ANOTHER ROUND (Cert 12, 116 mins, StudioCanal, Comedy/Drama/Romance, available from September 24 on Amazon Prime Video/BT TV Store/iTunes/Sky Store/TalkTalk TV Store and other download and streaming services, available from September 27 on DVD £19.99/Blu-ray £24.99)
Starring: Mads Mikkelsen, Magnus Millang, Lars Ranthe, Thomas Bo Larsen, Maria Bonnevie, Magnus Sjorup, Silas Cornelius Van.
HISTORY teacher Martin (Mads Mikkelsen) delivers haphazard lessons to his bored students, sometimes verbatim from a well-thumbed textbook.
His marriage to wife Anika (Maria Bonnevie) is stagnant – she works night shifts – and sons Jonas (Magnus Sjorup) and Kasper (Silas Cornelius Van) barely register his presence.
During a 40th birthday meal for fellow teacher Nikolaj (Magnus Millang) with colleagues Peter (Lars Ranthe) and Tommy (Thomas Bo Larsen), the men debate psychologist Finn Skarderud's hypothesis that a sustained increase in blood alcohol content (BAC) promotes relaxation, creativity and openness.
The pals forge a secret pact to drink their way out of a rut.
The experiment delivers encouraging initial results.
"I haven't felt this good in ages," gushes Martin, who proposes they all increase their BAC above 0.05 per cent.
Another Round is a life-affirming coming-of-middle age comedy drama dedicated to the memory of Danish writer-director Thomas Vinterberg's teenage daughter, who died during filmmaking.
His picture chugs down its refreshing premise, imbued with delicate notes of romance, tragedy and joy.
The cocktail slips down sweetly, even with a generous glug of salty tears in the film's second half.
Mikkelsen anchors the central cast with an emotionally rich and layered performance as a family man, who fears he has become entrenched in monotonous patterns after a carefree youth that promised much until fatherhood forced him to choose security over ambition.
Handheld camerawork courtesy of cinematographer Sturla Brandth Grovlen feels intimate and natural.
It's a perfect fit as teachers' lives spin out of control and the script, co-written by Vinterberg and Tobias Lindholm, soberly acknowledges the perils of excessive drinking.
Rating: 4/5
SUPERNOVA (Cert 15, 94 mins, StudioCanal, Romance/Drama, available from September 24 on Amazon Prime Video/BT TV Store/iTunes/Sky Store/TalkTalk TV Store and other download and streaming services, available from September 27 on DVD £19.99/Blu-ray £24.99)
Starring: Colin Firth, Stanley Tucci, Pippa Haywood, Peter MacQueen, Nina Marlin
OUT-of-practice concert pianist Sam (Colin Firth) and his partner, American novelist Tusker (Stanley Tucci), have savoured every second together on this side of the Atlantic.
When Tusker is diagnosed with early onset dementia, the couple jump into a motorhome with their dog Ruby and embark on a ramshackle road trip to visit family, friends and important places from their relationship.
After a worrying moment when Tusker walks off in a daze, the two men arrive safely at the home of Sam's sister Lilly (Pippa Haywood), her husband Clive (Peter MacQueen) and their daughter Charlotte (Nina Marlin).
A surprise party seemingly lifts Tusker's spirits but a candid conversation with Lilly exposes his deep-rooted fears.
"You're still the guy (Sam) fell in love with," she soothingly contends.
"No, I'm not," laments Tusker, "I just look like him."
Taking its title from the blindingly bright explosion of a dying star, Supernova is a heart-breaking drama about living with dementia that has the misfortune to twinkle shortly after The Father.
Writer-director Harry Macqueen's film exists in the same narrative universe, juxtaposing the confusion of a patient with the anguish of caring family members, but this gently paced road movie takes a more conventional approach to storytelling.
Firth and Tucci's heartfelt performances lace their characters' love story with palpable sorrow.
One uninterrupted close-up of Firth disgorging feelings as tears sporadically course down his cheeks is particularly memorable.
The natural flow of early scenes contrasts with a fraught, tear-wringing final act overstuffed with dialogue, which hits premeditated beats at the expense of sounding like a true cascade of emotions.
Rating: 3/5
FOUNDATION (10 episodes, streaming from September 24 exclusively on Apple TV+, Sci-Fi/Drama/Action/Romance)
DAVID S Goyer, co-writer of Batman Begins and screenwriter of Man Of Steel, is an executive produces of this epic 10-part sci-fi drama based on Isaac Asimov's trilogy.
The first two episodes premiere this week and further chapters debut every Friday, unravelling a sprawling saga that will ultimately determine humanity's fate.
Cleons, a long line of emperor clones, rule over the Empire with an iron fist, led by Brother Day (Lee Pace).
He fears their reign, unchallenged for many years, may be coming to an end when people begin to take notice of bold claims made by revolutionary Dr Hari Seldon (Jared Harris).
The historian predicts the imminent fall of the Empire and the need to rebuild mankind by establishing The Foundation in the far reaches of the galaxy.
Accompanied by loyal followers including Gaal Dornick (Lou Llobell), Dr Seldon defies the will of the Cleons and incurs their wrath.
MIDNIGHT MASS (7 episodes, streaming from September 24 exclusively on Netflix, Horror/Thriller/Romance)
MIKE Flanagan, creator of The Haunting Of Hill House and The Haunting Of Bly Manor, continues to mine a rich horror vein with a seven-episode limited series embedded in the small, isolated community of Crockett Island.
Residents are already divided before Riley Flynn (Zach Gilford) returns home in disgrace to face the repercussions of his actions.
Some neighbours are unforgiving and Flynn works hard to regain their trust.
His redemption coincides with the arrival of charismatic priest Father Paul (Hamish Linklater).
Unexplained and seemingly miraculous events follow and religion takes a vice-like grip of the community.
As faith warps into delusion, some of the Crockett islanders discover their good fortune comes at a shocking price.
GOLIATH SEASON 4 (8 episodes, streaming from September 24 exclusively on Amazon Prime Video, Drama/Thriller)
THE compelling Amazon Studios legal drama created by David E Kelley and Jonathan Shapiro reaches its conclusion with an eventful fourth series, which welcomes back Billy Bob Thornton as grizzled lawyer Billy McBride.
When Patty (Nina Arianda) takes a position at a prestigious San Francisco law firm and sets her sights on the opioid industry, Billy joins her in the war of attrition against one of America's most powerful goliaths.
Their partnership is tested to breaking point in a world where the people with money and power hold all of the aces.
Billy's resolve wavers as he contends with chronic pain while Patty's excitement at landing a new job is tempered by the nagging feeling that she is being manipulated.
MR MAYOR (9 episodes, starts streaming from September 24 exclusively on NOW TV, Comedy/Drama)
TED Danson plays a wealthy retired businessman with a misguided sense of civic duty in a sitcom created by Tina Fey and Robert Carlock, which has been renewed for a second series.
Neil Bremer (Danson) is frustrated that he is nothing but a source of embarrassment to his teenage daughter, Orly (Kyla Kenedy).
She is running for class president and Neil seizes an opportunity to earn her respect by entering the race for mayor of Los Angeles after the incumbent suffers a nervous breakdown and resigns from the post.
Despite his lack of experience and political nous, Neil triumphs in the election.
He appoints councilwoman Arpi Meskimen (Holly Hunter), who he beat, as his deputy and faces an uphill battle to prove his worth aided by chief of staff Mikaela Shaw (Vella Lovell), strategist Tommy Tomas (Mike Cabellon) and communications director Jayden Kwapis (Bobby Moynihan).
