This week's new films

Contagion (12A) (Steven Soderbergh, 2011, US) Matt Damon, Laurence Fishburne, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Winslet, Jude Law, Jennifer Ehle. 106 mins Much as he did with Traffic, Soderbergh connects the dots of a global issue and makes it look like something authoritative and contemporary rather than a celebrity disaster movie. Here it's a viral pandemic, briskly tracked in forensic detail and techno-backed montages. The response from health authorities and the panicked populace is all too credible, though once the dots are connected, we're too freaked out to remember why we were supposed to be watching. We Need To Talk About Kevin (15) (Lynne Ramsay, 2011, UK/US) Tilda Swinton, Ezra Miller. 112 mins Swinton's fine performance and Ramsay's visual intelligence add up to a devastating portrait of motherhood. After a high-school shooting, a mother's existence becomes a living hell. The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975 (12A) (Göran Olsson, 2011, Swe) 96 mins A trove of rediscovered news footage, along with modern-day commentary and soundtrack, opens up a fresh, first-hand perspective on the black power movement. Restless (PG) (Gus Van Sant, 2011, US) Mia Wasikowska, Henry Hopper, Ryo Kase. 91 mins When a terminally ill, nature-loving girl meets funeral-cruising outsider boy, there's no way to go but excruciating hipster quirk-fest. The Yellow Sea (18) (Na Hong-jin, 2010, S Kor) Ha Jung-woo, Kim Yun-seok, Cha Seong-ha. 140 mins Cracking, credible thriller in which a broke gambler must return to South Korea to carry out a hit. That's just the start – by the end it's an action rollercoaster. Blood In The Mobile (12A) (Frank Piasechi Poulsen, 2010, Den/Ger) 82 mins Doc linking smartphones to the near-slave conditions under which "blood minerals" for them were extracted in the Congo. Paranormal Activity 3 (15) (Henry Joost, Ariel Schulman, 2011, US) Lauren Bittner, Christopher Nicholas-Smith. 84 mins The found-footage franchise strives against predictability by flashing back to the spooked childhood of the first two movies' sisters. Luckily, their dad is a curious videographer. Four (15) (John Langridge, 2011, UK) Martin Compston, Craig Conway. 85 mins A kidnap goes wrong in the time-honoured twisty tradition in this economical Brit thriller. Reuniting The Rubins (PG) (Yoav Factor, 2010, UK) Timothy Spall, Rhona Mitra. 99 mins Spall carries the weight of this fitful Jewish comedy. Monte Carlo (PG) (Thomas Bezucha, 2011, US/Hun) Selena Gomez, Leighton Meester. 109 mins Gomez's Princess/Pauper-style identity swap turns her summer vacation into a tour of Eurotrash high life. Judy Moody And The Not Bummer Summer (PG) (John Schulz, 2011, US) Jordana Beatty, Heather Graham, Preston Bailey. 92 mins The bestselling girls' books translated into an overstimulated riot of bright colour, junior thrills and juvenile comedy. Out next week RA One Expensive Bollywood sci-fi. Out from Wed The Help Feelgood civil rights movie. Out from Wed The Adventures Of Tintin: The Secret Of The Unicorn Spielberg meets Hergé. Out from Wed The Ides Of March George Clooney pries into the US campaign trail. Anonymous Did Shakespeare really write those plays? Miss Bala A Mexican beauty queen gets in with the wrong crowd. Sket Urban sisterhood thriller in a Kidulthood vein. Demons Never Die Brit teen suicide thriller. The Silence German thriller investigating two murders, decades apart. Coming soon In two weeks … Ben Stiller and Eddie Murphy mastermind Tower Heist … Justin Timberlake leads dystopian sci-fi In Time … In three weeks … Andrea Arnold's bold rendition of Wuthering Heights … Johnny Depp is Hunter S Thompson's alter ego in The Rum Diary … In a month … Nicolas Cage and Guy Pearce seek vigilante-style Justice … Acclaimed Aussie crime drama Snowtown …