Neil Smith

A solid if far-fetched thriller that still entertains, even as it goes off the rails.

An outlandish high concept is a recipe for hope and humour in a film that bears viewing more than once.

The action’s passable and Gillan makes a decent fist of an underwritten character. Otherwise, this Jumanji makeover’s a losing game.

Backdraft clichés notwithstanding, this is a stirring fact-based tribute to public servants putting it on the line.

With it comes admission into a stunning world of majesty and savagery; shame about the overbearing Philip Glass score.

A feel good sequel only marmalade haters could resist.

Tots will enjoy, but there’s no denying the pieces don’t quite click together. Best giant moggy since The Goodies, mind.

Believers will be more interested in what he uncovers than the layman, who will soon identify this ’80s-set adap of Lee Strobel’s book as a tedious sermon that’s preaching to the converted.

Two characters, who you won’t like, insulting each other for two hours. Give it a miss and rewatch Midnight Run instead.

Too solemn to keep us invested in its heroes’ mission or fate.

An only moderately entertaining threequel that assumes a double dose of Carell will make up for missing Minions. It doesn’t.

Pixar’s least essential franchise gets back on track with a polished but disposable threequel.

Madame Bovary meets Thérèse Raquin with a splash of Lady Chatterley in a pared-down drama that packs a real punch.

Irish politics made accessible with the help of a playful script, two fine performances and 11 years of hindsight.

Sabine Krayenbühl and Zeva Oelbaum’s elegant mix of voiceover, archive footage and talking heads lets “the female Lawrence of Arabia” largely speak for herself, illuminating the pivotal role she played in shaping today’s Middle East.

A rib-tickling homage to the gumshoe shows of yesteryear, with an endearingly daffy mindset.

Chastain stalks the corridors of power with steely aplomb in Madden’s coolly compelling incursion into House of Cards territory.

A classy ensemble (Charlotte Rampling, Harriet Walter) supports Jim Broadbent’s amusingly tetchy lead, while youthful flashbacks evoke a mood of romantic yearning.

André Øvredal (Troll Hunter) ruthlessly ratchets the tension – with no little assistance from Olwen Kelly, conveying menace without moving a muscle.

Denzel Washington and Viola Davis excel in a well-crafted drama that’s sure to bring the late August Wilson’s words to a much wider audience.

An entertaining, if frenetic, vehicle for Arnett’s Bale-inspired Bats that packs plenty of laughs.

Portman’s Oscar-worthy work crowns an unconventional study of an icon, while Mica Levi’s score is sublime.

This is a Shyamalan movie through and through. And it’s his best in some time, thanks to a magnetic McAvoy.

A-list sad-faces abound in a film where absurd concept is rivalled only by banal execution.

Rob Lowe provides colour as a Southern-accented sleazeball, while the Free Willy finale has enough vehicular mayhem to excuse its dodgy FX.

Best of all...is the mini-animation fashioned out of Suskind’s Walt-inspired scribblings.

Clearly no stranger to John Hughes movies, writer-director Kelly Fremon Craig brings a spiky wit and a warm-hearted, nerd-friendly finale to a comedy that wants for nothing but a little substance.

For all his noble intentions, though, Crocodile Gennadiy sure loves the limelight, forcing us to speculate whether he works for God’s glory or his own.