KILLER JOE
Dir: William Friedkin - Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Emile Hirsch, Gina Gershon

Since his glory days in the 70ss with The Exorcist, The French Connection and others, William Friedkin's directorial career has somewhat languished, but his last film, Bug, a tightly-wound psychological thriller, was a reminder of how good he can be with actors and tense situations.

Like Bug, Killer Joe is based on a play by Tracy Letts. It's an alarming slice of modern southern Gothic with a stand-out turn from Matthew McConaughey, playing against type as the titular cop come hit man. He is hired by Chris (Hirsch), a weasely trailer-trash drug-dealer (who owes money) to kill Chris's mother. As a deposit on the fee, Chris 'loans” sister Dottie to Joe until the insurance money arrives.

Let me say right now: this is strong stuff - violent, nasty, intermittently very perverse – and certainly not suitable for sensitive types. But it's also compulsively watchable and often jaw-dropping in its transgressions. McConaughey strides through the whole thing with massive cool, adding another fine turn to his impressive comeback in The Lincoln Lawyer, while Thomas Haden Church (as Chris's father) plays deadpan dumb and Gershon – as the father's new wife - revels in trashy excess.

I have heard Killer Joe described as black comedy. The ending, plunging over the top, would seem to confirm this. But it's hard to tell. It's certainly black enough; whether it's a comedy is up for debate.

Safe looks just like another low-rent Jason Statham action flick. Here's the plot précis from IMDB: 'Mei, a young girl whose memory holds a priceless numerical code, finds herself pursued by the Triads, the Russian mob and corrupt NYC cops. Coming to her aid is an ex-cage fighter whose life was destroyed by the gangsters on Mei's trail.” Sounds like complete crap, right? But for some reason – perhaps direction from Boaz Yakin – this really works as a good, hard, violent thriller. The plot, insane though it is, keeps moving around and Jase is at his solid best. Good work.

Using as its source pretty much the best book about the 2008 American presidential election (as good and readable book as you could hope for about American politics), Game Change narrows the focus to omit the Obama/Biden ticket and concentrates solely on the choice of and subsequent fallout from John McCain's pick of vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin. It's fascinating, honestly and accurately told (Palin poo-poos it but many others have offered confirmation). Julianne Moore is a great Palin, Ed Harris is McCain and Woody Harrelson his campaign manager who made (and subsequently regretted) the decision. See it and be amazed (and scared).

Todd Solondz' films are generally considered edgy suburban comedies, so edgy sometimes that actual laughter feels uncomfortable. Dark Horse starts at a wedding where the two people not dancing, socially inept disaster zones Abe and Miranda (Jordan Gelber, Selma Blair) meet and begin an excruciatingly awkward courtship. He is neurotic, overconfident, collects toys and lives with his parents (Christopher Walken and Mia Farrow); she is heavily medicated. Starting in fairly naturalistic territory, the film takes an increasingly dreamlike trajectory, abandoning coherence in favour of something stranger and more unpredictable. It may frustrate people not sympathetic to the director's peculiar universe.

In Retreat a couple (Cillian Murphy, Thandie Newton) hoping to put a tragedy behind them take up residence on a remote Scottish island. Rebuilding their relationship proves tricky, however, what with an exploded generator and the surprise arrival of a shipwrecked soldier (Jamie Bell). He brings news that Europe is in the grip of a deadly airborne virus. But is he telling the truth? Boarded up in the stone cottage things between the trio become increasingly tense. The actors are in fine form but ultimately the scope of the story remains fairly limited.