Here are the best films playing in Dublin this weekend – April 12th-14th

What better place to escape the inclement Dublin weather than the cinema?

Dublin has no shortage of great cinemas, and thankfully cinemas also have the sense to show good films too.

We take a look at films new and old that are playing in Dublin’s cinemas this weekend, and where they are on.

The big cinema release this week is Civil War, the latest flick from British auteur Alex Garland.

In our review, we praised the film for showing ambition but faulted it for its shoddy execution.

Regardless, this is the film everyone will be talking about online and will be expected to have an opinion on.

The film will be playing on most screens across Dublin as it’s the big Hollywood release this week.

This week’s other big release is Back To Black, detailing the life and times of the late Amy Winehouse.

The film has split critics; British critics feel the film is an affront to Winehouse’s legacy and relies too hard on typical biopic clichés, while American critics feel the film is a good representation of Winehouse’s life.

Winehouse’s music has already endured in the public sphere, so a mediocre film shouldn’t damage her legacy.

Like Civil War, you should have no trouble finding showtimes for this in your local cinema.

Perfect Days is about to hit MUBI, but there’s still time to catch the film in cinemas.

The Oscar-nominated film from German legend Wim Wenders follows the routine of a toilet cleaner in Tokyo.

Trust us, the film is a lot more exciting and funny than it sounds.

Our review of the film said it had a quiet and powerful dignity, and was a film designed to wash over you.

This cute little slice of life is playing in the Lighthouse Cinema on Saturday afternoon at 12.15 and at 5.45 on the same day in the Irish Film Institute.

For those who missed the Saturday evening screening in the IFI, it will be shown again at 3.40 on Sunday afternoon.

Keeping on a foreign language tint, the Japanese Film Festival is showing a number of films at the Lighthouse Cinema this weekend.

Everything from anime, time loop comedies and slasher movies are on show at the festival.

Fans of world cinema will know and revere the name of Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami, and the IFI are putting on a season of films from one of cinema’s great filmmakers all through April.

If you’ve never seen a film by him, Close-Up would be our pick; it plays at 3.30 on Saturday afternoon in the IFI.

The Stella in Rathmines is having a Spielbergian weekend: Close Encounters Of The Third Kind plays at 12.30 on Saturday afternoon and Catch Me If You Can at 12 noon on Sunday.

The brilliant Robot Dreams has mostly come and gone from Irish cinemas, but the film is still showing at the Savoy on O’Connell Street on Saturday and Sunday afternoon; don’t leave it until streaming to see this brilliant bit of animation.