The chases, fights and fun bits of spy craft are brightly and pacily shot, but the 'twists' are barely surprising. These women, and these characters, deserve more.

A film that is entertaining but not seriously absorbing.

As long as you don't mind making fun of the afflicted, there are some killer comic moments.

The over-familiar story-beats and safe execution stop this from reaching its full potential — but Hopkins and Flynn shine, providing a moving portrayal of Winton’s life.

Cheesy? Certainly. But strong performances and a heart-warming storyline make this a winner.

Although the acting is of a high calibre as expected, the story disappoints with little character development or action.

A fun blend of scares and sentiment, this largely justifies a lengthy run time with effective frights and a valedictory feel. Just don’t watch it before trying to clear out the attic.

A treat for cricket fans who'll thrill to this nostalgic look back at one of sport's greatest teams.

Judy Garland's most famous role and her best performance make for entertaining viewing.

This game and glitzy American redo of a British comedy great contains some fun and thrills but never quite explodes into brilliance. One to consider rather than run to.

The Human Centipede gets longer (how long before it becomes The Human Millipede?) but the shocks will be familiar to anyone who enjoyed the first film. The 180 seconds or so of cuts needed to get it past the BBFC open up some plot holes but won't sweeten the pill for everyone else.

It follows the rules of the genre as unwaveringly as its hero follows orders, but despite that, there’s a tense, tightly constructed thriller here — and Chris Pine makes a decent play as a neo-Bourne.

Lacks sparkle, and finally tips its gallery of colourful protagonists into the realm of caricature.

Zeffirelli's mawkish tendencies are checked by Mortimer's funny, richly observant screenplay; it's rose-tinted but plays up character and everyday detail rather than wallowing in war-movie villainy.

Light and entertaining, if a little clunky at times.

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

It's not vintage Pixar, but Cars 2 is still streets ahead of most of the animated pack. For all its energy and Bondian panache, perhaps its problems are insurmountable: Pixar's cars - and their universe - don't resonate and endear as much as its toys, monsters, clownfish and OAP dreamers.

A sports film with an arthouse sensibility. It benefits greatly from its chosen subject matter — two of the most remarkable characters in sporting history — but only manages to truly get under the skin of one of them.

Entertaining, and occasionally inspired, but Ralph Breaks The Internet is too often content to achieve a quick laugh, rather than exploring the themes its set-up suggests.

Despite a cliched plot and some ropey performances, this is still a well-made and entertaining children's film.

You'll soon be sick of digital furballs, but there’s plenty of fun here.

Page shines bright in an otherwise formulaic story, but this is still a thoughtful, sensitive portrait of a young man coming to terms with his sense of self and the love he deserves.

A demented slice of widescreen right-on action-funk from the blaxsploitation era.

Jonathan Demme's follow-up to "Swimming To Cambodia" is a typically entertaining diversion.

Philip Seymour Hoffman puts his oar in with a tender, thoughtful adaption of Robert Glaudini's stage play. A little too measured to deliver an emotional punch, it's nevertheless beautifully acted and at times rather lovely.

Once the political correctness is side-stepped, this contains classic chemistry from its two leads.

Okay, but it lacks conviction.

A fascinating but flawed portrait of a fascinating but flawed man. However, with Cox so good, it’s a surprise Churchill isn’t being held back until awards season.

There are few surprises on offer here; the comedy is engaging without ever being side-splitting, the dramatic conflict convinces without going overboard, and the denouement, feelgood as it is, can be spotted a long way in the distance.

With good performances and characters, Beginners is an enjoyable, amusing and occasionally poignant watch. Indie film fans will want to catch it, but it falls short of being a must-see.

Starve Acre is sometimes overly derivative as a folk-horror — but Daniel Kokotajlo’s second film crafts a sinister Yorkshire, replete with impressively gnarly special effects and a strong performance from Morfydd Clark.

A curious mix of Britpop music cues and moppet-bait storytelling makes for a diverting, if derivative kids' animation.

A beautifully designed but overly formal biopic that can't match the greatness of the artists it depicts.

The fuzzy thinking allows for gorgeous outdoor photography and a few too many dead spots, but Seagal the director shows real muscle by staging one of the screen's best-ever exploding helicopters and allowing Seagal the star to spit out tough talk, as when he refuses to shoot Caine because, "I don't want to dirty my bullets."

For all its formula, Instant Family is a winning confection, unafraid to go to unexpected dramatic places and elevated by Byrne’s gift as a comedy foil and Moner’s lively but subtle turn.

It's a puzzle as much as a plot, but when it's in focus (which it isn't for long stretches) it's remarkable brain-food.

Written in part by David Mamet, Wag The Dog is a lovely idea, with credibility buoyed by its incredible timeliness. But, content with its initial premise, the movie lacks the necessary bite to develop the satire further, to the point where it's difficult to spot whether Washington or Hollywood is the target.

After a gentle engaging start, The Book Of Henry makes an ill-judged move into thriller territory. But the performances, especially from Jaeden Lieberher, are strong and it delivers that rare cinematic treat: a real surprise.

A solid, old-fashioned Irish Western about what it means to hang up your rifle. It isn’t especially deep, but it’s good to see Liam Neeson find some character depth among the usual shooting and grumbling.

Its kids-say-the-funniest-things gags become one-note, but Good Boys has consistent laughs, winning performances, and a dollop of sweetness to boot.

Though it could do with being weirder and wilder, this high-concept mash-up — what if crooks robbed a haunted bank? — features fine work from a brace of rising stars.

For all its faults, the good-natured, quirky humour that this for the most part offers ultimately makes it very hard to dislike.

Lincoln meets Sudden Death: a corny but raucous throwback to when Planet Hollywood was hip. Gary Busey popping out of a rose bush wouldn’t feel out of place.

It never scrapes the heights of Jackson’s trilogy — few do — but amid a messy meeting of worlds, there are stirring moments.

Saturday Night Fever by way of Strictly Come Dancing, Frost’s solo movie lacks the inventive madness of his Cornetto team-ups, but it’s still a heartfelt blast of fun.

Fifty years after he first appeared, Donald E. Westlake’s antihero may have found his perfect avatar. Like Parker’s robberies, it isn’t entirely successful, but Statham and Lopez make enticingly mismatched partners in crime.

Effective jump-shocks and a strong turn from Eddie Marsan mask an over-complicated last act.

Not one to let slow-building tension and mystery get in the way of wild flourishes of extremism and shock, Ken Russell hit upon a story that more or less handled his structural excesses and tendency toward blasphemy.

A simple, effective thriller, Copshop doubles down on pulpy, ’70s-styled fun. It proffers little that is novel but has enough vim and vigour to compensate.

Paul Feig is mostly back on form with a likeable, frantic, murderous, madcap money-grab of a high-concept comedy. It could be funnier, but it rarely stops for breath.

With jokes that routinely miss the mark and cringeworthy slapstick, this black comedy farce shouldn't work. Somehow, though, it does.

The action is first-class, and Brad Pitt and Aaron Taylor-Johnson are having a blast — but with all that hyperactive style and cartoonish violence, you’ll be ready to disembark by its final destination.

A flowerier adaptation of the Scott Spencer romance than Zeffirelli's '80s version, it's tailor-made for the Nicholas Sparks crowd.

An impassioned and imperfect portrait of teenage grief and heartbreak, Chemical Hearts takes its audience seriously. For every teenager who has ever felt alone, this feels like a tailor-made care package.

Ron Howard’s genial account of the legendary Muppeteer plays it safe, with a fairly traditional documentary-making approach — but it still manages to be adequately inspirational, celebrational and, yes, even Muppetational.

Taylor Sheridan’s flair for creating heartland epics is undimmed, but it’s hard not to wonder what someone with more directing chops, and the will to hit the accelerator, would have done with it.

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

Affleck's meta-satire riffs amusingly on celebrity culture without hitting too many faux-doc highs.

Truman & Tennessee: An Intimate Portrait’s staid approach doesn’t always cohere into a gripping yarn but it is detailed, boasts a real feel for the fiction and, in-between the two men’s rampant viciousness, emerges as undeniably poignant.

Oak solid and unsinkable, Master And Commander is old-fashioned entertainment crafted with considerable care; but compared to "Pirates Of The Caribbean's" pleasure cruise, this voyage is choppy and difficult without ever troubling deeper waters.

Kusturica is sturdier on style than substance.

Lee's film suffers from message over substance and is slightly tedious as a result.

At two hours, something as thin and unexceptional as this, is just too long. The result is that all the running gags run out of steam and there are far too many fudgy bits between the comic highlights. Nevertheless, lightly likable.

JT LeRoy is a decent telling of a fascinating, resonant true story. If it never really fulfils its promise, it’s worth it to see two major talents — Kristen Stewart and Laura Dern — in full flow.

Audacious, yet sensitive, Fire may shock traditionalists but is the sort of film that ought to win Indian cinema a whole new audience.

With so much money and talent at work here, though, this latest incarnation of the legend is considerably smaller than the sum of its parts.

A fun diversion for the kids, but you feel Attenborough could have packaged these often beautifully produced images with more rigour and insight in under an hour.

For much of its slowburn build there is a classy, intelligent thriller at work, something closer in tone to The Odessa File. Still, you must remain guarded to how over the top and quasi-horror events will finally turn.

It also takes too long in the final act to write itself out of its plot entanglements, and ends up looking rather too pleased with itself.

So the boy can act -- this is the best thing he’s done.

A little heavy-handed with its moral messaging, this is nevertheless a self-deprecating and diverse tale of discovery. Michael Peña’s take on rave culture alone is worth your money.

Occasionally irritating farce but inventive and boasting an endearing as well as laugh-out-loud performance from Murphy in and out of fat suit.

It’s a small, lightweight picture but Good Posture is alive to the messy realities of becoming a grown-assed adult, becoming more charming and involving as it goes on. It also suggests a bright future for writer-director Dolly Wells.

Michael Bay’s tribute to the emergency services (which involves blowing several of them up) is noisy, messy and frequently absurd — yet still somehow his most gleefully entertaining effort in at least a decade.

Like most kittens, it's not always perfectly behaved, but at least this new Puss adventure doesn't have you reaching for the cinematic spray bottle. And thank goodness the spin-off does nothing to neuter the charismatic cat's appeal.

A fitting — and frustrating — end to an extraordinary career. Ken Loach’s powerful, poignant storytelling is occasionally stymied by his less subtle impulses.

Dream Horse is predictable and manipulative to a fault but, sparked by Toni Collette, there is a strong sense of sincerity and commitment to the subject matter that helps it across the finishing line.

Much slimmed down in a canny script by W. D. Richter, it has become a value-for-money horror movie with a streak of welcome black comedy.

There’s a hodge-podge of ideas going on that don’t always seamlessly fit, but Wan’s homage to ’80s horror and Wallis’s fretful performance, has a bloody lot of guts.

The fire scenes are terrifying and may well sear themselves into your brain, but however well-intentioned, the human element is less involving than the disaster they must endure.

A truly unique fantasy, McKean’s screen debut is tangled but promising.

Robustly acted by a superb cast and with some beautiful moments, this follow-up to The Father nevertheless feels less mature and less sure of itself.

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.

What a peculiar but effective children’s adventure movie this is.

Its magical denizens too often look and feel like out-of-season pantomime characters, but there’s just enough heart and humour to make this enchanting.

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

Chilean writer-director Sebastián Silva’s neither-fish-nor-fowl narrative plays tricks on our minds, without fully engaging our senses.

Often funny, outrageously vulgar in places and very, very French.

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

Hitchcock's penultimate film deals with many of his previous themes with typical grim comedy and insight into a psychopathic killer's mind.

Old friends and new voice talent will delight kids with a never-ending love for the most undemanding animation out there. A megabucks franchise drifts on.

The marriage of abstract existential themes, immersive, tactile images and dual timelines is always impressive but only occasionally moving.

An ultraviolent Korean crime film with plenty of swagger and visual brio, but still too generic to really stand out from the pack.

The Kids Are All Right writer Stuart Blumberg's first directorial effort is a frothy affair with typically strong turns from Ruffalo and Paltrow.

Aesthetically beautiful and superbly acted, a sure sign of things to come from the leads.

Creed II is to Creed what the Rocky sequels are to the original: a more generic, less textured take on familiar boxing movie tropes. The difference, it seems, is Coogler.

The witty, loquacious Cocker is watchable as ever and the gig scenes will thrill Pulpers.

Despite being occasionally hilarious, director Goran Dukic should have toned down the wackiness.