fourth instalment of Robert Rodriguez' immensely likeable (if occasionally quite naff) Spy Kids series has an added gimmick. Spy Kids: All the Time in the World is in 4D! As well as yer regular 3D (or 2D for us without the right TV), the film comes in ‘Aroma-Scope', with a scratch ‘n' sniff card to be deployed at strategically smelly moments. It's the usual frenzied colourful disjointed joyride, stacked with hit-or-miss humour, absurd gadgets, outrageous effects, Jessica Alba in tight leather and Ricky Gervais as a sardonic talking robot dog. Cheesy silly fun makes up for the Aroma-Scope (which doesn't really work).

Twilight fans who cleave towards the werewolf side will no doubt be delighted that shirtless heart-throb Taylor Lautner now has his own movie, Abduction. And even more delighted that he gets topless in the first five minutes. The improbably complex plot sees Lautner and his there-to-be-protected love interest running from all and sundry and is so obviously an engineered star vehicle that you can only feel sorry for once groundbreaking director Jon Singleton. Teenage girls will presumably lap this up - others will revile from the manifold stupidity on display.

The Revenant is – initially at least – not at all what its lurid gory cover suggests. The first 10 minutes, as Officer Bart Gregory is killed in Iraq before being buried by friends and family is only subtly warped. But two minutes later his decomposing corpse is up and walking. Yep, another zombie flick. Or maybe a vampire flick. Actually, aside from having white eyes and needing to drink blood, Bart fits in pretty well and he and mate Joey embark on a ‘life' as vigilantes, turning the film into something of an undead Boondock Saints. It's pretty good and frequently surprising stuff.

My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done sees director Werner Herzog exploring yet more unhinged territory as Michael Shannon plays a guy who does bad things with a sword while undergoing something of a nervous breakdown. It's a very weird small drama – produced by none other than David Lynch - with no iguanas this time (see Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call) but, instead, flamingos. Almost reminiscent in places of early Herzog when he was paired with Klaus Kinski, this is definitely worthwhile for lovers of studies in obsession.