Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie (15)
Directed by Davis Guggenheim 
★★★★

“I WAS big, I was bigger than bubblegum” states Michael J Fox, one of the biggest film stars of his time, in this moving yet funny and totally captivating documentary about his life, career and his struggle to live with Parkinson’s disease. 

With unprecedented access to Fox and his family and using clips from the legendary actor’s work to portray his professional life inter-woven with archival material, Oscar winning director Davis Guggenheim delivers an intimate yet eye-opening study of the man which feels like you are watching a Michael J Fox movie. 

Fox is both frank and candid about his rise to fame and the realities of having Parkinson’s. Diagnosed at just 29 he kept it a secret from everyone but his close family for seven years during which he was popping pills to mask the symptoms.

He is blunt and unapologetic about his situation, refusing to be brought down by this incurable disease. “I am a tough son of a bitch,” he insists. 

Sporting bruises after smashing his face yet another fall, he says it is just part of Parkinson’s. “The deal is that I fall,” he states before cracking a joke. 

It is the footage of Fox trying to put toothpaste on his toothbrush and just walking down the road and stumbling to the ground as his shaking body won’t do what he wants, that brings home what it means to have this illness. 

Yet his extraordinary optimism and humour, despite being in constant pain, are awe-inspiring.
MD
Out in some cinemas and on Apple TV + today

Plan 75 (15)
Directed by Chie Hayakawa 
★★★★

SET in a dystopian Japanese future in which the stark solution to the growing ageing population is to encourage them to undergo euthanasia for the good of the economy, is clearly an unethical premiss and a head spinner. 

Based on co-writer-director Chie Hayakawa’s short film, this sensitive yet complex debut feature shines a light on the way the elderly are viewed as a burden and made to feel useless by society. 

Following the government’s approval of Plan 75 in which all those over 75 are granted the right to assisted dying, the drama focuses on a healthy but lonely 78-year-old woman (a captivating Chieko Baisho) who, having lost her job, is considering joining the programme. She comes into contact with a pragmatic Plan 75 salesman (Hayato Isomura) and a Philipino woman (Stefanie Arianne) who is hired to work at a Plan 75 death centre.

Although the drama unfolds in Japan it could have been based anywhere as they are not the only nation with rising numbers of senior citizens. 

It is a harrowing and thought-provoking film which will hopefully make societies rethink how they treat older people. Let’s pray the Tory government does not consider Plan 75 a viable policy!
MD
Out in cinemas today

The Eight Mountains (12)
Directed by Felix Van Groeningen and Charlotte Vandermeersch 
★★★

WITH its breathtaking visuals this slow-burning drama which chronicles the lifelong friendship of Pietro and Bruno over three decades is a beautiful and haunting tale of human connection, fathers and sons and being one with nature. 

Based on Paolo Cognetti’s awar- winning novel and written and directed by real life couple Felix Van Groeningen and Charlotte Vandermeersch, this gorgeous yet ponderous film follows these two guys who meet as youngsters over a series of summers in the Italian Alps. 

As adults Pietro (Luca Marinelli) and Bruno (Alessandro Borghi) reunite and build a cottage on the mountain side where the two reflect and contemplate life. Pietro is continually leaving and coming back while Bruno stays on the mountain and follows in the family tradition of herding cows and making cheese. 

It paints a tender and heartfelt portrait of an intimate but platonic friendship between two men who refuse to become their hated fathers. It is an epic journey of self-discovery set against a stunning mountainous backdrop. 

Though a touch over long it is definitely worth the watch. 
MD
Out in cinemas today

Book Club: The Next Chapter (12A)
Directed by Bill Holderman 
★★★

AFTER the formulaic, lacklustre and product-placement heavy Book Club, its four legendary stars return for a surprisingly saucy sequel in which they head to la bella Italia (that would explain it) for a hen do. 

Co-writers Bill Holderman (also the director) and Erin Simms are back having found a funny bone and peppering the script with raunchy jokes, many of which land and give Jane Fonda (the bride to be), Diana Keaton (at her most Diane Keaton) Candice Bergen (who gets the biggest laughs) and Mary Steenburgen something to work with, unlike the first film. 

While Don Johnson, Andy Garcia and Craig T. Nelson, as their love interests, are merely window dressing as this is all about the gals. 

What this comedy lacks in ingenuity and flair it makes up in the gorgeous Italian vistas, shot in and around Rome, and it is great to see women over 70 on the big screen having fun, talking about sex and men and full of joie de vivre and living la dolce vita. 
MD
Out in cinemas today