The Screen Critic: A hit romantic tearjerker, a return to Alien territory and Robert De Niro in full-on funny mode

In what is already shaping up to be the biggest romantic tearjerker in recent memory, It Ends With Us bravely confronts the issue of domestic violence, a touchy topic that is handled intelligently and with considerable impact without resorting to sensationalism.

Based on the 2016 bestseller by Colleen Hoover, the story tells of the blossoming relationship between Boston florist Lily Bloom (Blake Lively) and Ryle (director Justin Baldoni), an attractive neurosurgeon who sports a permanent stubble.

Things seem to be going nicely until Lily encounters Atlas (Brandon Sklenar), a successful restaurateur who became her first boyfriend after she saved him from homelessness as a teenager.

Tensions build slowly as Atlas begins worrying about Ryle’s behaviour, gradually pushing Lily into a situation where she has to make a tough life choice between creature comforts and common sense.

A huge international box-office hit – it’s taken over $100 million in a week, very rare for a romantic drama – the film is bound to earn Oscar attention for Lively’s moving performance, which will give the tear ducts of most filmgoers a good run for their money.

Have your handkerchiefs at the ready.

It’s now the turn of the younger generation to scream and run before being eaten alive in the corridors of dingy, dimly lit spaceships. And about time, too.

In Alien: Romulus, the seventh film in the Alien franchise, a group of cocky young mine workers on a distant planet fly to an abandoned ship planning to nick some equipment.

Matters go slightly awry when they stumble upon the multi-jawed critters of yore, which promptly set upon them with great enthusiasm.

Once the kids arrive at the doomed spaceship it’s a fast-paced feeding frenzy as the aliens chow down on their new guests.

It might not be all that scary but it is heavily atmospheric with quite a bit of tension over who among the hapless young sods will make it to the end.

Fans will love how closely this film recreates the look and feel of the first two Alien films, including lots of gooey practical effects and close-ups of those razor-sharp teeth. Enjoy.

Looking for a way to impress your friends by doing something few people on Earth have attempted?

Then check out Borderlands, Cate Blanchett’s $190 million sci-fi turkey, an unqualified dudarooni that has crashed and burned at the global box office.

Though not as bad as the general critical response would suggest, it is a failed attempt at a large-scale comedy action film, chiefly because, well, it’s not all that funny.

Still, for those in a slightly perverse frame of mind, the film does offer a rare opportunity to see Blanchett – easily one of the best actresses today – flail about in an ill-fitting film.

And it’s only 90 minutes long, so not a huge sacrifice in exchange for being able to say you’ve seen Blanchett bomb.

As great a dramatic actor as he is, Robert De Niro has long had a gift for comedy, a quality on full display in the hilarious About My Father.

He plays Salvo, a grumpy, quick-witted working-class Sicilian dad who doesn’t react too well when his son Sebastian (Sebastian Maniscalco) tells him he’s planning to propose to his upper-class lady Ellie (Leslie Bibb) at her family’s plush home.

They both arrive at the sprawling estate and it’s clear from the outset that it’s Salvo who is the problem, not Ellie’s loveable, gag-cracking parents Bill (David Rasche) and Tigger (Kim Cattrall), a hotelier and senator respectively. Even Ellie’s brothers, recovering druggie Lucky (Anders Holmes) and new-age devotee Doug (Brett Dier) make them welcome.

With a joke every few seconds, this is one of the funniest ensemble comedies in years, with plenty of visual humour to match the verbal wisecracks.

Performances throughout are breezy and natural, especially from De Niro (his best comedic work since Meet the Parents) and Bibb, who is exceptionally energetic.

Oddly, the film came and went at cinemas very quickly and was shunned by critics.

But never mind any of that. It’s a joyous way to spend 89 minutes. Catch it on Prime.

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