A colourful and stylish romp, for sure, but a feeling of restlessness sets in long before the series of false endings that finally bring it to a close. Time passes, things happen, but nobody emerges very much wiser.

A rollicking cat-and-mouse thriller in bad weather. And no dog.

The psychological study that is the author's trademark is reduced to superficial and negative motivation - lust, guilt, revenge, escape.

An arch mix of police procedural and supernatural chiller, this is bleak, edgy, sometimes silly stuff.

Maddin's surrealism is always gently persuasive rather than all-out shocking. Nobody else is doing anything remotely like this; reason enough to treasure it.

Amid a cacophony of cack-handed hijacks of Irish politics for Hollywood gain, Jim Sheridan's clear, intelligent directorial voice once again hits the strident notes of realism.

Proceedings are further distinguished by Christie who is simply outstanding in a fiercely demanding role. It's an utterly absorbing performance and the keystone of a film which could, with some justification, be labelled a small masterpiece.

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.

The net result is difficult and demanding viewing yet strangely thrilling.

Nielsen's performance is truly dreadful, yet somehow it seems strangely fitting for the movie, which is unlikely even to engage the younger audience for whom it is so obviously intended. When even the outtakes you see over the end titles don't raise a single titter, you know you're in trouble.

Fast, funny, very British and less militaristic than, say, The Peacemaker. On this evidence, we may be forced to say, Carry on, Bond.

Lane as the greedy schemer and the timid, gangly Evans make a good slapstick team, with great support from a cast of larger-than-life characters including Walken as the exterminator who approaches his task with military precision and outrageous hardware.

Nothing can make an agnostic squirm like full-on religion but by loading his central character with lay weaknesses as well as spiritual strengths, Duvall invests the near-documentary style film with an everyman appeal.

Unnervingly, it is both hilariously funny and quite disturbing, with Allen's neuroses and fixations manifested in some shocking ugliness and intimately personal revelations we'd rather not have seen confirmed.

Spielberg has mounted a courtroom drama to rival the finest Grisham, with a coruscating civil rights debate resonating both within the film and into the present as the audience knows it.

Manages to be a charming little movie, nothing to write home about but a perfectly acceptable way to while away a rainy Sunday afternoon with the child, or children, in your life.

Midnight is a mildly engaging hotchpotch of disparate ideas - courtroom drama, small town expos and witchcraft-infected magicking - but a far cry from Eastwood's best.

It's just so unremarkable. Which, considering its director's monumental output (both good and bad) is, frankly, a bit depressing.

It would miss the point to complain that the plot is nonsensical drivel peopled by paper-thin characters and a paucity of ideas.

It's a good job this works so well as a machine-made movie, because its grasp of political realities is nebulous.

For another, this film is that still shamefully rare pleasure, an absorbing ensemble piece in which a fine group of actors get to show their class and range, playing a black American family who are prosperous, cultured and complex.

Yet in trying to be honest and non-conformist, Mad City does the most dishonest thing imaginable: it conforms to Hollywood routine.

Whatever you want to call Sick, it's anything but a piece of exploitative voyeurism, by turns sombre, hilarious, wince-inducing and inspiring.

In the absence of any genuine emotional wallop, it is the directorial pizzazz that pulls you through. Just about.

It's a great set-up but sadly the plot unfolds slowly and with little action, playing like a short story.

Proves that nouveau horror is alive and kicking hard.

As horribly funny as it is depressing, it gets pretty hard to take after a while, especially for anyone who is a committed cat-lover. A melancholy edge of deliberate poetry mutes the ugly realism but also serves to make bearable what might otherwise be an hour-and-a-half of hell.

The ensemble acting is so strong the characters are likeable without being annoying, and aside from the odd corny line which serves as a reminder of the movie's stupidity, if taken at face value it becomes a fair enough yarn with bundles of energy.