More Sunday afternoon filler than cinema sensation, it’s a perfectly pleasant drama, but you’ll struggle to remember it the next day.

Mortensen shines but a contrived, issue-driven plot destabilises what could have been a great Russian gangster movie.

Tense, powerful and considerably less crass than "Crash," Elah may be jammed with ideas that don’t all connect, but Jones’ devastating performance makes this a compassionate and very human look at the Iraq conflict.

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

This wonderful documentary succeeds as a reminder of human endeavour.

With not enough balls to be fun, and not enough brain to be cerebral, there’s not much going on behind those pained Western expressions to entertain.

A sad story, but well told, with respect for its subject and an eye for the Shakespearian tragedy in the tale.

Johansson is no Anne Hathaway in this pleasant but forgettable comedy.

A sole potty joke is unnecessarily crass, but for the most part this is joyfully funny.

Too scattershot to land any effective punches.

If not a train-wreck, this is certainly more than a fender-bender. In a world overflowing with targets for a satirical pasting, we needed something a lot sharper than this.

Quirky, fresh and sharply intelligent. A promising debut for director Delpy, both thought-provoking and painfully funny.

The best blockbuster of the summer and the most accomplished thriller since, well, Supremacy. This is the payoff Bourne fans have been waiting for and the standard to which future blockbusters should be held.

Despite the talent on show, there's little to distinguish this from any other bland family comedy.

It’s sufficiently well done to qualify as cute, quite the thing for a girlie outing with grub after, but it’s utterly phoney baloney.

The message is just as clear with Simpsonian antics -- if it ain't broke, don't make a movie…

Much more than a tits and arse farce, this is an enjoyable, if lightweight effort.

Offering plenty of body and a lot of lift, Hairspray gels kitsch styling with show-stopping tunes to mould a memorable musical.

Torture junkies should remember it’s only four months to Saw IV -- so you can afford to avoid Captivity.

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

There’s terrific chemistry between the leads, but an episodic structure set over 20 years is too sprawling to really allow for a connection.

It won't win new fans, but as Potter movies go, this is the most filmic of the lot, suspenseful and action-packed.

Herzog’s planted rather too firmly in his discomfort zone, but Bale once again confirms himself as one of our most intense, committed and watchable actors.

The script may have rubbery legs, but the action is rock-hard. The surprise is the lightness of touch: treat as a comedy for best results.

If ever there was lawful impediment for a marriage to not go ahead, it's this mess of a movie.

Horrifying, heart-breaking, often hilarious - Moore’s latest shock doc is a potent polemic.

That feeling you have as you leave the cinema - that buzzing in the fingers and lightness in the heart - is called joy.

Yippee-ki-yay! Willis still has the goods.

Not up there with the best King adaptations, but a fun Gothic yarn that, like all good ghost stories, is simple and dripping with dread.

Pascale Ferran as the first female director to adapt this notorious novel absorbs her successful vision with a uniquely romantic vibe.

Bigger, better and more polished than the first, with a quite satisfactory ratio of action set-pieces and a lot of juvenile japery squarely aimed at its PG and fanboy audience.

That this is just about passable as a divorced parent’s weekend treat is down to Roberts’ charm and the timeless appeal of Nancy herself.

So quirky that it’s almost in danger of collapsing under the weight of its own antic whimsy at times, but a comic delight destined for cult adoration.

Poetic but bleekly pessimistic version of the Danish tragedy.

You can beat the house and you can break the bank, but sequels always get long odds on defeating the law of diminishing returns – yet Ocean's Thirteen just about pulls it off.

Roth's slick shock-'em-up sequel is a dispiritingly traditional splat of gristly Grand Guignol. It's tooled up to outrage, but ultimately numbs rather than grips.

A far-from-rosy life story makes this lengthy biopic entertaining, but despite a strong lead performance it fails to get under Piaf’s skin.

Knocked Up touches places most comedies wouldn't dare, some of them scarily biological, some of them scarily accurate. It's the sleeper hit of the summer, but don't worry: it's much better than that.

Ten Canoes is a rare and valuable movie, providing fascinating insight into another culture without pandering or being stuffy. Seek it out -- swim if you have to.

The plot's a trippy, twisty mess, and it's far too long, but it looks fantastic and makes some bold choices in its execution. And once again Jack's back to save the day.

Another summer threequel, another case of slipping standards – not so much in the visuals, which remain predictably impressive, but in the all-important gag rate. To waste both Donkey and Puss is a crime…

Harrowing and complex, this study in terror is not for the faint of heart.

The year’s most pleasant cinematic surprise. Once has enough heart, wit, verve and sheer songwriting genius to ensure you’ll see it far more times than its title suggests.

Bigger action, more amazing deserted (and devastated) London sequences and biting contemporary relevance, if a touch less heart than the original.

A 'realistic' Vegas movie that will set no-one's soul on fire, but is further proof that Hanson can lend his talents to any style of movie.

It's Sarah Polley through and through: slightly too glum for its own good, but reeking of quality and feeling.

Still smart, still exciting and still action-packed. It's just a shame to note that, after promising greatness, all Spider-Man 3 delivers is satisfaction.

Love is here in all of its many guises, brought together with a touch of subtitled sophistication.

An unassuming treat amid the noisy blockbuster season. It’ll melt your heart and any dietary resolve equally.

A great idea is weighed down by an over-egged screenplay, but the setting and cast bring out its best.

With so many high standing peers (both contemporary and classic), it just doesn't have the muscle or the nous to make an impression.

The boys (now in blue) have done it again.

This stripped-down chiller has some decent jump-frights, but a dearth of memorable moments.

The two leads are on fine form, but the surrounding structure is too familiar from a thousand other films. Still, tense and occasionally twisty stuff.

For crying out loud, Marcus -- all you had to do was have Vikings fight Indians! How hard was that?

A twist-burdened techno-thriller that would be by-the-numbers if it could count.

Gere proves that there’s more to his range than ageing romantic leads in a multi-layered tale of public fraud and self-deception.

Even John C McGinley (Dr. Cox from Scrubs) can't save this lamest of comedies.

Formula rules, as Ferrell applies his schtick to another sport. But there's enough silly spectacle and eye-popping costumes to compensate.

Plot holes and a mixed tone lessen the impact but Gordon-Levitt holds it together with a strong lead performance.

Kids will enjoy the colourful animation and fun characters, but adults will wish it all made a bit more sense.

Pretty solid gory horror.

Cheadle's finest hour and proof that Sandler can act. Funny, sad and flawed -- like its characters.

Visually stunning, thoroughly belligerent and as shallow as a pygmy’s paddling pool, this is a whole heap of style tinged with just a smidgen of substance.

This Indian immigrant family saga is a pleasant watch, but given the emotive source novel, it’s surprisingly superficial.

It has few fireworks, but still sticks in the mind, and is a definite upgrade from Digimon: The Movie for director Mamoru Hosoda.

Sounds great, with this cast of men of a certain age on big scary two wheeled monsters. Unfortunately it only pulls it off in places.

This gripping character study becomes more agonisingly suspenseful as it gets closer to an answer that can't be confirmed.

Sam Jackson delivers the electric blues in a not-so-blue movie that promises more Deep South sin than it actually delivers.

Very, very low-brow.

There's so much story here that the characters don't have quite enough room to breathe, but it's still a fascinating look at a time, and a man, worth remembering.

Wrongly branded misogynist by PC kneejerkers, this is a scathing assault on the exploitative nature of pornography and the emptiness of sex without love.

Cold and cerebral, with simmering suspense rather than outright excitement, this is a feel-the-quality-of-the-acting movie. It can’t answer all sorts of questions, but does take a scary mug shot of a subtle monster.

A thoroughly pleasing family film with fine performances and honest, affecting real situations mixed with joyful adventure.

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

A slyly subversive insight into the role of women in the Israeli military, this is a surprisingly compassionate satire that makes its political points without resorting to caricature.

Music And Lyrics never really finds its tone. Fans of Barrymore and Grant are likely to enjoy their pleasing ramblings, and the modern-day, down-to-earth courtship is handled well. But this is unlikely to go down as either actor’s finest hour.

Far from an easy watch, either in terms of its hard-hitting content, seemingly haphazard structuring or its dense symbolism. But this makes sense of the political intricacies by balancing the rhetoric and statistics with everyday occurrences that give the iniquities and inadequacies a human face.

Gong Li is welcome as Hannibal's Japanese aunt-in-law/mentor, Gaspard Ulliel isn't a bad young Lecter and Webber's direction is intermittently classy -- but this is a footnote rather than a film.

Stereotype-based comedy from Eddie Murphy in a variety of fat suits is just not enough to make a decent film.

A film with a fishing metaphor for a title should have come with sharper hooks.

It suffers from ADD, but there's some terrific stuff in here. Leaving 15 minutes from the end and saving yourself a lumbering coda may improve enjoyment.

Decidely average teen drama but with a few decent dance numbers.

Shrek this ain't. A lacklustre effort hampered by limp dialogue and lazy plotting.

Despite solid work from the engaging cast, there’s nothing new here to distinguish Freedom Writers.

Pitched awkwardly -- neither for children nor cool young adults -- it's very sweet, very nice and just the thing for a girlie matinée with mum and nan.

Dark, twisted and beautiful, this entwines fairy-tale fantasy with war-movie horror to startling effect.

The odd conclusion renders it somewhat oblique, but Perfume is a feast for the senses.

A brave bid to recreate a modern American tragedy, with a revelatory turn by its lead actress.

A typically engaging performance from Johnny Lee Miller takes this slightly above the usual underdog movie cliche.

It may lack subtlety, but everything is beautifully designed and photographed, Watling and Tosar are superb and it's undeniably great fun.

Intelligent, classy and skin-crawling. You won't see a better acting masterclass this year.

Bad film fans will think Christmas has come early, everyone else should ask for the receipt.

A visually stunning Swiftian satire, Children Of Men may appear clumsy, but its message is simple, heartfelt and ultimately rather moving.

Well-crafted and well-acted, but ever-so-slightly worthy and strangely unaffecting. Given the track record of the CIA, it probably ought to be angrier.

This energetically charmless 'family' fantasy lies there dead on screen, occasionally twitching at a funny line.

A screen-acting showcase by a man whose best days, many thought, were behind him. There's life in the old dog yet.

Imagine "The Lion In Winter" set at a Kylie gig. You can have too much of a good thing, but it is a good thing.