PLANNING ON HEADING to the cinema this weekend?

There are a few new movies out, but which is a must-watch, and are there any you should avoid?

We take a look.

Eighth Grade

What we know

Bo Burnham wrote and directed this fantastic feature debut, about a 13-year-old called Kayla who’s in her last year of middle school (she’s going into the equivalent of secondary school). She’s introverted and shy, but uses her YouTube account as a way of helping other teens – and herself. A must-watch.

What the critics say

• “In positioning Kayla as neither desperately uncool or staggeringly popular, Burnham has created a character who is much easier to identify with – the mundanity of her life is what makes Kayla so captivating.” – Little White Lies 
• “Fisher’s portrayal of Kayla’s life has such charm and unassuming decency.” – The Guardian

What’s it rated?

• RottenTomatoes: 99%
• IMDB: 7.5/10

The Dig

What we know

This Irish film isn’t a remake of the 2005 movie about the Dandy Warhols and the Brian Jonestown Massacre. Instead, it’s about a young man (Moe Dunford) who returns home after 15 years in prison to find that the father of his victim has been digging up his land in an attempt to find his daughter’s body.

What the critics say

• “It’s bleak and unforgiving stuff. Cranitch is excellent as the obsessed father driven half mad by grief and the need for closure and there is something almost symphonically miserable – and, thus, blackly humorous going down, a sense of Beckettian futility on that blasted, mist-shrouded bog.” – RTÉ
• “The interplay between Ronan, Sean and Murphy (Francis Magee), a brutal police officer – the temptation to say “sheriff” is overwhelming – becomes ever more tense as the protagonist trawls through half-memories for clues as to his own actions.” - Irish Times

What’s it rated?

• RottenTomatoes: 57%
• IMDB: 6.9/10

Avengers: Endgame

What we know

It’s here: the moment (or rather, the three hours) MCU fans have been waiting for. Can the Avengers undo Thanos’s actions and help restore order to the universe? We’d imagine they can – but there might be a body count along the way.

What the critics say

• [Contains spoilers] “The culmination of 10 years and more than twice as many movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, “Avengers: Endgame” promises closure where its predecessor, “Avengers: Infinity War,” sowed chaos.” – Variety
• [Possible minor spoilers] “This is, let us not forget, a comic-book movie, with starkly drawn lines of good and evil, and unapologetically reductive storytelling. But amid all the action and the derring-do, between the hooey and the hokum, there’s room for real emotion.” – Washington Post

What’s it rated?

• RottenTomatoes: 96%
• IMDB: 9.2/10

Which one would you go see first?

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