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There’s nothing wrong, of course, with sci-fi films asking Big Questions, but the delivery doesn’t have to be — should never be, in fact — this tedious.

A triumph of pure cinema and wonderful visual storytelling from Chandor, who must now be considered the real deal, while Redford is sublime in what could well be the performance of his career.

For a movie that has dark in its title, and which is — yes! — darker (people die, Asgard is grimier, as befitting Alan Taylor’s Game Of Thrones heritage), Thor 2.0 is consistently amusing.

Overlong and often overcooked, this is nevertheless a relative return to form for Diesel as the fiendish Furyan.

An improvement on the last outing for Jackman’s not-so-merry mutant. If only it trusted enough in its unique setting to forgo a descent into aggressively awful formula.

A welcome return to live-action filmmaking for Zemeckis, who hasn't lost his knack for a brilliant shot or for extracting great performances. It may not exactly be a first-class experience throughout, but there's nothing wrong with premium economy.

Fun in parts, and Stallone's always watchable, but it's an '80s tribute movie that coasts along on rapidly diminishing goodwill. Beige Heat, if you will.

While it may blunder down the odd comedy cul-de-sac, Madagascar 3 is often inspired and very, very funny.

Not nearly as terrible as burped-out Sandler disasters of recent years, there's enough funny stuff here to remind us of his talent. Still, it's not for everyone.

There was much to dread about this new iteration of Dredd, but it's a solid, occasionally excellent take on the character, with Urban's chin particularly impressive.

Witless, charmless, teen twaddle. Let's take all prints off the film, and bury them. Don't bother marking the spot with an X.

An improvement on Transformers 2, but then what isn't? To paraphrase the Bard, it's a tale, full of sound and fury and extremely stupid dialogue and nonsensical plotting and preposterous stunts and robots punching each other's heads off, signifying nothing.

Broader than Bad Santa and less consistently funny, it's still gleefully rude, crude and often a lot of fun.

Turn off the snark-o-meter, and this is a return to form for Marvel, introducing a new hero we'll be happy to see again in, oh, about a year or so.

Broader and more accessible than either "Shaun Of The Dead" or "Hot Fuzz," Paul is pure Pegg and Frost - clever, cheeky and very, very funny. You'll never look at E. T. in the same way again.

A shambling, ponderous mess that aims to be a trashy cult classic and merely ends up in the trash - Fichtner aside. And, in the biggest disappointment of all, there's not even that much angry driving in it.

It's been twelve years since "Titanic," but the King of the World has returned with a flawed but fantastic tour de force that, taken on its merits as a film, especially in two dimensions, warrants four stars. However, if you can wrap a pair of 3D glasses round your peepers, this becomes a transcendent, full-on five-star experience that's the closest we'll ever come to setting foot on a strange new world. Just don't leave it so long next time, eh, Jim?

Blomkamp’s prawn cocktail has more than enough stylistic chutzpah and originality to make District 9 an essential date.

Regardless of how silly you think it all is, this will have you scared witless by the time the end credits roll; low budget horror hog heaven.

With the visuals and soundtrack given a wax and polish job for the big screen, Scott's masterful use of shadows, framing and sound has never been more terrifying. No matter how many times you've seen this, you'll still be hiding behind your fingers at every conceivable juncture.

It's nothing more than an enjoyable, ridiculously macho B-movie romp, but it's derson' best movie since the underrated Event Horizon. Perhaps, at long last, he' starting to find his - yep - top gear.

Guaranteed to offend, but also guaranteed to leave you in spasms of laughter.

An early but strong contender for worst movie of 2008.

A surprisingly rose-tinted look at a subculture that really should have been stamped out some time ago.

It's no Anchorman, but it's several steps in the right direction.

Rudimentary plot and merely decent gags aside, this is the finest DreamWorks Animation effort since the first Shrek, chiefly because of its astonishing visuals and kinetic kung fu sequences.

With a confidence typical of its director, the last line of Inglourious Basterds is, "This might just be my masterpiece." While that may not be true, this is an often dazzling movie that sees QT back on exhilarating form.

Technically competent, but essentially a fantasy movie that mistakes industrial light for magic. As dragon movies go, Dragonslayer, Reign Of Fire and even Dragonheart can rest easy.