WE Live in Time heads the lineup of new releases this week, as well as testing to see whether summer audiences will favour a romantic comedy/tear-jerker.

Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh star in this tale of love and loss in which the conceit of the film is that the story unfolds in non-linear fashion.

Jumping from one time period to another and then back again can be a frustrating editing choice, and it is one that does not really benefit this movie.

The stars, however, do have great chemistry and screen presence, and their charm elevates an otherwise middle-of-the-road script from playwright Nick Payne.

If you’re interested in the next big scare, Wolfman comes to screens from Universal and Blumhouse Productions, with Aussie Leigh Whannel directing.

Following in the formula that made 2020’s The Invisible Man such a hit, this new version of one of the classic Universal Monster films re-contextualises the titular monster as a family man who threatens his loved ones when he falls victim to a terrible curse.

As The Invisible Man served as a metaphor for toxic masculinity and abusive relationships, Wolfman seems to be doing the same for domestic violence amongst families.

None of this makes it too high-brow for good, old-fashioned scares though, as there’s plenty of opportunities to jump out of your seat.

If you’re in the mood for the kind of film that causes real arguments, Emelia Pérez might interest you.

A Spanish-language film from a French production company, it is adapted from an operetta which was based on a book and comes to screens as a “musical crime comedy”- that sentence has made me dizzy.

In short, the premise finds a Mexican crime lord recruiting a lawyer to help him disappear so he can transition to become a woman.

That’s just the beginning of a film that really swings for the fences in terms of style, atmosphere and emotion.

It is aesthetically similar to films like Moulin Rouge, with elaborate musical set pieces and big performances.

Does it work? That is the matter of much debate, as for every award nomination there has been a critic of some aspect of the film.

It is, however, a film that is designed for the big screen, and that will be the best chance you have at deciding whether it’s a film for you.

Sing Sing is the real gem from this week’s slate of releases.

A prison drama inspired by the real life Rehabilitation Through the Arts program, the film follows inmates of the titular correctional facility who find meaning and purpose in their efforts to produce a play.

Divine G (Colman Domingo) is a wrongfully imprisoned man seeking to create something special while he works to prove his innocence, but clashes with Divine Eye (Clarence Maclin), a hardened inmate who is slow to see the point of the art they are trying to create.

What has made this a remarkable production is that a number of the performers, including Maclin, are themselves former inmates of the prison and participants in the program – so Divine Eye’s journey of transformation draws on his real-life experiences.

A story of hope with no real villains, this is one that will linger in the heart.

Finally a film that is very hard to describe but I hope everyone will give a chance is Magic Beach, an adaptation of the children’s book by Alison Lester.

With no real narrative the film blends several styles of animation and footage to create the fantastical adventures of children who spend their days at the Magic Beach.

Director Robert Connolly has crafted a film that is all about the experience of joy and delight that is unique to childhood.

If you have the book on your kids shelf, take them to see this.

If you don’t… take them anyway.

By Lindsay HALL