Ian Freer

A mid-way twist seems like it’s going to up the ante but the film ultimately drops the ball in the final act, where there is a lot of huff and puff (Fire! Demons! Body horror!) but little in the way of a satisfying conclusion. Ironically, Never Let Go becomes less interesting the more untethered it gets.

It has its pleasures but after the nuance and emotional hits of Love Is Strange and Little Men, Frankie is a disappointment. Not even la Reine, Isabelle Huppert, can elevate this one.

Never reaching the heights of Malick’s ’70s heyday (what does?), Song To Song represents some kind of return to form following Knight Of Cups. It won’t convert the unconvinced, but it is beautiful, melancholic, audacious and well-played, a refinement rather than reinvention of a singular filmmaker.

The astonishing true life story of The 33 deserves a better movie than this. Trite above and below ground, it is not suitable for miners. Or anyone else really.

Roger Moore’s third outing as Bond is undoubtedly his best.

A Street Cat Named Bob has its heart in the right place but doesn’t quite land on a tone to unite hard hitting drama and a cat-based comedy.

The film is at its most entertaining when it’s a showcase for Smith and Lawrence’s easy chemistry, whether improvising a Reba McEntire country song to appease some rednecks or bantering about Burnett’s bad eating habits during a convenience store hold-up. They’re eminently watchable. Then again, when the highlight of an action movie fourthquel comes with the two stars watching a younger man do his stuff, it might be time to call it a day.

'We need an edge!' is Coach Ulbrickson’s verdict on his crew, and the same can be said about the film as a whole. But there is enough in The Boys in the Boat to keep you invested come the final showdown.

Better in conception than execution, Spies In Disguise never really gets the best out of its James Bond Is A Pigeon high concept. The result is entertaining while it lasts, but won’t lodge itself permanently in your memory bank.

It’s a great premise but, over-populated by dull characters and a flat feel, Cocaine Bear is sadly a party animal that never gets started. Not quite a coke zero but close.

Perhaps not as heart-warming or charming as the first film, The Railway Children Return is engaging and entertaining in different ways, winningly played by its fresh cast.

Not even the considerable talents of the ever watchable Naomie Harris can elevate Black And Blue above the broad and generic. The result is sadly aggressively formulaic.

There is some nice insight into cycling-team practices, but overall The Racer lacks sufficient nuance, specificity and originality to nab the yellow jersey.

An enjoyable World War II spy flick, Munich: The Edge Of War scores with strong performances and filmmaking craft, but is let down by a lack of dramatic heft. A Father’s Day watch in waiting.

A powerful story about father and sons, told by a father and son. At once a showcase for a monumental talent, and the arrival of an exciting new one.

Prisoners Of The Ghostland is by turns brilliant and rubbish. Cage is in his element, it has visual invention to spare, and the fight scenes are fun, but it’s a shame such imagination is tethered to equally all-over-the-place storytelling.

A thriller in the key of Woody. The “same old, same old” but still entertaining.

Wasting big-name actors, The Mauritanian is simultaneously over-stuffed and under-powered, turning a horrifying real-life ordeal into something flat and formulaic. Only Tahar Rahim’s consummate portrayal of grace under duress stands out.

The fifth Purge outing goes for broke and comes out wanting, working neither as political commentary nor horror-action-thriller. In this case, bigger is definitely not better.

There should be something fun in watching Academy Award winner Octavia Spencer drop C-bombs and go apeshit. Instead, Ma is an ersatz, misjudged exercise in psycho-horror that lacks the courage of its B movie convictions.

Despite good moments and an ambition to reach for the profound, Life Itself settles for trite, sentimental and patience testing. A killer cast deserve better.

By The Grace Of God lives in the present, a fast-paced, exciting, beautifully played film that matches Spotlight as a searing portrait of modern heroes who stood up.

Strongly performed by a fresh-faced cast, A Paris Education is familiar and doesn’t completely grip, but is an enjoyable celebration all the good things in life; films, arguing about films, friendship, love, politics and Paris.

Well played and well shot, Run’s idea of relocating Springsteen’s America to a rain-swept Scottish fishing town is interesting, but sadly it runs out of gas and road before it hits the horizon. Less baby we were born to run, more baby we were born to drive around in circles for a bit.

What The Tender Bar lacks in dramatic heft and originality, it makes up for in warmth, geniality and a clutch of great performances — chiefly Ben Affleck, who turns a stock uncle character into a memorable mentor.

Astronaut doesn’t have the budget or cinematic ambition to deliver on its premise. Despite the best efforts of Richard Dreyfuss, it reaches for the stars and misses by a mile.

Not even Halle Berry’s presence can enliven this stale sports film-family drama mash-up. By the end of it, the barrage of clichés leaves you black and blue.

Clint Eastwood’s bold choice to have real protagonists does little to enliven a listless story about friendship. Although the terrorist attack is effectively staged, The 15:17 To Paris fails to spin a remarkable film out of a remarkable act of heroism.

The Amazing Johnathan Documentary starts as a blast but as the journey progresses, becomes ever more slippery: Is Szeles tricking Berman? Is Berman bamboozling us? The answer is entertaining and frustrating in equal measures.

After an unsatisfying start as a comedy, Silent Night finds its feet as an ambitious, thoughtful chamber piece about what it means to peer into the abyss. Merry Christmas, everyone!

A well-made Euro pudding, Alone In Berlin, like The Book Thief, can’t find the depths, darkness or daring to stand out.

An enjoyable foray into JK Rowling’s imagination, bolstered by a more appealing Eddie Redmayne, but you can’t help feel The Crimes Of Grindelwald is still treading water until future chapters.

The interesting world of the film doesn’t get the story it deserves.

The Neon Demon pulls off the unique feat of being both boring and bravura all at once. Like the world it depicts, it’s a feast for the eyes but little else.

Boasting a powerhouse cast, The Last Full Measure has the best of intentions, to celebrate servicemen without condoning war, but winds up with little else.

Rodriguez has fun coming up with some new-ish powers and there are knowing send-ups of superhero lore, but the takeaway is thin and forgettable.

The Man Who Killed Hitler And Then The Bigfoot is a strange but enjoyable mishmash of genres and ideas held together by the gravitas and class of Sam Elliott.

Lost Transmissions is a clear-eyed view of schizophrenia, aided by a powerful Simon Pegg performance yet hamstrung by some woolly filmmaking and a whiff of pretension.

If you don’t like Malick’s movies, A Hidden Life won’t convert you. But this is the filmmaker on sublime form, putting his artistry and obsessions at the service of something frighteningly relevant.

What it lacks in freshness and depth, The Gentlemen certainly makes up for in cartoon-y bluster and fun details.

The Ballad Of Wallis Island is a big-hearted, consoling hug of a movie. It might not reinvent the wheel, but it’s the low-(Tim)-key crowd-pleaser of the year so far.

It’s not doing much daring or different but this delivers a fun, well-made summer theme-park ride, with fast highs and slow lows. Pleasurable, though it doesn’t linger.

Despite the all-star trio and the rare joke that lands, Going In Style never hits its stride as a warm-hearted crime caper.

The Boss Baby is hopped up on energy but never harnesses it effectively. There are laughs and heart buried in this idea somewhere. Shame the film is too hyperactive to find them.

A feminist horror flick that lacks nuance in its feminism and thrills in its horror. But it should be applauded for reinterpreting rather than just retreading the original.

On paper, Don’t Let Go’s premise — a supernaturally flecked crime story with a hint of time travel — should be exciting but it is let down down by workaday writing and routine filmmaking.

Don’t Look Up takes the pulse of contemporary life and finds it crazy, scary and, most of all, funny. It doesn’t all land but enough does to make it a sharp, bold, star-studded treat.

Amsterdam suffers from a surfeit of story detail without the vigour to whizz you through it. It has likable leads and the craft is on point, but the result, given all the talent involved, is a tonally uneasy disappointment — a romp that fails to romp.

Mark Felt is a lacklustre staging of a fascinating episode in recent US history. Despite Neeson’s strong presence, this is a deep throat that never finds its voice.

Joining the ranks of Sphere, DeepStar Six and Leviathan as soggy Alien do-overs, Underwater finds a few tweaks to the monster play book, but not enough to make it live.

Escape Room is like The Crystal Maze with more death. It’s fun at the start then loses its way, but it’ll do until ‘Flossing: The Movie’ comes along.

Liam Gallagher: As It Was lacks the narrative shape and drama of previous Oasis doc Supersonic, but provides an interesting snapshot of an artist in transition, both professionally and personally.

A sentimental but solid dependable retelling of an oft-told tale, it doesn’t do anything radical with the material but gets by on well mounted set-pieces and Ford’s grizzled gravitas.

I Feel Pretty is an intermittently funny vehicle for Schumer’s talent that never really gets to grips with the ramifications of its high concept. Its heart is in the right place, but its head is somewhere else.

Midway is a big, bold, brazen attempt to detail one of World War II’s most significant moments. But in a post Saving Private Ryan-Dunkirk landscape, it feels astonishing anyone is still making war movies like this.

The leads work hard and there’s an attempt to add fun via cheesy music and Salma Hayek, but hackneyed dynamics, half-baked action sequences and saying “m#th&rf$ck*r” does not a Shane Black make.

Wrong Turn has some decent booby-trap business but can’t find enough that is different to enliven the weary concept. But for the horror hardcore, keep watching once the credits roll.

Jellyfish is a familiar but compassionately drawn portrait of hardscrabble lives, centred by a terrific performance by Liv Hill.

It doesn’t completely work and lacks complexity, but Capone is scene-for-scene more interesting than many slicker films. Hardy’s swing-for-the-fences performance is a must-see.

It doesn’t do anything different from the original, but the upside to The Upside is two strong, winning performances that keep you going down a well worn path.

The second half falls into familiar action tropes, but Honest Thief has some twists and turns, sly humour and a refreshing feel for its characters that raises them beyond genre types.

It’s an enjoyable, super-faithful cover version but Laal Singh Chaddha is like a box of chocolates: you know exactly what you’re gonna get.

23 Walks is romance of the gentlest kind. Steadman and Johns are likeable but the writing doesn’t deliver characters that compel and convince. But for dog lovers, it’s pooch porn.

Wonder Park has some fun bits (a narcoleptic bear) and a worthy sentiment around the value of going through tough times but it’s too hectic and untethered to land its loftier ideas. It aspires to be Inside Out but falls way short.

Seize Them! turns the Dark Ages into the daft ages, delivering a mostly entertaining, female-centred comedy enlivened by winning performances.

Despite the odd strong moment, this Bloodshot is anaemic.

It's no Paddington 2, but Peter Rabbit 2 works well thanks to a mocking sense of self and a strong second half. Once again, Beatrix Potter, it is not.

Bob Marley: One Love is a strange mixture of the authentic and the broad. Taking place in a perma-fug of ganja smoke, director Reinaldo Marcus Green’s (King Richard) intermittently engaging portrait of the reggae superstar is shot through with sincere intentions, but too often leans into the trite.

Whilst this takes itself a little too lightly it has a lot going for it.

Better than Last Stand or Apocalypse but never hitting the heights of X2, Dark Phoenix thrives when its heroes are front and centre. If this is the end, it’s a solid rather than spectacular goodbye.

There is the odd funny moment, but The Art Of Racing In The Rain relies too heavily on the charms of its golden retriever. It might be built on the notion that dogs are the wisest of us all, but the end result winds up stupid.

A forced, over-ripe satire on the hunger for social media, bolstered by an engaging performance by Joe Keery. But if you really want to feel the real-life impact of the ’Gram on a young psyche, stick with Eighth Grade.

Despite the formidable talents of Timothy Spall and Vanessa Redgrave, Mrs Lowry & Son doesn’t really get under the skin of the artist or the man, resulting in a film as dreary as Pendlebury’s colourless skies.

It’s not just that Wild Mountain Thyme is bogged down by overripe Irish trappings. It also fails to work on the most basic romcom level — wanting to see a couple get together. Sadly, not even a strong cast can rescue a pot of gold from the end of this rainbow.

A return to form for indie darling Drake Doremus, who brings his nuance, sensitivities and homespun feel to a formulaic love-triangle set-up. Jamie Dornan, Sebastian Stan and especially Shailene Woodley make it very watchable.

The female-first vibe is refreshing but Something In The Water is something old, nothing new, a lot that is borrowed and an eyeful of twinkly blue.

Despite the odd fun bit of bloodshed, Halloween Kills is mostly tired, tedious and an insult to everything John Carpenter got right first time round.

Suburbicon is a strange beast: a by-the-numbers ’40s film noir bolted to an unsatisfying ’60s racial drama wrapped up in a ’50s Americana satire. A strong cast and talented director never make the whole add up.

It’s Sliding Doors with place settings, but Love Wedding Repeat can’t make its time-loop conceit work (stick with About Time). Bouquets to the cast and production values; a quickie divorce from everything else.

Seemingly wishing to start another Conjuring off-shoot, this will be lucky to get out the gate. Without an original or fresh bone in its body, The Curse Of La Llorona smacks of unelevated horror for the very easily scared, not to mention pleased.

Filmworker is an absorbing, important portrait of both a genius at work and the man behind the scenes who made the magic possible, whatever the cost to himself.

A genuine oddity, Welcome To Marwen may not hit the emotional highs but mixes high-concept fun with a sincere attempt to describe trauma in an original visceral way. And Zemeckis’ filmmaking remains exemplary.

In the Insta age, this paean to body positivity and living your own truth is more than welcome, but you just wish UglyDolls’ message could be more charmingly argued, adroitly assembled and just plain funny.

Dear Evan Hansen gives enjoyable, tuneful voice to important modern-day concerns but lacks the dramatic and cinematic chops to really take flight.

If it thematically bites off more than it can chew, Random Acts Of Violence is a full-on, visually arresting horror. What it lacks in chills, it makes up for in ambition and style.

It won’t win any awards for originality but Flight Risk is a fun, unpretentious, tight 91 minutes — especially if you’ve always jonesed to see Downton Abbey’s Lady Mary cream someone with a fire extinguisher.

A Rainy Day In New York hits all of Allen’s touchstones, has a few good one-liners and is well played, but it sorely lacks the wit, vitality and veracity of his ’70s/’80s heyday.

If it doesn’t hit the Top Gun: Maverick heights of legacy sequels, Jurassic World Dominion is scattershot but entertaining, delivering fun, familiar set pieces. Come for the delight in seeing Neill, Dern and Goldblum together again, stay for the bit where a bloke on a scooter gets eaten.

Ironically, given the mantra for its main characters is about embracing the weird, The Addams Family 2 does little that is out-there or different, delivering a safe, stale 93 minutes. Unlike that killer theme tune, it never actually clicks.

Serenity is a genuine headscratcher, baffling on almost every level. Badly scripted, strangely acted and poorly pitched, there is so much to pick over it’s hard to know where to begin. Sometimes the best of bold intentions are just not enough.

Parts of Outcome work a treat (see: Martin Scorsese). Shame, then, that long stretches give in to blunt parody, leaving the feeling there’s a much better movie in here somewhere.

One’s a cop who can’t shoot straight! One’s a kid with a nose for trouble! Together… they lack the wit, thrills and rapport to deliver fun genre times.

Venom is neither triumph nor train-wreck. It’s a mediocre origin story, a superhero host that sadly fails to bond with its comedy parasite. Which is a shame, as there is enough here to to suggest it could have been a blast.

Part mystery, part black comedy, part metaphor for loss, Patrick is a nakedly true original. It also has the best caravan fight since Kill Bill Vol. 2.

This all feels a long way from Chandor’s glory days of Margin Call and All Is Lost. Save the occasional flourish, Kraven The Hunter is limp, tired, uninvolving superhero fare.

An old school romantic thriller that lacks the subtleties and sophistication of recent spy storytelling, be it on the big screen (Bridge Of Spies) or small (The Night Manager).

It has all the required Police Academy staples and is one of the better sequels but this whole franchise is so dated that isn't saying much.

Tom & Jerry: The Movie joins Garfield , Yogi Bear and The Smurfs as misfiring attempts to combine popular ’toons with live action. Our kids deserve better. They deserve Tom & Jerry 1940-’58.