Riddle of Fire review - unsubtle but likeable kids' adventure flick

★★★ RIDDLE OF FIRE Trio's quest for a blueberry pie spirals into backwoods peril

Trio's quest for a blueberry pie spirals into backwoods peril

Live-action movies for the under-12 set are rare. Rarer still are those that capture the anarchic spirit of middle-grade children gone wild. Writer-director Weston Razooli made a splash at the Cannes and Toronto film festivals last year with Riddle of Fire, an adventure tale that draws inspiration from Disney’s earnest, spirited TV fare of the 1970s.

Music Reissues Weekly: Jon Savage's The Secret Public - How The LGBTQ+ Aesthetic Shaped Pop Culture

JON SAVAGE'S THE SECRET PUBLIC How The LGBTQ+ Aesthetic Shaped Pop Culture

A significant release

Jon Savage's The Secret Public How The LGBTQ+ Aesthetic Shaped Pop Culture 1955-1979 accompanies the titular author/historian/journalist’s book of almost the same name. The Secret Public: How LGBTQ Resistance Shaped Popular Culture (1955–1979) and this 41-track double CD each track exactly what their titles say, drilling into what has often paralleled or underlain yet repeatedly influenced a constantly evolving mainstream.

DVD/Blu-ray: The Holdovers

★★★★★ DVD/BLU-RAY: THE HOLDOVERS Bittersweet, beautifully observed seasonal comedy - not just for Christmas

Bittersweet, beautifully observed seasonal comedy - not just for Christmas

Glance at The Holdovers’ synopsis and you might suspect that Alexander Payne’s latest effort is a slice of lightweight seasonal schmaltz. Yes, it is set at Christmas, and contains tear-jerking moments, but Payne and screenwriter David Hemingson throw so much more.

Music Reissues Weekly: Warsaw - Middlesbrough 14th September 1977, Joy Division - Manchester 28th September 1979

WARSAW, 1977, JOY DIVISION, 1979 Thrilling live document of one of Britain’s greatest bands

Thrilling live document of one of Britain’s greatest bands

Edinburgh’s Rezillos were booked to play Middlesbrough’s Rock Garden on Wednesday 14 September 1977. “I Can’t Stand my Baby,” their debut single, had been issued in July and they were on the road subsequent to its release, positive music press reviews and regular spins from John Peel. Their humour-laced, Day-Glo art-punk was making waves.

That They May Face The Rising Sun review - lyrical adaptation of John McGahern's novel

★★★★ THAT THEY MAY FACE THE RISING SUN Pat Collins extracts the magic of country life in the west of Ireland in his third feature film

Pat Collins extracts the magic of country life in the west of Ireland in his third feature film

In director Pat Collins’s lyrical adaptation of John McGahern’s last novel, with cinematography by Richard Kendrick, the landscape is perhaps the most important character – though there’s a fine cast of well known mainly Irish actors.

If you’re feeling hemmed in by concrete and city life, it’s a balm to take a deep breath and listen to the birdsong while watching the lake, the trees and the hills change colour through the seasons.

Music Reissues Weekly: Congo Funk! - Sound Madness from the Shores of the Mighty Congo River

CONGO FUNK! Sound Madness from the Shores of the Mighty Congo River

Assiduous exploration of the interconnected musical ecosystems of Brazzaville and Kinshasa

Brazzaville is on the north side of the Congo River. It is the capital of the Republic of the Congo. Kinshasa is on the south side of the Congo. It is capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, formerly known as Zaïre. The cities face each other, about 1.5km apart, divided by the river and being in different nations.

Music Reissues Weekly: Patterns on the Window - The British Progressive Pop Sounds of 1974

A nebulous year in music resists easy definition

Half-way through this three-CD set, the energy level suddenly shifts upwards. It’s just one track of the 67 collected, but in this context this basic, blunt recording stands on its own. Issued in October 1974, Dr. Feelgood’s debut single “Roxette” was an early sign that British music could change, needed to change.

Foam, Finborough Theatre review - fascism and f*cking in a Gentlemen's Lavatory that proves short of gentlemen

★★★ FOAM, FINBOROUGH THEATRE Skinhead finds his feet (in a pair of DMs) then leads double life as street thug and gay cruiser

Infamous neo-Nazi brought to life in compelling drama

In a too brightly tiled Gentlemen’s public convenience (Nitin Parmar’s beautifully realised set is as much a character as any of the men we meet), a lad is shaving his head. He’s halfway to the skinhead look of the early Seventies, but he hasn’t quite nailed it  he's too young to know the detail.