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A wonderful breath of fresh air from big, loud, high-stakes movies, Easter Replacements is a quirky little gem, bringing warmth, heart and humour to the Easter dinner table. Monte James and Anasia Obioha are Billy and Bobby, a couple with a slightly malfunctioning power dynamic who intend to host Easter dinner for two other couples. When those other couples back out, but Billy's determination to be a welcoming host means that they end up entertaining two replacement couples instead. This is a film bursting with independent spirit and warmth, with a real undercurrent of affection for, and empathy towards, the characters no matter how unusual the situation may get. The production values are top notch, which really helps to keep the environment feeling snug rather than stifling (the majority of the action takes place in the same location). It's a quirky look at human relationships with a bunch of charming performances at the heart of it, with a heartwarming and well-crafted story serving to give every viewer a very pleasant Easter dinner indeed. A quick shout-out for the charming animations that book-end the movie as well.

Pulp Modern: Die Laughing is an anthology flick based on a graphic novel, and is one of the most delightful surprises I've come across this year. We're firmly in comedy/horror territory, and the five stories here each have something fun, dark or interesting to offer. My personal favourite is 'Cocky', in which a sweary parrot decides to crank things up a notch and begins actively manipulating the people around him to do increasing amounts of harm to one another. It's ridiculous, dark and thoroughly entertaining, with terrific performances and a certain bracing bleakness to it that I dug immensely. Elsewhere in the anthology we have an adaptation of Stephen King's 'Rest Stop', which is beautifully shot and works extremely well, a slasher parody entitled 'Overkill' which is great fun, a 'demon in the mirror' short called 'Mirrored' which throws in some memorable visuals and the final tale 'Sloppy Seconds' which, even if you might guess where it's going relatively early in proceedings still delivers a great deal of fun getting to the inevitably nasty conclusion. This is a cracking anthology, beautifully executed.

'Scooter LaForge: A Life in Art' is a beautifully realised love letter to creativity, art and individuality. It's rare to see a documentary put together with quite this much flare and care; taking us into the world of Scooter's art with a beautiful and confident visual style. The piece uses everything from onscreen animation to rotoscoping to stop-motion turnarounds of physical art pieces, yet this visual delirium never feels forced or 'too much', because it's entirely in keeping with the subject matter and atmosphere. The use of music keeps everything driving forward at a rapid rate of knots.

The documentary doesn't sugar-coat the more challenging aspects of Scooter LaForge's work or life, instead dealing with these sides of the story with empathy and a considered approach. This is a film very much aware of that tipping point where the desire to create art becomes the *necessity* to create art. The integration of comedy and cartoonish imagery into work that, at its heart, has some deeply serious concerns bubbling under the surface is a fascinating side of what we see on display here.

Ethan Minsker's confident direction stops the portrait feeling too self-congratulatory despite the visual bells and whistles. This is confident, emotional and, at times, almost visually overwhelming filmmaking. If you feel the heartbeat of creativity beating inside your own chest, this one is a must-see.