Hotel Salvation (dir: Shubhashish Bhutiani, 2016, cert PG)
The eponymous hotel is a human equivalent of the elephant’s graveyard, a waiting room for death if you will, should you survive for 15 days though re-registration is required under another name. This is the premise of Bhutiani’s gentle debut film, Daya (Lalit Behl) makes his way there with son Rajiv (Adil Hussain) amid much reflection, warmth and humour. Simple scenes of Indian life unfold in muted beauty as the circle of Rajiv’s life closes, never maudlin and with a mischievous wink towards the final journey we must all make.
Mon 18 Sep to Wed 20 Sep at mac, Cannon Hill Park, Birmingham B12 9QH £9 macbirmingham.co.uk

Mother (dir: Darren Aronofsky, 2017, cert 18)
Booed by critics and receiving a standing ovation at The Venice Film Festival, Aronofky’s head spinning film has divided audiences and it’s certainly like nothing you will have seen before. Work of genius or shallow indulgence? Just flush your expectations down the toilet along with the beating human heart that disappears this way in an early scene and hold on tight. Jennifer Lawrence is astonishing as a woman plunged into a miasmic void of paranoia and uncertainty as her home is unsettled by the arrival of strangers Ed Harris and Michelle Pfeiffer. Comparisons with Rosemary’s Baby are inevitable but this is a different psychotic beast altogether and your brain may require first aid afterwards.
Mon 18 Sep to Thu 21 Sep at The Electric Cinema, Station Street, Birmingham B5 4DY £9.50 www.theelectric.co.uk

Close Encounters of the Third Kind (dir: Steven Spielberg, 1977, cert PG)
Who hasn’t enjoyed fashioning their mashed potatoes into the shape of Devil’s Tower ala Richard Dreyfuss in Spielberg’s epic alien contact film? The thrilling story of visitors from outer space and the obsession of Dreyfuss’ everyman Roy Neary is a compelling adventure tale that hasn’t dated one second in the four decades since its release. Given a shiny new sheen to celebrate its fortieth anniversary this director’s cut will be preceded by a newly recorded interview with Spielberg. Now try and get that five note sequence out of your mind.
Mon 18 Sep 8pm at The Electric Cinema, Station Street, Birmingham B5 4DY £9.50 www.theelectric.co.uk

The Grand Budapest Hotel (dir: Wes Anderson, 2014, cert 15)
Possibly more Wes Anderson than any other of his movies The Grand Budapest Hotel is a riotous overload of eccentric characters and bizarre set pieces as Ralph Fiennes’ lovably wild concierge Monsieur Gustave tries to discover who has framed him for murder. Garishly overblown colours add to an almost cartoon like otherworldly feel and there’s certainly a hint of the Clouseau’s about proceedings. A stylishly unique and hilarious romp, worth every klubeck.
Wed 20 Sep 8pm at The Mockingbird, The Custard Factory, Gibb St, Birmingham B9 4AA £4 veezi.com

Inside Peace (dir: Cynthia Fitzpatrick, 2015, cert 12)
The Peace Class is a non-religious self improvement program running in Texas prisons that aims to build the self-esteem of inmates and foster a sense of inner strength and empowerment. Fitzpatrick’s powerful documentary follows three prisoners at Dominguez State Jail as they complete their sentences and engage with an unforgiving outside world. The raw transformations exhibited are touching and enlightening, America’s bulging prisons need schemes such as this.
Thu 21 Sep 1pm & 8.30pm at mac, Cannon Hill Park, Birmingham B12 9QH £9 macbirmingham.co.uk

Insyriated (dir: Philippe Van Leeuw, 2017, cert 15)
Bad puns aside Insyriated is an intense drama riddled with an almost unbearable claustrophobia as one family endures the horrors of the Syrian War. Is home a haven or a trap? The lines are blurred throughout and the terrible toll such a pitiless conflict can have on individuals and the choices they have to make to survive are portrayed with a dead eyed stare. The oppressive atmosphere of endless gunfire and buzzing drones makes for grimly compulsive viewing, no one should have to live this way.
Fri 22 Sep to Tue 26 Sep at mac, Cannon Hill Park, Birmingham B12 9QH £9 macbirmingham.co.uk

Top Secret (dir:  Jim Abrahams, The Zucker Brothers, 1984, cert 15)
The Zuckers and Jim Abrahams followed the inspired lunacy of Airplane with this rollicking ninety minutes of brazen silliness. Val Kilmer makes his film debut as rock star Nick Rivers travelling to a nazi like East Germany and unwittingly becoming embroiled in nefarious spy shenanigans. Of course the flimsy plot is merely an excuse to machine gun audiences with an unrelenting spray of gags, “It all sounds like some bad movie”, Indeed. Buckle your funny bone in and enjoy the ride.
Fri 22 Sep 8.15pm at The Electric Cinema, Station Street, Birmingham B5 4DY £9.50 www.theelectric.co.uk