The Screen Critic: A strong dose of Beatles nostalgia, a wild walk across the Kiwi wilderness and an unusual take on the Wild West

An estranged father tries bonding with his precocious daughter in Bookworm, a charming adventure comedy set in the scenic wilds of New Zealand.

After her mother is put into a coma by a faulty toaster, book-loving Mildred (Nell Fisher) is visited by her long-absent dad Shawn Wise (Elijah Wood, aka Frodo from The Lord of the Rings), who works as a Las Vegas magician.

As they trek through the Kiwi landscape in search of a mythical panther they awkwardly try forming a connection, though Shawn has a hard time working through Mildred’s well-founded resentment.

Unexpected dangers draw them closer as they find themselves in a predicament where they have nobody to rely on but each other.

It’s a really well-crafted father/daughter story wrapped in a survival tale.

Those in the mood for a strong dose of Beatles nostalgia will find much to enjoy in Midas Man, a breezy biopic that looks at the band’s early years and rise to global fame through the eyes of Brian Epstein (Jacob Fortune-Lloyd), the devoted manager who curated their look and (with producer George Martin) shaped their world-conquering sound.

With some great lookalike casting, the film does a top job covering a lot of ground and recreating the energy of the early 1960s when pop music was still forming. Beatles fans will adore the recreation of Liverpool’s legendary Cavern Club.

A solid biopic with plenty of humour, the film also looks at Epstein’s struggles with drugs and homosexuality, the illegality of which made him a prime blackmail target.

Now, some friendly warnings about a couple of titles you might want to miss.

There’s been a lot of hype around the mystery- thriller Blink Twice but, as is often the case, it’s a lot of hot air.

Two waitresses are persuaded to attend a wild party on the private island of a disgraced billionaire (Channing Tatum), but beneath all the drinking and drug taking, one discovers the place has a bizarre secret.

The directorial debut of actress Zoë Kravitz (High Fidelity), the unfolding mystery struggles to make much sense and simply becomes tedious.

Also tiring is The Crow, a completely uninspired and unnecessary remake of the 1994 film.

Darkly lit and full of digitally rendered blood spurts, escaped rehab inmate Eric (Bill Skarsgard) becomes immortal after he and his girlfriend Shelley (FKA Twigs) are murdered.

He’s told by a netherworld figure that to bring her back to life Eric needs to slaughter everyone involved with their killing.

There is enough visual style, cartoon violence and gloomy acting to satisfy anyone looking to pass the time, but the soiree does get awfully repetitive. See the original instead.

The Ballad of Buster Scruggs offers a fresh take on life and death in the Wild West through six very different stories.

Written and directed by Joel & Ethan Coen (Fargo; No Country for Old Men), the tales range from high humour to dark drama, with the prospect of a sudden demise ever-present.

The opening story is the funniest as the titular outlaw (Tim Blake Nelson) politely deals with a disagreeable gent in a raucous saloon.

In the darkest episode Liam Neeson plays an unscrupulous travelling carnival spruiker whose one act, a disabled actor (Harry Melling), becomes an increasing burden.

The best, though, involves a wagon train as it slowly trots across the untamed frontier toward California.

In a sparsely worded tale, Tom Waits plays a lonely old prospector who learns how best to deal with thieves.

It’s a terrific anthology, beautifully shot. Catch it on Netflix.

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