It's a week with a few promising low-budget affairs and an undercurrent of suspense and horror visualised with images befitting Hollywood's two major releases- both of which are concerned with adult fantasy. So, here's all the new releases for the next seven days.

1234; Giles Borg

The latest film to focus on a band coming together, having artistic disputes and struggling to keep the faith as they approach near-genius output also marks this Brit director-writer's feature debut. Stevie's stuck in a dead-end job and, along with Neil, has gone from no-hope band to no-hope band. After bringing in the talents of the dubiously named Billy Nixon- a master guitarist- and a female bassist in the form of cutie Emily things may be about to change. It's a shame that no one, least of all Stevie, knows what this will mean in this heartfelt UK indie. 

Alice in Wonderland; Tim Burton

Finally it has arrived. Our first pick of the week is, unsurprisingly, Alice in Wonderland. The master of surrealist adult fantasies returns with an ensemble cast of distinguished players including Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Alan Rickman and Stephen Fry. Alice ventures back down the rabbit hole in glorious CG and 3D animation in order to escape an arranged marriage. Who else should she find down there but the usual suspects, including the White Rabbit, Queen of Hearts and the Cheshire Cat, all soaked in Burton's dark fairytale visuals.

Case 39; Christian Alvart

If there was ever any on screen menace as terrifying as a weird minor then we'd like to hear about it. Hollywood has known this for decades, releasing both classic chillers and duds along the way. Here we follow social worker Emily (a curiously cast Renee Zellweger) as she attempts to intervene in the case of 10-year-old Lillith, a girl who the authorities suspect is being abused. After taking the little victim in odd occurrences begin to take place, prompting our heroine to return to Lillith's home- only to find evidence suggesting that the parents were more scared of the girl than she ever was of them. Dark, psychologically disturbing and wholly paranormal events hopefully should ensue.

Chloe; Atom Egoyan

Although life appears sweet from the outside for couple Catherine and David after he misses a flight, and a surprise birthday party in the process, her suspicions of his infidelity become unbearable. Catherine's reaction is, rather surprisingly, to hire an escort named Chloe to try and seduce her husband over time. As the liaisons become steamier the reports back become more graphic and the tension mounts.

Exit Through the Gift Shop; Banksy

Many may be surprised it didn't happen sooner, but after a successful circuit run the guerrilla street artist's debut documentary is on general release. Made alongside a strange Frenchman named Thierry Guetta who likes to film everything including the Bristolian rule-breaker, it's a film that focuses on the underground artist, similar practitioners in the scene and the beginning of Guetta's urban additions after he is inspired by the others. A strange fruit indeed.

Father of My Children; Mia Hansen-Løve

A rather poignant ode to the cruel mistress that is cinema. Gregoire is a filmmaker in the truest sense of the word. His passion for the medium unsurpassed by any other in his life, and his perception of what it means to be a director as concrete as the ground on which he walks. But underneath the proud, successful exterior lies a balance sheet that simply won't balance and a production company suffering from financial failures and un-realised scripts with an obsessed, tired and increasingly desperate man at the helm.

Legion; Scott Stewart

"The last time god lost faith in man he sent a flood. This time he's sent the angels" goes perhaps the most promoted line of this big-budget fantasy horror. No longer amused by human behaviour the all-seeing has enlisted his winged armies to wreak havoc on the earth. A far cry from the idealised image of calm creatures, here the angels are more akin to the vampish predators in 30 Days of Night. Let's just hope the film has more staying power than the trailer, which opens with tension, fires up the intensity and then peters out a little.

Motherhood; Katherine Dieckmann

Uma Thurman, Minnie Driver and Anthony Edwards star in this small production looking at the trials and tribulations of being a mum in modern New York. Filmed on location- a fact the distributors seem to want everyone to remember- it follows Thurman around as she puts her foot in it, encounters sympathy from her fellow urbanites who lack her dependants and generally tries to portray the realities of a life lived with children. Albeit a relatively comfortable one with no major stresses such as bankruptcy, death or prostitution to deal with. 

Ondine; Neil Jordan

This re-imagining of whatever story involves a mermaid falling in love with a land-living man does not, unfortunately, include Tom Hanks, an 80s soundtrack and the title Splash. It does, however, feature an Academy Award Winning director and Colin Farrell. An Irish fisherman hauls a mysterious woman up in his nets. Believing she is a mermaid thanks to how they came to meet and her bewildering ability to attract fish by singing he holds on to his discovery and the truth behind her identity. That is until people begin to ask questions, and the seeming idyll of their peaceful lifestyle is shattered, leaving the chances of a lasting relationship between the fisherman and the beautiful, potentially mythical creature looking slim.

The Shouting Men; Steve Kelly

Our second one to watch this week comes in the shape of a refreshingly different look at football fans. Less Chelsea smiles and more hapless victims of circumstance, Gillingham manage to secure an FA Cup quarter final tie against Newcastle in Geordieland. After being offered a free minibus and petrol by fellow fan Terry the group set off up north, with the only problem being that Terry resembles a psychotic maniac more akin to a Shane Meadows nightmare than a wheelchair bound guy with no legs and a vehicle borrowed from a mental health authority. Obviously violence is inflicted on the others as a result of Terry's mouth and attitude, and various moments of low-budget hilarity follow.