Critical Week: Leader of the pack

It's been a very busy week, but there have been few screenings. The one big one was a festive press screening for the second Despicable Me spin-off prequel Minions: The Rise of Gru. It's as delightfully silly as expected, and rather a lot more manic than the last movie. The splintered plot is somewhat frustrating, but the gags are quick and consistent.

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I also caught up with the Swiss drama Olga (which I'd missed on its UK release last month), about a Ukrainian gymnast facing identity issues. It's powerfully involving, inventive and eerily timely. There was also the Brazilian documentary Uyra: The Rising Forest, a gorgeous odyssey about artistic indigenous activists raising awareness of an environment under threat. And I'm also on the short film jury for London Indian Film Festival, so watched 10 seriously engaging shorts. Tomorrow I'll meet with the other jurors to decide a winner of the Satyajit Ray prize.

It'll be another rather offbeat week ahead, and films to watch include the Ukrainian drama Sniper: The White Raven, the anime adventure Pompo: The Cinephile and the short film collection Boys on Film 22: Love to Love You.

Critical Week: Back to black

Asaf Kapadia's documentary Amy provided an emotional experience for London critics this week, a beautifully made film recounting the wrenchingly sad story of local girl Amy Winehouse. It stood in stark contrast to the two other big releases of the week: the surprisingly loose and thoughtful sequel Magic Mike XXL, which combines silly striptease antics with an exploration of male friendship; and the formulaic Terminator Genisys, which attempts to reboot the sequel without any inventive writing or directing and only one solid performance (from Emilia Clarke). Although Arnie's deadpan humour livens things up.

I also caught up with last week's release Minions, the Despicable Me prequel that's surprisingly low-key and charming rather than the usual sharp-edged digitally slick action mayhem. And I watched the 10 shorts that Peccadillo has collected for Boys on Film 13: Trick & Treat - another terrific collection of mini-epics dealing with various aspects of sexuality.

Coming up this week: Saoirse Ronan and Domhnall Gleeson in Brooklyn, the doc-style horror film The Nightmare, the doc Misery Loves Comedy and a few more. Thankfully, with a heatwave in London, it's refreshing to take a break in an air-conditioned screening room!