This week's new cinema previews

The Road (15) (John Hillcoat, 2009, US) Viggo Mortensen, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Robert Duvall. 113 mins Looking for something cheery and sunny to usher those winter blues away? Well this sure as hell ain't it. In fact, "hell" is a pretty good description for this adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's post-apocalypse bleakfest. Hell frozen over, through which Mortensen and son are condemned to wander, cold and hungry, as some of the few survivors of an unnamed global catastrophe – the rest are mostly marauding gangs or pathetic vagrants. Somehow, though, the effect is less devastating on screen than it was on the page. It's difficult to do justice to McCarthy's prose, and one post-apocalyptic movie landscape looks much like another. Still, it's a sustained exercise in panoramic grimness, and we don't need it to be too devastating, do we? Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll (15) (Mat Whitecross, 2010, UK) Andy Serkis, Naomie Harris. 115 mins An Ian Dury biopic was always going to be more down-to-earth and entertaining than most, and this is thankfully closer to 24 Hour Party People than Nowhere Boy – restless, rude and undisciplined. And who better than Serkis to play the articulate punk with uncanny accuracy? It's Complicated (15) (Nancy Meyers, 2009, US) Meryl Streep, Steve Martin, Alec Baldwin. 120 mins The only way to get middle-aged romance on to the screen is to make it as broad and glossy as this, it seems. And though Streep having an affair with her remarried ex (the back-on-form Baldwin) might appeal to a certain demographic, this is still old hat in comedy terms. Daybreakers (15) (Michael & Peter Spierig, 2009, Aus/US) Ethan Hawke, Sam Neill, Willem Dafoe. 98 mins A late arrival to the vampire party, but this at least brings something different: a future world dominated by bloodsuckers, to the extent that fresh humans are running out, and fighting back. That and the A-list cast should be enough. Treeless Mountain (PG) (Kim So-yong, 2008, S Kor) Kim Hee-yeon, Kim Song-hee. 90 mins Powerfully acted and guilelessly heart-wrenching child's-eye drama, in which two young sisters practically fend for themselves when their mother leaves them with a negligent relative. Exam (15) (Stuart Hazeldine, 2009, UK) Luke Mably, Jimi Mistry, Nathalie Cox. 102 mins A resourcefully twisty one-room mystery thriller that overcomes its limitations, to an extent. Eight candidates sit down for a high-powered job exam only to discover the question paper is blank – can they work it out for themselves? It Might Get Loud (PG) (Davis Guggenheim, 2009, US) Jimmy Page, The Edge, Jack White. 98 mins Three guitar heroes trade licks, tricks and anecdotes in a documentary that's unlikely to appeal to non-musicians as much as a simple concert movie would. Fireball (15) (Thanakorn Pongsuwan, 2009, Thai) Preeti Barameeanat. 94 mins Batty Thai combination of kickboxing and basketball, making for a humourlessly violent action-sport movie. Mugabe And The White African (NC) (Lucy Bailey, Andrew Thompson, 2009, UK) 90 mins A white Zimbabwean farmer holds out against Mugabe's land grab in this absorbing, if problematic documentary. Mitti (12A) (Jatinder Mauhar, 2009, Ind) 139 mins Punjabi drama taking in local politics and a love triangle. OUT FROM FRIDAY OSS 117: Lost In Rio The retro French spy spoof returns. Up In The Air Downsizing drama that's struck a nerve with recession-hit America. 44 Inch Chest Vintage British tough guys avenge a cuckolded Ray Winstone. The Book Of Eli More post-apocalyptic action, with Denzel Washington. Crude Documentary on a battle against Big Oil. All About Steve Sandra Bullock attempts to wring comedy out of man-stalking. Still Walking Japanese family drama with Ozu-like overtones. COMING SOON In two weeks … Gripping French prison thriller A Prophet … Jake Gyllenhaal, Natalie Portman and Tobey Maguire in Brothers … In three weeks … Hard-hitting study of a Harlem teen Precious … In a month … Morgan Freeman plays Mandela in Invictus … Louisiana-set Disney animation The Princess And The Frog …