Films out this week

Lourdes (U) (Jessica Hausner, 2009, Aus/Fra/Ger) Sylvie Testud, Léa Seydoux, Elina Löwensohn. 99 mins Handsomely photographed and coolly observant, this excursion to the French pilgrimage town manages to be both a penetrating study of the spiritual tourism racket and a genuine mystical inquiry. Testud is our central pilgrim, paralysed from the neck down and, like many others, in search of a miracle. But unlike those others, she gets one. Or does she? We're given much to think about. No One Knows About Persian Cats (12A) (Bahman Ghobadi, 2009, Iran) Negar Shaghaghi, Ashkan Khoshanejad. 107 mins A suitably guerrilla-style tour of Iran's underground (often literally) music scene – a place where even gentle indie rock is considered seditious. Mostly factual and shot illegally, it's eye (and ear)-opening stuff. The Blind Side (12A) (John Lee Hancock, 2009, US) Sandra Bullock, Quinton Aaron. 128 mins Bullock might have got her Oscar but that doesn't make it any easier to swallow this glossy blend of sports dama and racial feelgood. She's a plucky Mississipi ma'am who adopts a helpless, homeless black man and basically sorts his life out for him. Nanny Mcphee And The Big Bang (PG) (Susanna White, 2010, UK/Fra/US) Emma Thompson, Maggie Gyllenhaal. 110 mins Thompson's pre-makeover Mary Poppins returns to teach more ungrateful brats a lesson, this time at a wartime farmstead filled with eccentric yokels and performing piglets. Clean but mucky fun for the kids. Perrier's Bounty (12A) (Ian Fitzgibbon, 2009, Ire/UK) Cillian Murphy, Brendan Gleeson. 84 mins Lively, playful Irish gangster comedy that keeps its familiar "give us our money back" drill entertaining with plot switches, eccentric character turns and a general absence of dumbness. Nightwatching (NC) (Peter Greenaway, 2007, Neth/Can/UK/Fra/Pol) Martin Freeman. 134 mins Once you get over Tim from the Office as Rembrandt, there's much to savour in this bawdy but smart art drama, which imagines the Night Watch as a coded indictment of its subjects. Lion's Den (15) (Pablo Trapero, 2008, Arg/S Kor/Bra) Martina Gusman, Elli Medeiros. 113 mins The women's prison movie has a pretty patchy history but here's one that stands out: our murderess inmate is pregnant, and must raise her baby on the maternity wing, which has its challenges. Shank (15) (Mo Ali, 2010, UK) Kedar Williams-Stirling, Kaya Scodelario. 94 mins It's got "gritty" and "urban" written all over it, but this London gang drama is set in the near future, which allows it to throw action, dance and other unlikely elements into the mix. Storm (15) (Hans-Christian Schmid, 2009, Ger/Den/Neth) Kerry Fox, Anamaria Marinca. 103 mins Committed, if worthy, legal-pollitical drama in which two women – a lawyer and a witness – attempt to bring a war criminal to justice, against the wishes of many. In The Land Of The Free (PG) (Vadim Jean, 2010, US) Samuel L Jackson. 84 mins Documentary on three African-American prisoners who have spent over 30 years each in solitary confinement. OUT FROM FRIDAY Clash Of The Titans Sam Worthington suffers the slings, arrows and Medusas of ancient Greece. How To Train Your Dragon 3D A teen Viking comes good in this family animation. Kick-Ass Violent comedy taking vigilantism to the streets, and getting hurt. Remember Me Robert Pattinson isn't a vampire. Double Take Ingenious Hitchcock/cold war collage. Psycho And the master's immortal thriller reissued. Kakera – A Piece Of Our Life Tender Japanese lesbian teen drama. Samson & Delilah Up-to-date Aboriginal drama. City Of War: The Story Of John Rabe Chinese-German wartime epic. The Railway Children 40th anniversary reissue. COMING SOON In two weeks … Roller derby sisterhood in Drew Barrymore's Whip It … Romans Dominic West and Michael Fassbender battle Britons in Centurion … In three weeks … Ricky Gervais's 1970s comedy Cemetery Junction … Ewan McGregor leads Roman Polanski's The Ghost … In a month … Surreal Greek movie Dogtooth … Todd Solondz's Happiness sequel Life During Wartime …