’Uncle Frank’

A quiet, restrained narrative where secrets are exposed in the 1970s-set family drama. 18 year-old Beth escapes her redneck South Carolina home life to study at the New York college where her uncle Frank teaches.

Having been encouraged by her uncle to follow her dreams, Beth (Sophia Lillis) surprises him by arriving in New York. The closeted Frank (Paul Bettany) is forced into honesty with his niece on her meeting his lover, Wally (Peter Macdissi). News of the death of Frank Senior (Stephen Root) sees a road trip like no other as the three head south and the bigotry of small-town homesville.

Cute with the occasional barb and a few tragic secrets, Uncle Frank is a wry, nuanced, unchallenging feature that, if nothing else, is hard to dislike.

Rating: 62%

Director: Alan Ball ((Towelhead, TV’s Six Feet Under)

Writer: Alan Ball (American Beauty, TV’s True Blood)

Main cast: Paul Bettany (The Avengers: Age of Ultron, Margin Call), Sophia Lillis (It, Asteroid City), Peter Macdissi (Towelhead, The Losers)

’Asteroid City’

As quirky as Wes Anderson comes as the annual junior stargazing awards are hosted in the Arizona desert and Asteroid City.

Anderson’s latest is structured around a grieving Augie Steenbeck (Jason Schwartzman) and the writing of his play of a playwright traveling with his four kids to the annual junior stargazing awards in Asteroid City. The family are taking the ashes of their wife/mother to the home of grandpa Zak (Tom Hanks). But meeting actress Midge Campbell (Scarlett Johansson) upends plans – as does the arrival of a UFO at the midnight ceremony hosted by Dr. Hickenlooper (Tilda Swinton). Asteroid City is immediately placed under lockdown by General Gibson (Jeffrey Wright).

The usual star-packed ensemble for Anderson, bizarre moments (Rupert Friend leading a country music band and frequently bursting into song), a quirky series of narratives (some related to the overall storyline some not) along with a visual feast of intense colour saturation and cardboard cutout sets add to the sense of 1950s discombobulation. It’s an enjoyable ride even if there’s less investment in the characters than in some of the more memorable Anderson films such as The Grand Budapest Hotel.

Rating: 68%

Director: Wes Anderson (Moonrise Kingdom, Fantastic Mr. Fox)

Writer: Wes Anderson (Moonrise Kingdom, Fantastic Mr. Fox), Roman Coppola (Moonrise Kingdom, TV’s Mozart in the Jungle)

Main cast: Jason Schwartzman (The Grand Budapest Hotel, The Hunger Games: the Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes), Scarlett Johansson (Jojo Rabbit, Marriage Story), Tom Hanks (Sully, Philadelphia)