James Mottram

Depending on taste, you’ll be left either barfing or laughing.

With Hill on co-scripting duties with Scott Pilgrim scribe Michael Bacall, 21 Jump Street was always going to live or die by its gags. Fortunately, it boasts that sweet-yet-dirty comedy that Hill revels in.

In the end, Road House is a solid actioner, a frolic that Liman marshals competently. This is a fun Friday-night fight-fest, best enjoyed with a few bevvies – brash, loud, knockabout and liable to leave you with a cauliflower ear or two.

Like an inoffensive light ale, the result slips down more pleasantly than you might expect.

[A] memorable, conventional account of a true maverick.

Say what you like about director Justin Lin’s lack of subtlety (or understanding of the laws of physics), but he knows how to kick-start an action movie.

Guilty of being slavishly loyal, Taylor’s film never quite translates into the cinematic equivalent of Hawkins’ page-turner. Blunt, though, is excellent.

Full of fizz, filth and fun, I’m So Excited! is like an ’80s retro-blast. Its scattershot comedy may not impress latecomers to Almodóvar’s career, but old-school fans will love it.

A competent if occasionally clunky biopic, enlivened by a superb Marisa Abela, who truly inhabits Winehouse and brings those songs to life.

Like all of Bay’s work, it’s over-the-top, brash and exhausting to watch. But like the lifestyle its characters aspire to, there’s an allure too.

A competent rather than classic follow-up. If the action feels generic at times, the addition of Watts, more Winslet and the strength of Woodley are worth watching.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt is credible as the former NSA contractor, but Stone gets side-tracked by his relationship with Lindsay Mills (Shailene Woodley) and Rhys Ifans’ leering CIA suit.

It’s absorbing to a point, but adds little to what’s gone before.

Pleasingly silly sequel is a colourful, creative, deliciously daft animation.

LaBeouf is committed, and it’s fun seeing him go toe-to-toe with Gary Oldman (as his boss). But amid Montiel’s jigsaw-like structure lurk some generic revelations. Disappointing.

Johnson, looking radically different under a cropped black wig, takes this opportunity and wrestles with it. Not since his work for Michael Bay in Pain & Gain has he done anything this out of his comfort zone.

Certainly, this lacks the cheekiness of, say, M3GAN. With the exception of an amusing riff about Depeche Mode (better than Mozart, according to Ares), it requires a much-needed humour injection. In Tron terms, the future is less bright than po-faced.

Uplifting it isn’t, but there’s poetry to be found in these desperate lives, and Riccobono never judges or sensationalises his subjects. Sensitive, if slightly unfocused.

It would be unfair to claim this closing film concludes on a whimper. But neither is it quite the grand finale the title would have us believe. More like a pleasant stroll with characters you know and love.

Definitely not Killer Queen, but thanks to a blinding turn from Malek, fans of the band will get their kicks.

Adams is as watchable as ever as Margaret, backed by fine support, but the problem lies with Waltz. He’s more caricature than character, and Burton proves unable to harness his energy as well as Tarantino did.

A neat mash-up of high-school comedy and horror tropes. Pity it flounders in the final third, though.

It’s not groundbreaking, but the impressionistic approach at least strives for more than your standard-issue bio.

All hot wheels and dick jokes, it’s fun but forgettable.

Sagnier is appealing in her first real romantic role and there’s Gallic charm galore.

Is it scary? Rarely, to be honest. But it knows how to twist the knife, at least.

Too many characters and callbacks plus a formulaic plot means Frozen Empire doesn’t touch the original movies, but it’s a likeable-enough brand extension.

Loyal to the novel, but welcoming enough for newbies, Divergent does a decent if not jawdropping job of bringing its dystopian world to life.