This Week's New Movies: Black Widow, Jumbo and More…

Here's your guide to the new movies opening in Irish cinemas and on home entertainment platforms this week.

1921 [Cinema]
A blockbuster hit in its native China, 1921 is a historical epic made to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China. The film follows the struggles of the party's founding members.

A Perfect Enemy [VOD]
In this twisty thriller a Polish architect misses his flight home from Paris. Stuck in the airport, he's approached by a mysterious young woman who seems to know his darkest secrets. This two-character story keeps us guessing with its clever storytelling.

Alice and the Mayor [MUBI]
Like a French take on The West Wing, this drama takes us behind the scenes of the Mayoral office of Lyon. A budding young politician takes a job as personal assistant to the city's disillusioned mayor and reinvigorates his belief in his position.

Bad Hair [VOD]
This satirical horror explores the pressures on African-American women to suppress their identity. An aspiring music producer pays for an expensive weave, hoping it will advance her career. But the weave seems to have a mind of its own.

Black Widow [Cinema]
Arguably the biggest movie to release since cinemas reopened in 2021. Scarlett Johansson's Black Widow finally gets her own movie in this latest instalment of the ongoing Marvel Cinematic Universe. The plot sees the titular heroine on the run after uncovering a conspiracy tied into her own past.

Fear Street Part Two: 1978 [Netflix]
The second chapter of Netflix's horror trilogy takes us back to the late '70s. Riffing on the slasher movies of that era, the film sees a summer camp turned into a slaughterhouse when a camp counsellor becomes possessed.

First Cow [MUBI]
One of the most acclaimed movies of 2020, when it was released in the US. First Cow follows two friends in the Old West who make a small fortune baking biscuits with milk stolen from the local land baron's prize cow.

How I Became a Superhero [Netflix]
This French take on the superhero genre posits a world where a new drug gives mortals the ability to gain superpowers.

Jumbo [Cinema]
This unconventional romance sees a shy young fun park cleaner fall in love with one of the giant rides at her funfair. Despite the lurid premise, the film approaches the idea with sensitivity and argues for tolerance.

Lapsis [VOD]
The sci-fi genre is employed as a critique of the gig economy in this thriller. In a near future, a man makes a living pulling cable for a giant tech company. Along with other beleaguered workers, he decides to rise up against his exploitive employers.

Last Summer [Netflix]
This '90s set romance sees a Turkish teen attempt to reconnect with his childhood crush while holidaying on the Mediterranean. Trouble is, she's already got a handsome boyfriend.

Major Grom: Plague Doctor [Netflix]
In this Russian thriller, a renegade detective is determined to catch the masked vigilante responsible for a string of killings in his city.

Martin Eden [Cinema]
Jack London's 1909 novel gets an Italian screen adaptation. The film charts the rise and fall of a working class man who educates himself and becomes a bestselling writer. But as his ego swells, he loses sight of what was once important to him.

Occupation: Rainfall [VOD]
Sequel to the 2018 Australian sci-fi epic Occupation. A heavily made-up Jason Isaacs plays a member of an alien race intent on taking over Earth.

Tove [Cinema]
This biopic tells the story of Tove Jansson, the creator of popular children's characters The Moomins.

The Truffle Hunters [Cinema]
This Italian documentary follows a group of men who spend their time hunting for rare truffles in the forests of the country's Piedmont region.

Witch Hunt [VOD]
A horror movie that imagines a world where witches with supernatural ability exist and are hunted down by the government. An allegory for immigration, the plot sees a pair of young witches attempting to escape across their border to seek refuge in a more tolerant land.