Other films out this week

Almost Peaceful
Cert 15, 93 mins
Few French films have dealt with what happened to the surviving Jews who returned from the terror of the camps to their Paris arrondissements. Veteran director Michel Deville, adapting Robert Bober's novel, suggests that, despite continuing discrimination and terrible memories, they tried to live as normally as possible.

The film is set largely in a ladies' clothing workshop, where four women and five men work hard to make a living. They have at least survived, and that is something.

Deville's film is gentle, ironic and not without charm. It says what needs to be said and isn't afraid of humour. But its drama is slight, as if keen to avoid over-emphasis. It's the kind of film that glides by with little excitement, as if the director were constructing a well-fitting garment.

Freeze Frame

Cert 15, 98 mins

Lee Evans forsakes comedy as a paranoid murder suspect who videotapes himself round the clock to provide a rock-solid alibi in British director John Simpson's debut. Atmosphere 2, narrative and dramatic logic 0 (after extra time).

The Whole Ten Yards

Cert 12a, 99 mins

This successor to The Whole Nine Yards has Bruce Willis's hitman, Jimmy The Tulip, alive again and pursuing a life of cookery and ease with his wife (Amanda Peet).

But apparently, he can't get it up anymore.Then along come the Gogolak gang to disturb his peace. An over-cooked parody of the first film. Desperate.

Duck Soup

Cert U, 70 mins

Creaky in places this 1933 classic may be, but director Leo McCarey knew better what to do with the Marx Brothers than most film-makers who tried to rein them in.

He lets them rip right through this tall tale of the Republic of Freedonia which goes to war with a nearby state because its President (Groucho) has been insulted. Fun is made of everything, even patriotism - a dangerous thing to do in America.

The Hours of the Day

Cert 15, 110 mins

Having read that most serial killers act like normal before and after murdering their prey, Spanish director Jaime Rosales tries to prove the point in a debut film of real skill. Abel (Alex Brendemuhl) owns a failing clothes shop, his girl wants to leave him and his widowed mother scolds him. There is little blood about and Rosales's restraint will tax some, but there is a ring of truth about it.

The Cooler

Cert 15, 102 mins

Bernie Lootz (William H Macy) is an unlucky man, but bad luck is valuable in a Las Vegas casino, where Bernie's mere presence can halt a punter's winning streak. Shady casino boss Shelly (Alec Baldwin) doesn't want Bernie, his top Cooler, to quit. Then Bernie falls for waitress Natalie (Maria Bello).