Critical Week: Turn the tables

The women ruled at this week's press screenings. Jennifer Lopez (with Constance Wu, above) chomps merrily on the scenery all the way through Hustlers, a far-too-energetic retelling of a true story about strippers who con Wall Street clients out of their cash. Renee Zellweger is nothing short of astonishing in the terrific biopic Judy, following a few months near the end of the icon's life with passion and emotional power. And Downton Abbey brings those fabulous grand dames to the big screen. The men are there too, but who cares when Maggie Smith is shooting daggers at Penelope Wilton?

Brad Pitt travels into space, and into his own repressed daddy issues, in the muted and rather odd Ad Astra, a gorgeous sci-fi epic that simply fails to resonate. Peter Sarsgaard leads the charge as a quirky-nerdy house tuner in The Sound of Silence, a nutty little drama that's more intriguing than involving. From Colombia, Monos is a ripping dramatic thriller about a group of teens working for some sort of paramilitary organisation, isolated in the mountains and then jungle. It looks amazing, and packs a punch. And there were two documentaries: the harrowing Sea of Shadows skilfully traces the horrors inflicted by humans on the diverse sea life in the Gulf of California, while Mother is a sensitive, powerfully moving look at a carer who works with European Alzheimer's patients in Thailand.

This coming week, there are no press screenings for Sylvester Stallone's franchise closer Rambo: Last Blood, so we'll be at the cinemas with everyone else to see this swan song. But we do have screenings lined up for the comedy-horror Ready or Not, Awkwafina in the comedy-drama The Farewell, Dev Patel in the true drama Hotel Mumbai, the claymation sequel A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon, Celine Sciamma's acclaimed Portrait of a Lady on Fire and the British drama Real. Advance press screenings also start next week for the BFI London Film Festival (which runs 2-13 Oct).