This week sees the national release of Boyhood, a film that has been universally praised as one the greatest of all time.

Starring Ethan Hawke and Patricia Arquette, and directed by Before Sunrise’s Richard Linklater, Boyhood was filmed over 12 years, using the same actors.

Juxtaposing the high art of the film is the fantastically fun vampire flick What We Do In The Shadows, starring Flight of the Conchords’ Jemaine Clement, which is also in selected cinemas nationally.

· Patricia Arquette on ‘Boyhood’: 2014′s cinematic “masterpiece”
· The 12 biggest movie releases coming your way

Here’s our picks for the week:

Boyhood

Director: Richard Linklater
Cast: Patricia Arquette, Ethan Hawke, Ellar Coltrane, Lorelei Linklater
Duration: 165 mins
Rating: M
Release Date: 4 September, 2014

Why you should see it: Stephen A. Russell for thelowdowunder says: “It’s almost impossible to convey in words just how perfect a piece of cinema Richard Linklater’s Boyhood truly is, largely because it feels so much more true to life than the medium allows. When we first meet Mason, the boy of the title, he’s played with a calming openness by then six-year-old Ellar Coltrane. What’s remarkable about this quietly operatic celebration of a boy’s journey into manhood is that Mason, as he grows into a college-ready 18-year-old, isn’t played by a series of increasingly older actors. Part of the majesty of what Linklater has achieved here is that he literally called back Coltrane and his co-stars to film a week’s worth of new material annually over the course of 12 years. This approach to film is, in itself, a remarkable achievement.

Boyhood is nothing short of a masterpiece, a soaring elegy to life itself that, despite its three-hour runtime and very little in the way of actual plot, remains at all times riveting and, almost imperceptibly, guides you on a tumultuous emotional ride through the very personal highs and lows of existence. A truly beautiful experience, this is an example of experimental cinema at its finest while remaining resolutely accessible, recognisable to us all, a vision of time spent with each other. One of the finest films I have ever seen, and one that left me crying for sheer joy as I left the cinema.”

What We Do In The Shadows

Director: Taika Waititi
Cast: Taika Waititi, Jemaine Clement, Jonny Brugh, Ben Fransham, Cori Gonzalez-Macuer, Stuart Rutherford, Rhys Darby
Duration: 86 mins
Rating: M – Horror themes, violence, sexual references and coarse language
Release Date: 4 September, 2014

Why you should see it: Stephen A. Russell for thelowdowunder says: “A riotous nasal snort avalanche, Flight of the Conchords duo Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi have absolutely nailed (or should that be staked?) the vampire genre’s well-worn to the point of absurdity tropes in What We Do In The Shadows’ crackingly sharp mockumentary that’s as ridiculously clever as it is stupidly silly.”

Felony

Director: Matthew Saville
Cast: Joel Edgerton, Jai Courtney, Melissa George, Tom Wilkinson, Sarah Roberts
Duration: 106 mins
Rating: M – Mature themes, violence and coarse language
Release Date: 28 August

Why you should see it: Stephen A. Russell for thelowdownunder says: “Sterling performance and strong dramatic tension deliver a meaty Aussie drama. Joel Edgerton and Tom Courtney make fine sparring partners. The razor sharp and tense drama revolves around the number three, in this case the inextricable ties that bind Edgerton’s dubious, drunk-driving police detective Malcolm Toohey to his crusty old boss Carl Summer (Wilkinson) and young pretender and by-the-book do-gooder Jim Melic, in a great turn by Jai Courtney, who has been wasting his time in an interminable series of ridiculous action flicks.”

Magic in the Moonlight

Director: Woody Allen
Cast: Eileen Atkins, Colin Firth, Marcia Gay Harden, Hamish Linklater, Simon McBurney, Emma Stone and Jacki Weaver
Duration: 100 mins
Rating: PG
Release Date: 28 August

Why you should see it: Set in the south of France, the movie follows Englishman Stanley (Colin Firth) as he attempts to unmask young clairvoyant Sophie (Emma Stone), whom he believes is using her feminine charms and acting ability to seduce the rich, gullible Catledge family. It’s a lively premise that allows for lots of playful seance scenes involving Stone’s hilarious facial expressions as she navigates “visions and vibrations” while talking to the dead. But, like Annie Hall, much of the movie is driven by the unlikely chemistry between the two leads, who in real life have a twenty-eight-year age gap. As a Scrooge-like magician, Firth is laugh-out-loud funny and charming (no surprises there) and, in her first foray as an Allen leading lady, Stone holds her own. Read full review here. 

Predestination

Director: Peter Spierig, Michael Spierig
Cast: Ethan Hawke, Sarah Snook, Noah Taylor
Duration: 97 mins
Rating: MA15+ – Strong sex scene and violence
Release Date: 28 August

Why you should see it: Stephen A. Russell for thelowdownundersays: “Mind-bending sci-fi noir packs quite a few punches. Sarah Snook is incredible. Ethan Hawke, who may well be using time travel himself to preserve those chiselled good looks, runs a dive bar in New York City circa 1975 (I think – there are a lot of timelines to keep track of) and gets into a deep conversation with a young Leonardo DiCaprio-type sinking scotch at the bar. As they discuss the terrorist threat posed by the rather oddly named Fizzle Bomber, the mournful young gent promises Hawke’s character he has the best story to tell that he’ll ever hear. Even before that unfurls, it took me a good five minutes or so to realise, utterly astounded, that the barfly is actually the remarkable Australian actress Sarah Snook in a breakout role that’s quite magnificently portrayed.”