William Thomas

Election Year maintains the nervy tension that made the first films entertaining, but doubles down on the political metaphors, overwhelming you with its soap-box rhetoric.

It’s a film that doesn’t so much invite you to switch off your brain as take it out and dump it in the nearest popcorn box.

A sci-fi horror dimmer than the dark side of the moon.

While not quite on a par with Andrew Haigh's "Weekend," this is still an undeniably powerful piece of filmmaking.

What could have been an effective excoriation of US drug policy and a proper look at the violence inherent in the trade is wasted on a simplistic thriller that offers very little, especially given who is behind the camera. Sorry if that harshes anyone's buzz.

Lacking the bite of "Attack The Block," Stiller and co. are happy to fall back on their usual shtick, with director Schaffer providing barely enough juice to power the laughs.

Despite some good moments, Agents J, O and K are missing an E.

Even with The Exorcist in the world, there is still scope for a contemporary, shocking and thrilling film to be made on the subject of possession. But this is not it: some found footage should really just stay lost.

Despite a top-notch cast performing well, and bravely in the case of Knightley, this is an austere, somewhat repressed movie. It never really gets under the skin in the way Cronenberg does at his best.

Don't expect the puppet to wisecrack - there's more pain here than in "The Passion Of The Christ." It never quite comes together in a satisfying way, but it's still a brave, strange, brain-stirring piece of filmmaking.

Oldman and Seyfried prove to be the big attractions, but Hardwicke's Riding Hood legend still lacks bite.

Slow, ponderous and as shallow as it thinks it is deep, lifted only by an impressive opening and fine work from Damon and Howard.

High hopes of magic from the Gondry-Rogen pairing are dashed. Some neat touches aside, this isn't so much eternal sunshine, more superbad.

Cowering in the shadow of the Picture Show, this sequel of sorts builds on none of the risks take by its predecessor.

Too glossy to evoke real sexual tension or, more crucially in this genre, fear, Laura Mars suffers from the over complication of something so simple as serial killing.

Engaging performances by Penn and Walken can’t quite turn this brutal curio into something more substantial.

Kusturica is sturdier on style than substance.

Almost palatable, with some fast-moving stunts but dreadful dialogue.

The script self-destructs, but the performances — including Daniel Stern as an expendable sidekick — are fun, and John Badham stages some super stunts with the insectile title machine.

The only romantic comedy out there which spans two lifetimes, Chances Are you'll wind up wishing it didn't.

An unsatisfying conclusion, but an inspirational story deftly handled by Freeman.

Not only do the pair have to prepare for the upcoming race, but, hey, they also have to deal with a hysterical mother, a dying father, and the knowledge that one brother is destined for the same fate as pops. Not quite as sickly as it sounds, with a fair few hints of the onscreen magnetism to come.

For fans of the Big Bug movies in the 60's this will come as a pleasant surprise with not only the first to made in a while but also the first good one for a long time. Ticks is enjoyably fluff which contains unexpectedly convincing effects and enough of the required screaming of innocent victims.

A dedicatory, sometimes sombre recreation of the career of 50s teen-throb Richie Valens, which feels like a personal project by director Luis Valdez.

As a throwaway 80's B-movie you could do much worse. Hauer, as is his way, plays the rough and silent type, this time a cop with Scot Duncan as his partner. There is enough gore, monsters and violence to satisfy but a good plot is sadly lacking and worst of all, they even managed to make Kim Catrall look unattractive.

Another coming-of-age tale about three boys and their quest to become men, which invariably revolves around having sex and puerile behaviour but then changes tack completely by giving us lush scenery. If the director had remained with one idea then perhaps the end product wouldn't seem so varied.

Like the stranded astronauts, we are forced to sit around for too long in stale air, waiting for something to happen. An overly-long, vacuous foray into space.

Beyoncé proves her Dreamgirls turn was no fluke in this so-so Blues melodrama.

The film falls into the gap between the manifestly unique qualities of the musician in performance and the near complete mystery of an intensely withdrawn private life.

Well at least we get to see him in more leather in this one. Though one could quite possibly live without it.

Convincingly sozzled performances but, like Bukowski's poetry, there is little meaningful here to take away.

Nowhere near as good as the first one but all the same ingredients.

Flat and unfunny, this merits a second star based entirely on Scott’s cameo. Kev, get thee to a typewriter. You’re so much better than this.

This feels bigger and more cinematic than the first film, and sees a progression in the lives of the characters. But many of the jokes are beyond broad, and the Middle Eastern stereotypes are shockingly cack-handed.

A fun, action-packed reintroduction to Conan Doyle's classic characters. Part Two should provide more in the way of scope.

Fans of the book will be pleased that most of its highlights remain intact - including Dilbeck covering himself with Vaseline - but overall this is at best patchy, and, more damagingly, not funny.

The script might have benefited from being directed by someone more daring, instead George Roy Hill settles for more mainstream territory.

There's some likable energy to the performances and a strong soundtrack, but the lack of sustained dancing make this more of a nostalgic fantasy than a proper musical, whereas 'Shagging' itself seems far too complicated to catch on.

A screwball comedy, with two well-cast leads, with a pre-Sex and the City Parker and a amusing Cage. The plot is ridiculous but enjoyably so, with enough jokes to carry it for an hour and a half and a relatively fast pace prevents you from seeing the holes in the story.

Like Driving Miss Daisy this deals with a white employer and a black servant in the times of revolution, not only that but in both films it's a jaded view with the servant being loyal and not a 'friend'. Besides that small problem, it's a moving film with a steady performance from Spacek, but by the end it has definitely become Goldberg's film.

While the backgrounds and animation are wonderful, the film suffers from an intensely depressing middle section, full of heart-stopping chases, damaged friendships and forgettable songs more likely to invoke fidgets than sniffles among the younger contingent in the audience.

A divisive film - too overwrought for some, perfectly emotionally pitched for others - how much it will appeal will depend on how romantically inclined the viewer is feeling.

It's a fine line between high art and overblown nonsense. Bizarre accents and annoying camerawork abound in this package of tripe which isn't sure whether it has just left the butchers or is on its way back.

This modern musical - with tunes written by Where Are They Now pop band ELO - falls flat on its face simply because the premise is so utterly ludicrous.

Initially, the film works well as a tense, teasing suspense vehicle. But one of Dead Calm’s major problems is that it brings to mind ideas and plot similarities from so many other films that you are constantly being reminded of its own rather humble status.

Not as closely controlled as My Beautiful Laundrette, but still a purposeful cross-cultural comedy that raises a few questions alongside the few laughs.

An unbelievably long film for so little pay-off. More cowboys, please.

Entertaining family movie for rainy nights and Christmas holidays.

Disney’s adaptation of the first book in T. W. White’s colourful Arthurian trilogy The Once And Future King (which also served as the source for the musical Camelot) is formulaic matinee fare, competent and sprightly but undistinguished.

Thankfully Annaud's stunning direction takes in the beautiful scenery allowing a mild diversion from the scenes of romance.

Humdrum adaptation that should, given the ripe nature of its source material, have been much better.

Never brave enough to feel far-reaching (or, ironically, far-fetched, when time-travel and space flight are so popular at the movies), Navigator still fulfills its mission, distracting the family for bang-on an hour and a half.

It soon becomes apparent, though, that the best songs were used by the first two films, leaving the third with a set of slightly underwhelming tunes.

Fun, but it mugs too hard.

An affectionate and entertaining tribute to the Western - but, Estevez aside, Young Guns II doesn't exactly add much to the old genre.

A sadly lightweight spar through rule-breaking cop conventions that doesn't utilise it's star's bulk to any great effect.

A mirthless shot in the dark that misses the target by some distance.

The likeable veneer of the film never threatens to evaporate, which is both a good and a bad thing; the comedy is plentiful but the dark laughs are never quite dark enough, given the subject matter.

Most of the people who see this will own funnier home videos of wedding disasters.

A blockbuster that offers enough quirky pleasures to feel fresh and unpredictable.

Same old sequel squanderings.

If it doesn't make you at least giggle, then you clearly don't understand the true meaning of the festive season.

This is a very patchy affair - while some of the animated pieces work, others come across as downright insane.

While Dudley's booze-sodden antics tire after a while, there's relief in the form of John Gielgud as the old-fashioned English butler with a nice line in four-letter words, and a return to the screen from Liza Minelli, who plays the waitress Arthur falls in love with.

Strays from the boundaries of believability a little too much to be regarding anything other than a throw-away comedy.

An embarrassing mish-mash of comedy and horror which fits neither criteria.

A sentimental drama that's 'good in the air' and something of a throwback to war films of old.

Enjoyable enough nonsense, even if it barely cracks a smile.

Here's a film consisting entirely of things you've seen before. Especially indebted to the hardly classic students-on-rampage sagas Class Of 1984 and The Principal, it even takes its title from a forgotten Amanda Donohoe DTV movie of a few years back. Furthermore, it's choppily directed by Robert Manel (School Ties) and toplined by the still-in-decline Tom Berenger.

Road movies should be pleasurable and free-spirited, but Candy Mountain drags too much weight around.

A gaudy, flamboyant expose that asks a lot of its stars, and gets more than it deserves.

A fun night in with the tellybox, but then it never claimed to be anything more.

There is bound to be a large appreciative audience for this chick flick. But it might not be you.

A worthy diversion for the very young, but against their more venerable stablemates - notably DuckTales - The Rescuers's identification/memorableness factor remains second division.

Stagey filming aside, this is a sharp and controlled study of celebrity obsession.

Spader and Cusack go through the motions as political sparring partners in this coming of age drama.

Ultimately lost in it's own contrivances, Big Business still manages a few laughs thanks to it's big name leading lady.

Little atmosphere and no surprises.

Apart from a sprinkling of Wilde's legendary bons mots and a few fleeting visits to theatres where audiences cheer Lady Windemere's Fan, there is disappointingly little here to suggest the complexity of his mind, the range of his writing or, crucially, the importance of being Oscar.

Worth a look, if only for the surreal groupings of the gangs (The Wongs, the Del Bombers and the Fordham Baldies...that's right, they're bald).

Despite the extended running time jam packed with action scene after after scene it still feels a little short on content.

Life stinks, Brooks' character stinks and the film, after all the Brooks magic in the past, stinks.

In another variation on a theme, this plodding drama may have its heart in the right place but, along side a gaggle of angst-ridden Hughes dramas of the period, fails to stand out amongst the crowd.

An all-star lineup with some kookie moments, but a bit limp overall.

A satisfying come-down by the director, who stays safely within, rather than pushes against comedy conventions.

There's no escaping the teen angst or, for that matter, Araki's thumping message with the angry director managing to slip the odd political curve-ball into proceedings as if he's been watching too many Oliver Stone movies.

Appealing, emotional and with a strong enough performance by Rice-Edwards as the boy in his own little war-free world.

It wants to be a modern "Taxi Driver"; it manages to be the new Falling Down, with Foster as fierce as ever.

Connery was perhaps wise to call it quits the first time round.

While never as trailblazing as its subject, The Express is a worthy addition to the lengthy canon of sports biopics

It’s hard to remember that this extremely unexceptional film was a major hit back in the 70s.

It's solid Miyazaki, although he has reached greater heights both before and since.

Utterly mindless, but on its own snap, bang, and wallop terms, it works well enough.

Two actors have wasted their considerable talents on this hapless comedy. With a flawed plot and far too few jokes, it's understandable why this isn't a particularly memorable film and just as well it's disappeared without trace.

Driven by cliches and almost completely ignoring the psychological growth of the children coping with the loss of their parents, it doesn't take long for this to descent into meaningless schlock.

Not one of Nicholson's best, but an enjoyable comedy nonetheless.

An otherwise fine sports fantasy is dragged down by an overindulgence in sentimentality.

Given such a cloying and utterly predictable plot, it's surprising that Three Fugitives works as well as it does. Nolte, all big shoulders and bashfulness shows a pleasant self-deprecating talent and copes very well with the array of humiliations ranged against him.