THE PHANTOM OF THE OPEN (12A)

The big screen has a rich tradition of sporting underdogs who secure hard-fought personal victories against the odds in a boxing ring (Rocky, Million Dollar Baby), ice hockey rink (The Mighty Ducks), baseball park (Moneyball) or on the high-velocity banked turns of a bobsleigh track (Cool Runnings).

Golf has teed up its fair share of unlikely champions including Caddyshack, Happy Gilmore and The Greatest Game Ever Played.

Director Craig Roberts' life-affirming and warmly sentimental comedy drama, adapted by Bafta winner Simon Farnaby from a book he co-wrote with Scott Murray, comfortably achieves par in such crowd-pleasing company.

The Phantom Of The Open lovingly dramatises the true story of a crane operator from Barrow-in-Furness who entered the 1976 British Open without any previous experience on a golf green.

Mark Rylance imbues his portrayal of Maurice Flitcroft with a twinkly-eyed innocence and unpolished charm, wrong-footing pompous golfing club authoritarians with old-fashioned pluck, determination and the unerring support of his family.

The script confidently sinks earthy one-liners as an unlikely folk hero cheerfully holds firm to his personal mantra ("Practice is the road to perfection") in the face of ridicule.

Roberts' picture doesn't take any big swings with plot or characterisation, charting a safe, predictable route to the clubhouse alongside Rylance's blissfully optimistic protagonist that includes a running battle with Rhys Ifans' coldly dismissive club secretary.

Forty-six-year-old shipyard worker Maurice Flitcroft (Rylance) is facing redundancy after years of dedicated toil to provide for his wife Jean (Sally Hawkins) and three sons.

Eldest boy Mike (Jake Davies) has corporate career goals and twins Gene (Christian Lees) and James (Jonah Lees) nurture dreams of becoming disco-dancing world champions but Maurice desperately needs a fanciful pursuit to spark him back to life.

That spiritual awakening arrives during televised coverage of the 104th Open Championship at Carnoustie where Tom Watson beats Jack Newton by one shot after a tense 18-hole playoff.

"I'm going to take a crack at the British Open," Maurice casually proclaims.

The complete novice earns his place at Royal Birkdale in 1976 by falsely claiming to be a professional golfer on the entry form.

Maurice practices with borrowed clubs ahead of a first appearance in front of officious Keith Mackenzie (Ifans) and underling John Pegg (Tim Steed).

While 19-year-old Spaniard Seve Ballesteros (Marc Bosch) cards an impressive three under par to share the lead, Maurice achieves a record-breaking 121... over par.

The Phantom Of The Open is an unabashed love letter to eccentrics and dreamers, following Flitcroft's journey through subsequent tournaments, which he entered under amusing aliases including Arnold Palmtree.

Rylance birdies his central performance and catalyses pleasing chemistry with Hawkins.

Director Roberts is heavy-handed with the schmaltz down the back nine but a couple of dropped shots don't hurt his film's chances of winning our hearts.

7/10

THE NAN MOVIE (15)

In 2004, Cockney septuagenarian Joanie Taylor aka Nan made her foul-mouthed debut on the BBC sketch comedy series The Catherine Tate Show, perfectly embodying the art of growing old disgracefully.

The cranky pensioner headlines this feature film spin-off directed by Josie Rourke and co-written by Tate and Brett Goldstein.

Joanie receives news that her estranged sister Nell (Katherine Parkinson) is dying but she isn't interested in burying hatchets or making amends.

Her grandson Jamie (Mathew Horne) coaxes her on a madcap road trip from London to Ireland via a night of drug-fuelled clubbing in Liverpool with the intention of reuniting the siblings and healing old wounds.

En route, Joanie and Jamie encounter militant vegan arsonists, rambunctious rugby teams and crazed police officers on motorbikes.

Meanwhile in flashback, sibling rivalry for the affection of a handsome serviceman called Walter (Parker Sawyers) drives a wedge between Joanie and Nell.

X (18)

The cast and crew of an adult film get more than they bargain for on location in rural Texas in writer-director Ti West's grisly horror thriller.

In 1979, filmmaker RJ Nichols (Owen Campbell) and his team head to a secluded farmhouse to shoot the x-rated titillation The Farmer's Daughter headlining actors Bobby-Lynne (Brittany Snow) and Jackson Hole (Scott Mescudi).

The hosts are a reclusive elderly couple, who are oblivious to the salacious subject matter of RJ's magnum opus.

As night falls and RJ, Bobby-Lynne, Jackson settle down for the night alongside sound operator Lorraine (Jenna Ortega) and performers Maxine (Mia Goth) and Wayne (Martin Henderson), something stirs in the dark.

The crew notices the elderly couple spying on them and this leering interest gradually turns violent, sparking a bloodthirsty battle for survival that attracts the attention of Sheriff Dentler (James Gaylyn) and his officers.

HIVE (15)

Female empowerment is met with fierce resistance in an award-winning drama written and directed Blerta Basholli.

Based on a true story, Hive buzzes around struggling widow Fahrije (Yllka Gashi), whose husband went missing during the war in Kosovo like so many of the men in her village.

In order to provide for her two children, Fahrije enlists the help of other grief-stricken women to launch a small-scale business selling a locally sourced food product.

The enterprise galvanises the widows and creates a strong sisterly bond that threatens patriarchal rule in the village.

Men are threatened by the women's new found independence, sparking civil unrest that threatens to tear apart the community at a time when everyone should be coming together.