Gift gives paws for thought

A DOG is a man’s best friend, as the saying goes, and this is put to the test when New York writer Iris (Naomi Watts) receives an unusual bequest in The Friend (15), out at the Regal Picturehouse today.

When her much loved friend and mentor, Walter (Bill Murray), dies, she is tasked with taking care of his dog.

When Apollo, a Great Dane, enters Iris’s life and moves into her Manhattan apartment, things get catastrophic.

As they get to bond, however, she realises that they can teach each other a thing or two about life, grief and finding peace.

The film has a running time of two hours.

Autistic financial specialist Christian Wolff (Ben Affleck) is reunited with his brutal, trigger-happy brother Brax (Jon Bernthal) to solve a murder in The Accountant 2 (15). Together with the deputy director of the US Treasury, they discover a conspiracy, which puts their lives in danger. The film has a running time of just over two hours.

The life of an Irish writer is explored in a new documentary, Blue Road: The Edna O’Brien Story (12A).

There are 20th anniversary screenings of Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (12A) and Pride and Prejudice (U).

Continuing are The Penguin Lessons (12A), The Return (15), Mr Burton (12A), A Minecraft Movie (PG) and The Amateur (12A).