This week's new films

Splice (15) (Vincenzo Natali, 2009, US) Adrien Brody, Sarah Polley, Delphine Chanéac. 104 mins In case anyone thought mucking around with animal genes then raising the resultant mutant as your own child was a good idea, here's a strong warning. Scientists Brody and Polley initially enthuse over their secret breakthrough/lovechild, but several "do you really think we should be doing this?" moments later, they're living out every parent's worst nightmare: that your child grows wings and a venomous tail and turns on you. It's not up to Cronenberg standards, but it's smarter, less predictable and much funnier than it sounds. Toy Story 3 (U) (Lee Unkrich, 2010, US) Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack. 109 mins Plaything perils at the daycare centre become a lesson in mortality, comradeship, prison-breaking and waste management in this near-perfect sequel. As usual, it's packed with thrills and gags, but as with Pixar's Up, there are moments when grown-ups will feel a lump in their throats. Baarìa (15) (Giuseppe Tornatore, 2009, Ita/Fra) Francesco Scianna, Margarethe Madè. 151 mins Still straining to recapture that Cinema Paradiso magic, Tornatore ups the scale if not the quality, rendering the life of a Sicilian family in such nostalgia-tinged, generation-spanning, self-important epicness, we lose track of the actual story. City Island (12A) (Raymond De Felitta, 2009, US) Andy Garcia, Julianna Margulies, Emily Mortimer. 104 mins A Bronx-set comedy dealing with a family whose members all harbour juicy secrets. Dad Garcia is the liveliest and guiltiest party, a prison warden with an illegitimate son and closeted acting ambitions. The Rebound (15) (Bart Freundlich, 2009, US) Catherine Zeta-Jones, Justin Bartha. 95 mins Doubtless drawing on her own experience of age-gap couples, Mrs Michael Douglas plays a divorced single mum who gets it on with her young babysitter, but that's about all there is to this risk-averse Milf-com. Ivul (15) (Andrew Kotting, 2009, Swi/Fra) Jean-Luc Bideau, Jacob Auzanneau, Adélaïde Leroux. 101 mins The Brit outsider now has to go to France to get his films made, sadly. This rural drama is agreeably inventive and eccentric; a father-son clash with potent imagery and incestuous undertones. My Night With Maud (PG) (Eric Rohmer, 1969, Fra) Jean-Louis Trintignant, Françoise Fabian. 110 mins The most cherished and talkiest of Rohmer's moral tales, tackling slightly dated issues of faith and desire in a manner that still seems modern. Khatta Meetha (NC) (Priyadarshan, 2010, Ind) Akshay Kumar, Trisha Krishnan. 156 mins Kumar plays a provincial road contractor in a political satire that's surprisingly hard-hitting – as evidenced by a catchy anti-corruption song entitled Bullshit. Jasper, Penguin Explorer (U) (Eckart Fingberg, Kay Delventhal, 2008, Ger) 80 mins If you only see one animated movie about an individualistic penguin, see Happy Feet. But this Euro TV spin-off is fine for the tots. OUT FROM FRIDAY Separado ! Super Furry Gruff Rhys on the trail of his Argentinian ancestors. The A-Team The 1980s action remake plan comes together ( from Wed ). The Karate Kid Beijing-set update for the 1980s child-fighter ( from Wed ). Beautiful Kate Outback drama with Rachel Griffiths and Bryan Brown. Down Terrace Glamour-free study of a Brighton criminal family. Frontier Blues Droll scenes from the Iran-Turkmenistan border. Gainsbourg Freeform biopic of the French musician. South Of The Border Oliver Stone talks to South America's new crop of leftist leaders: Lula, Hugo Chávez and Evo Morales. COMING SOON In two weeks … Tom Cruise crazies up action comedy Knight And Day … The fur flies in Cats & Dogs: The Revenge Of Kitty Galore … In three weeks … Argentina's Oscar-winner The Secret In Their Eyes … In a month … Stallone leads the testosterone frenzy in The Expendables … while Angelina Jolie does her bit for action heroines with Salt …