Dan Jolin

It feels terrestrial rather than cinematic, but the joy of Trumbo is in the heroism of its subject and an amazing performance from Cranston.

The action is enthralling even if the storyline doesn't always have the ring of truth about it.

Gilliam at his best and his worst.

Stanton has built a fantastic world, but the action is unmemorable. Still, just about every sci-fi/fantasy/superhero adventure you ever loved is in here somewhere.

Not exactly genre-bending innovation or anything but a decent documentary about an important episode in history of oil company exploitation.

A disappointingly straightforward, romance-driven take on a fascinating story of creation, but one that’s lifted by a superb central performance by Elle Fanning.

A lesser entry in the LeCarré Cinematic Universe, though Damian Lewis and Stellan Skarsgård rescue it from complete blandness.

A strong visual style tussles with flaccid storytelling in this ambitious retelling of Grimm. It won't exactly have Walt Disney spinning in his secret ice chamber, but you may wish they spent more time worrying about what exactly the film is than who it's for.

A film more concerned with 'how' than 'why' or 'who', Valkyrie would have benefited from more scrutiny and complexity. Still, once the bomb goes off, the thrills come in spades.

A familiar story oddly presented, but with a powerful central performance from Woody Harrelson.

Too long, and too wrapped up in its various plot contrivances to notice it’s veering off course. But Jack just about pulls the wheel back, aided by Verbinski’s flair for cartoonish comedy action.

A mixed bag of bones and bodies, whose Southern Gothic atmosphere and superb performances — from Holland especially — are let down by the film’s lack of narrative focus.

Another lavish and largely entertaining Disney re-do, with strong turns from Massoud and Scott. But, appropriately for someone playing a huge, powerful entity trapped in a tiny ornament, Smith’s genie performance feels disappointingly constrained — both by overdependence on the original and some ghastly CGI.

It's not sure where to go once the final Iron Man suit is constructed, and seems in a rush to get there, but Downey Jr and the supporting cast are so perfectly placed we're already looking forward to the bound-to-be-better sequel.

A lightweight, tinselly film with some nice touches and appealing performances, though it never lands its darker moments.

A largely inventive and energetic portrayal of a past-their-prime music legend that’s let down by its unnecessary trad biopic beats.

Writer / director team Kureishi and Michell add to their partnership with an insightful look at life-long commitment.

For all the charisma of its hero and villain, it falls down on its failure to resist cliché.

About as good as a big, stupid American action movie can be without ever being anything better than a big, stupid American action movie.

Part "Evil Dead," part "The Truman Show," part "Arthur Christmas"... For horror hounds who love a larf, and those of us who always wondered exactly what that dry-ice stuff that rises out of the forest-floor moss is. A fun ride - but not quite a "Scream."

Aka ‘The Odyssey: The Bits Without The Monsters’. Not that that should put you off, as Binoche and Fiennes bring some raw, fleshy humanity to this mythic text, giving it a modern twist that balances the film’s flaws.

Very dated farcical comedy but Peter Sellers is charming despite the anachronistic character-humour.

While it never quite swims beyond the shallows of its money-minded plot, this fictionalised account of the licensing battle over hit puzzle game Tetris is, for the most part, absorbing and exuberant.

There are moments of comedy grandeur, but this isn't as consistently funny as you'd hope. Nevertheless, Downey Jr.'s Kirk Lazarus is instantly up there with the comedy greats.

With its edgy style intact, The Immortal Man never takes its eye off the Peaky faithful. But keeping the fans happy is a double-edged sword, as it can’t help but just feel like an extra-long episode rather than a standalone cinematic experience.

Exactly what you’d expect from a crime-caper action-comedy pairing Dwayne Johnson and Ryan Reynolds. Nothing more, nothing less.

A Western that hits many of the expected beats but which does so in an unexpected manner, being centred on a tender, loving relationship rather than gunplay and grit.

Cinema’s least-subtle and most-escalated series hits its sky-high-concept plateau. It's a film that somehow finds new and fabulously silly things to do with cars, while — Momoa’s questionable villain aside — being exactly what you’d expect.

Lively remains impressive throughout, but with plot-driven fare like this, such lapses are a let-down.

A Mex-set spaghetti Western featuring toilet humour, organ transplants and the closest Mel Gibson’s come to playing Martin Riggs since the last Lethal Weapon.

A teenie "To Die For" whose flaws are superceded by a complex, compelling turn from Evan Rachel Wood.

Bearing a passing resemblance to both Man Bites Dog and Chopper, it’s hardly original, but still a laudable example of proficient guerilla moviemaking.

The narrative is unadventurously straightforward, and anyone looking for any neat twists or wrinkles will be disappointed; the spectral nature of Finney’s allies could have made for a neat final-act reveal. But the performances are uniformly strong, with McGraw stealing scenes and Hawke exercising his dark side so effectively that, after this and Moon Knight, he’ll leave you in no doubt of his flair for villainy.

The film’s conclusion sadly carries the taint of silly schmaltz (‘What kind of magic is this!?’ one character actually says), but like all those non-Disney takes that came before it, this Pan deserves some credit for trying something different.

One of Streep's finest-ever performances. But beyond that - whatever Morgan and Lloyd's intentions - it's little more than a myth-enshrining exercise.

For all the gags flying around, and all the friendly insults batted between Blanchett and Black, the script lacks the sparkle and polish of many of the classic Amblins it so enthusiastically emulates.

Think Donnie Brasco, with the IRA instead of the Mafia. Jim Sturgess dominates with a star-making turn, although some stylistic slip-ups let him down a little.

A decent but unremarkable film with a big, unforgettable central performance. Carey Mulligan passes with First-Class Honours.

There is a frustrating absence of personality which means, for all her physical presence, this Major’s just not very engaging. It’s more a problem with the film than Johansson herself. A case, if you will, of it being so preoccupied with the shell, it forgot to bring enough ghost.

A patchy follow-up to the searing ’71 from director Yann Demange, but one which tells a compelling true story and offers a treat of a supporting turn from Matthew McConaughey.

The spirit of the drive-in is strong in this trashy mash-up, though it’s best appreciated as an unlikely romance, where love and poetry somehow blossom amid heavy gunfire and monster rampages.

It’s not the kind of historical drama you might expect from Ridley Scott, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. And if its threefold perspective tests the patience, it at least gives the right character the final word.

Uneven, occasionally unsavoury and at times frustratingly muddled, but there’s enough bloody, ’80s-style fun in The Predator to give it a pass from long-term fans.

An improvement on Murder On The Orient Express, with the increased focus on Branagh’s Poirot (even with its strange moustache obsession) welcome enough to distract from the problems with some of its ensemble and its too-obvious reliance on VFX.

A gritty, brutal chase movie that's more about swords (and spears, and axes) than sandals - although it could have done with a lot more character-meat on those bones.

A stylish portrayal of a literal power struggle based on truly interesting historical figures and events. But it tries to take in too much in too little time, when all it needed was to centre on Edison and Westinghouse.

Singer's absence is felt but not fatal. By adding too much new blood Ratner loses some of the original DNA, but with its nifty set-pieces and a few nasty surprises, X3's still a worthy enough sequel to ensure it’s no Last Stand.

All you'd expect from an X-Men film (or spin-off, or prequel), but not all you'd hope for. It smacks of rush and compromise, but there's thankfully enough to make you feel optimistic about the series' future once more.

Patchy and in need of a rigorous edit, but amid all the weeds there is some ripe comedy (satire, even) for the plucking.

An odd one. Rogen's latest clown is an angry, confused man who you never feel entirely comfortable laughing at. There are laughs -- you'll just feel guilty afterwards...

The scares and monsters are effectively conjured, but if you’re not familiar with Austin Schwartz’s source material, you may be left a little cold.

A fascinating and visually impressive intellectual helter-skelter ride, but the lack of narrative coherence lets down its promising sci-fi concepts and satire.

Barry Jenkins’ verve only faintly shines through in an origin story that is mildly, not wildly, entertaining.

Jeunet himself describes the film best: Delicatessen meets Amélie. But we'd add that, while it's certainly breezy fun, it's not quite as good as either.

An interesting new take on a very well-known tale and a praiseworthy act of revisionism, but one which doesn’t ultimately deliver on its early promise.

We've seen all these stunts pulled before, and seen them done better, but there's some pleasure to be had here — even if it's of the extremely guilty kind.

Sounds rather soapy and melodramatic, but director Susanne Bier, assisted by an able cast, ensures the traumas are painfully realistic and subtly observed.

An odd but frothily entertaining genre cocktail, which coasts on the charisma of its two biggest names and keeps things just fun enough to forgive its considerable lapses in narrative.

It’s as predictable as an Advent calendar, but thanks to Kurt Russell’s grizzly charms, The Christmas Chronicles at least gives us one of the movies’ best Santas yet.

A sometimes clunkily executed true-life story which at least has potency in its blend of subject matter and lead actor. Despite often being hard to watch, this is Rosamund Pike’s best work yet.

Despite its thorough classiness and pristine presentation, it is not a film you can really warm to – much like its characters.

While the sun shines, it’s a four-star thriller with a superb turn from Smith. When the moon rises, it’s a two-star horror cartoon with some of the worst FX we’ve seen all year. So, really, it has to average out at…

A laudably amoral and superbly caustic comedy for those who like their satire strong and unfiltered.

Stupid, with three o's. But also fun, never boring, and never insulting (to anyone other than Dumas) - unlike certain of the summer's A-pics…

Best enjoyed for the fun, slick action and the astonishing, super-expressive realisation of Alita herself, because elsewhere it’s cyberpunk business as usual, marred by some sloppy plotting.

A solid, often entertaining life-of-crimer which benefits from some stylistic touches and a faithful, convincing central performance.

Odd, confident, challenging, and featuring a brilliant turn by Williams. If only there was just a little more to it.

A tangled narrative and damp-squib ending detract from an otherwise joyous Spaghetti Eastern.

It is engagingly played by a cast including Sienna Miller, Sam Worthington and Luke Wilson, and handsomely mounted too, with Costner’s vision of the West’s untamed grandeur fully deserving the big-screen treatment.

Karate Kid: Legends doesn’t quite live up to the promise of its Cobra Kai-meets-Mr Han marketing. But for breezy feel-goodness, you’ve come to the right dojo.

Blue Beetle owes a lot to the sheer wit and warmth of its supporting cast, which will earn it far more approval than its so-so CG antics and origin-story familiarity.

With Hercules, Brett Ratner and Dwayne Johnson are out to entertain you — no more, no less. And that is just what they do.

A fiendishly effective holiday-gone-wrong thriller that's better at cranking up the agoraphobic action than fleshing out its characters. Still, it'll find few fans at the Mexican Tourist Board...

Geoffrey Rush and Judy Davis, predictably impressive in the roles of abusive, alcoholic dad and troubled-but-tough mum.

A coming-of-age story which thoughtfully and heartfully tackles the repellent practice of conversion therapy. Moretz is excellent, but this summer camp/institution drama cocktail could have done with a little more fizz.

The film is let down by an approach that goes for impact over insight, but Last Breath is a worthy entry to the ‘hostile environment’ documentary subgenre.

This is unlikely to win Kathryn Lansky's antipodean owl fantasy any new fans, but even the bemused (and confused) can luxuriate in some grand-scale visual storytelling.

A compelling curio from Werner Herzog, who investigates a strange real-life phenomenon through a fictional lens. It's worth watching, especially if you enjoy Herzog's lateral take on life, but it's hard not to wish he'd just made it as a straight documentary.

Domestic chills, body horror, paranormal scares and gore-drenched action combine in a very distinct but rather uneven — and at times contentious — take on a classic monster icon.

Despite an occasional burst of self-mocking glibness (mostly via Robbie, who skirts but never quite tilts into the manic-dream-pixie playground), this is a movie that isn’t afraid of sincerity, and it brings a bit of silver-lining energy to our overcast world.

A decent, cogent, greyly atmospheric thriller with something to say about War-On-Terror America.

With Ember's hydro-electro-punk charms, Kenan's convinced us he's one of Hollywood's most exciting (and excited!) visualists. But on the evidence of this, his storytelling skills still need honing.

A solid, straightforward biopic about a fascinating individual and his destructive relationships, with strong performances and a healthy sense of naffness.

It also benefits from some engaging supporting characters.

While it proves an all-round well-mounted distraction, Ant-Man And The Wasp undeniably lacks the scale and ambition of recent Marvel entries.

Despite grasping for topicality and insight into human nature, Tron: Ares doesn’t have anything new or interesting to say.

Less Tales Of The Unexpected, more Tales Of The Unconvincing, this uneven comedy horror fails to handle its ambitious structure, or deliver on its promising premise.

Lacks the ‘ick’ factor of the earlier Bay-directed efforts, and Fishback and Ramos do a great job as the token humans, but this is still just silly and derivative.

Marginally better than Part One, but still a weird, messy and humourless sci-fi that gives you little reason to cheer the potential continuation of this Snyderverse.

Unless you pine for second-tier Mel Brooks, you'll find more laughs in the Old Testament itself.

The building may be taller than The Towering Inferno and the stakes may be higher than those faced by John McClane in Die Hard, but in comparison to both, Skyscraper is little more than a cinematic bungalow.

A handsome murder mystery with a neat literary twist and an impressive turn from Harry Melling, but which is overcast by the gloominess of its protagonist and the implausibility of its revelations.

Occasionally fun, always pretty, completely a mess, Casanova never quite finds its footing.

With a better story, director and support cast, Martin could have made Clouseau his own. Still, it's not as bad as the one with Roberto Benigni.

An opportunity to exploit childhood nocturnal fears is missed in a second-rate horror.

If you crave Emmerich-esque disaster-porn with a mega body count, there’s plenty here to OMG at. But when it comes to character depth or plotting, San Andreas is a sadly familiar wasteland.

Belying its title, this is a pretty flaccid offering which fails to gel the comedy stylings of Hart and Ferrell.

On the Ferrellometer, Talladega Nights sits just above "Kicking & Screaming," when it should be redlining it up there with "Anchorman."