SPEED IS EXPENSIVE PG

★★☆☆☆ OUT 25 SEPTEMBER DVD, DIGITAL

This nuts-and-bolts doc charts the spectacular rise and tragic fall of pioneering motorcycle designer Philip Vincent. The title alludes to both the high production cost of Vincent’s record-breaking bikes and the lasting impact of his 80mph crash, both of which ultimately led to the bankruptcy of this once-iconic manufacturer. Director David Lancaster makes a persuasive case for the accomplishments of this troubled visionary to be more widely celebrated, but his doc lacks the invention of its subject, never quite capturing the exhilaration of those record-setting runs.

JUSTICE LEAGUE: WARWORLD 15

★★☆☆☆ OUT NOW DVD, BD, DIGITAL

EXTRAS ★★☆☆☆ Featurettes

Wild West Wonder Woman? Batman the Barbarian? Something strange is definitely afoot in this latest DC animated feature. While the set-ups are intriguing, the film’s lop-sided structure and poor pacing sends things downhill faster than a speeding bullet. Things get even worse in the final act, where an attempt to pull everything into a single climactic narrative results in an awkward shift from an Elseworlds-style anthology to a meandering set-up for next year’s Crisis on Infinite Earths animated adaptation.

BALLYWALTER TBC

★★★☆☆ OUT 22 SEPTEMBER CINEMAS

Adrift and unhappy, young taxi driver Eileen (Seána Kerslake) unexpectedly finds a kindred spirit in the form of regular fare Shane (Patrick Kielty), the two forging an unlikely connection en route to and from his stand-up comedy classes in Belfast. Spending 90 minutes with this pair of sad sacks might not seem an appealing prospect, but Prasanna Puwanarajah’s low-key dramedy balances out the sighs, tears and bickering with a streak of astringent humour. Meanwhile, Kerslake and Kielty, reining in his comic instincts, share a likeable odd-couple chemistry.

CATS OF MALTA TBC

★★★☆☆ OUT 25 SEPTEMBER DIGITAL

Malta has less than half a million residents, yet it also contains a population of some 100,000 stray cats. This likeable documentary from Australian filmmaker Sarah Jayne Portelli travels around the sun-drenched Mediterranean island, exploring how individuals and voluntary organisations manage to feed, neuter and provide medical care for these feral felines, who are at serious risk from motor traffic and building works. What emerges is the psychological benefits humans enjoy in looking after cats, who themselves remain quite inscrutable under the camera’s gaze.

FLORA AND SON 15

All about Eve…

★★★★☆ OUT 29 SEPTEMBER APPLE TV+

I’ll take you down to Dollymount,’ sings Eve Hewson’s Flora, rewriting her LA-based guitar teacher’s love song to her own Irish tune. ‘And we’ll fuck behind the dunes.’ True to form, writer/director John Carney (Once, Begin Again) brings the right amount of earthy grain to formula uplift in his musical comedy romance, with daughter-of-Bono Hewson’s salty lead his trump card.

A wild-hearted single mum, Flora has a battered guitar restored as a late birthday gift for her teen tearaway son Max (Orén Kinlan). But when he rejects it, she turns to online tutor Jeff (Joseph Gordon-Levitt).

The restorative power of song is Carney’s earnest through-line, but he spikes it with lateral details that snag. Kinlan is a natural as the troubled would-be rapper, whose misdemeanours aren’t glossed over. A winning Gordon-Levitt teases away at Jeff’s Ken-isms to slyly reveal a lived-in character behind the mansplain-y muso charm.

The plot twists are sharper than expected, balancing fairy-tale romantic fantasy with adult compromise, and the script can be laughout-loud lewd. But this is, largely, Hewson’s headline gig. Whether she’s turning the air blue or fighting her corner, she transforms a corny set-up into a crackling character-study showcase, disarming your resistance like a good song can.

THE VERDICT Carney crafts a typically tuneful lo-fi charmer, made infectious by Hewson’s high-wattage show of charisma.