Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God
Dir: Alex Gibney

Let me start by saying this is a profoundly depressing film. Alex Gibney, the documentary-maker previously responsible for Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room and the Abu Ghraib examination Taxi to the Dark Side, has created a meticulously-researched account of abuse and cover-up within the Catholic church, and it's not a pretty picture.
The story starts at a school for deaf children in Milwaukee where the popular Father Murphy abused over 200 boys. When a victim spoke up in 1972 it was the first time in America a priest had publicly been accused of abuse. The subsequent litany of cover-ups, deception, denial, and generally despicable behaviour is simply horrifying. The film then expands to similar scandals in Ireland and Italy, clearly showing that it was the Vatican, and specifically Popes John Paul 2 and Benedict, that was ultimately - and knowingly – responsible for the continuing inaction.
But the film is more than an expose of individual behaviour. There are jaw-dropping facts and figures suggesting an institution that has long been so lost in a self-image of moral superiority that it considers itself above the law, even as it struggles to come to terms with a history of vile activities. The extraordinary new Pope has a lot to do...

Dead Man Down looks quite promising: Colin Farrell, Noomi Rapace and Terrence Howard in a tough New York crime flick. Howard leads a criminal gang, Farrell is his deputy, and Rapace is a woman blackmailing Farrell into killing the man who left her scarred in a car crash. But Farrell is not what he seems and seeks revenge of his own. Mucho double-crossing ensues. This is not the New York we normally see, but an underbelly of different nationalities and anonymous locations. The film also has an odd feel, a European melancholy that fits uncomfortably with bursts of melodramatic excess and occasional extravagant gunfights.

In Red Lights Sigourney Weaver and Cillian Murphy are university types who travel round debunking psychic phenomena. They regularly take down phoney mediums, faith healers and mentalists, so are up for a challenge when spoon-bending superstar Robert De Niro comes out of a 30-year retirement. It's an intriguing premise and makes for a taut battle of wits. At least it does for the first two thirds. After that things rather collapse and, as is common when such stories try and have it both ways, the ending is a frustrating cop-out. Still, it's fun to watch De Niro have at it, even if he's spouting arrant nonsense.

The Details is a suburban black comedy taking advantage of the fact that Tobey Maguire is very good at acting harassed. And he has plenty of opportunity here as his quiet life is slowly torn apart. What starts with a family of raccoons destroying his lawn escalates, via infidelity, to murder and general chaos. The perfect family is in fact anything but. It's an entertaining ride, possibly a little short on actual character development but well played by a cast that includes Elizabeth Banks, Laura Linney, Kerry Washington and Ray Liotta, all happily plunging over the top when required.

Rapture Palooza is a lot better than the cover would suggest. In fact it has a fair amount in common with the recent Warm Bodies in that each is fuelled by a very funny voice-over. It's supplied by the excellent Anna Kendrick who, along with her boyfriend and various others, finds herself left on earth after the rapture strikes, plucking believers to heaven and leaving a world tormented by Biblical plagues and more, all ruled by Craig Robinson's foul-mouthed Anti-Christ. Who has the hots for Kendrick. Depending on your sense of humour this might be just the ticket: inconsistent but often side-splitting.