TRENQUE LAUQUEN TBC

★★★★★ OUT 8 DECEMBER CINEMAS, DIGITAL

Trenque Lauquen is the name of a sleepy provincial town in Argentina; it’s also where botanist Laura (Laura Paredes) has vanished while on a research trip classifying local fauna. A search begins, led by Laura’s boyfriend Rafa (Rafael Spregelburd) and colleague Ezequiel (Ezequiel Pierri). Writer-director Laura Citarella’s sprawling mystery drama is divided into 12 chapters across two separate films, totalling 260 mins. Gliding between different genres, timelines, points of view and screen ratios, it’s a pleasurably digressive, immersive experience.

THE LOST BOYS 12A

★★★★★ OUT 15 DECEMBER CINEMAS, DIGITAL

Sorry, Frog Bros. fans: there are no vampires in this French drama set in a male juvenile detention centre, but Joe and William (Khalil Ben Gharbia, Julien De Saint Jean) do suck on each other’s necks, stealing private moments of muchneeded contact. But can they keep their love secret in a facility that prohibits physical contact?

Superbly performed, director and co-writer Zeno Graton’s feature debut isn’t as violent and shocking as Alan Clarke’s famous borstal drama Scum, but it is, you sense, every bit as angry, as it highlights the unfair treatment of abandoned, alienated teens. Recommended.

THANKSGIVING 18

Blood feast…

★★★★★ OUT NOW CINEMAS

Belatedly following Hobo with a Shotgun and the Machete films, Eli Roth becomes the latest filmmaker to turn a fake Grindhouse trailer into a feature-length reality with this gleefully bloodthirsty slasher.

Set in Plymouth, Massachusetts, it begins on Black Friday at the Right Mart store. When teen Jessica (Nell Verlaque), daughter of the store owner, lets her friends in to get first pick of all the cut-price goodies, a riot ensues, leaving three dead. A year on, the town is still in shock. And then the bodies start piling up, leaving Sheriff Newlon (Patrick Dempsey) with his work cut out and Jess and her chums running for their lives…

Roth recreates elements of the original trailer, including the infamous cheerleader-on-a-trampoline sequence and the Mayflower parade. But it never feels as if the script is ticking them off or building the story around them. Instead, Roth has a blast with the vengeful killer - who’s dressed in a pilgrim outfit – as they start dispatching people in horribly inventive ways.

Featuring some quite brilliant stomach-ripping, face-splitting practical effects, Thanksgiving is also a smart and often hilarious poke at American consumerism and the way the holidays can be just an excuse for greedy behaviour. The denouement may not be fiercely original, but by that point you won’t care. The on-form Roth hasn’t had this much fun in years.

THE VERDICT Blending OTT gore, devilish humour and on-the-nose satire, this is sick, twisted and hugely enjoyable.

A STITCH IN TIME 15

★★★★★ OUT NOW CINEMAS

Veteran actor Maggie Blinco (Crocodile Dundee) headlines this deadpan yet heartwarming Australian dramedy about Liebe, an elderly woman who, after meeting young Chinese fashion designer Hamish (Hoa Xuande), is inspired to leave her domineering husband and pursue her former dream of being a dressmaker. The film occasionally ventures close to Hallmark territory, but writer-director Sasha Hadden otherwise treads a careful line between levity and pathos, aided by a solid supporting cast. Meanwhile, big themes - age, friendship, empowerment - are handled with a light touch.

AMERICAN SYMPHONY 12A

★★★★★ OUT NOW NETFLIX

Documentarian Matthew Heineman (Cartel Land) here sets out to chronicle Grammy/Oscar winner Jon Batiste’s attempts to write a symphony for Carnegie Hall that blends multiple musical styles. However, things change when Batiste’s long-term partner, Suleika Jaouad, receives a devastating diagnosis; the focus instead becomes the contrast between the highs of the spotlight and the lows of enduring illness and treatment. In light of these new circumstances, the build towards a climactic orchestral performance feels less relevant, but the film itself remains intimate and powerful.