The whole madcap production is at best faintly amusing, at worst, painfully protracted

The road-crime movie is such a formula in Hollywood that almost every debuting director turns one out, but writer-director Matthew Bright rings the changes by modeling this white trash nightmare on Red Riding Hood.

A pleasant package then, easy on the eye, and gently charming but, like The Brothers McMullen, one which places Burns as a comfortable rather than cutting-edge moviemaker.

Shelton keeps the humour straight down the middle and, just like "Bull Durham" before it, uses the rituals and metaphors of sport to relate the complexities of love and relationships.

The rapid-fire editing and glossy photography can't disguise The Fan's hollowness or De Niro's phoned in performance. A disappointment.

Many will find Kansas City unbearable, because Leigh (with a mouth full of jagged teeth and a permanent snarl) and Richardson (who totters along in a druggy stupour), give brilliant performances as extremely unpleasant characters. Furthermore, the ending is a real slap-in-the-face downer. But if you can get past that, this is the real stuff.

Oddly enough, the film scores with Bowie's spellbinding take on the ageing Warhol. Without this comedic but beautiful performance and an offbeat soundtrack, this is little more than wet paint.

The formula for Robin Williams' childish stick wares dangerously thin this time out.

A monumentally misconceived sequel, Escape from L. A. is the huge, shonky blemish on the magnificent history of John Carpenter and Kurt Russell.

Coming from a novice director, the film is not as impressive as "Sense And Sensibility", but as a light-hearted and energetic comedy of who-loves-who? and small upsets, this works well - and it boasts Paltrow's star-making turn.

Matilda is a blackly comic, delightfully off-the-wall picture that both kids and adults will lap up.

Violent and sometimes shocking, this is nevertheless superbly acted, brilliantly shot piece.

Schumacher is never quite smart enough to keep the debate neutral, and the unrestrained hero worship at the close leaves a nasty taste.

Huge ghostly fun, and a fine achievement from the early days of CGI.

Only once dipping into huggy sentimentality, we are happily spared the run-of-the-mill best mates saga the premise threatens. Instead this is a deeper and wonderfully engrossing picture with characters easy to sympathise with

Both assuredly funny without being forced, and smart without being smug, this is one comedy that deserves to go forth and, indeed, multiply.

Like 2001, Star Wars and Jurassic Park, it ups the special effects stakes and gets closer to putting on screen the images you've had in your mind while reading epic sci-fi.

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

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.

Even one-scene characters are unforgettable, but Sayles really gets under the skin of his struggling-to-be-heroic leads, Sam and Pilar. Long after this summer's crop of action flicks is gone, you'll watch this for the third or fourth time and see fresh material. Outstanding.

A solid, enjoyable, beautifully animated Disney movie, but one not quite out of the top drawer.

Bertolucci fans of old may well sigh for the political passion that made his earlier work more powerful. But the grace, craft and real wit in this country house party make it his most seductive film in a very long while.

The mix of light comedy and really quite dark themes proved too much for many viewers, but this is worth a look for Broderick's performance and Carrey's obsessive touches.

Despite the pleasant feel and fun performance from Zane there's something missing from this superhero adventure.

No masterpiece, but a decent rental prospect. Twohy works the Sci-fi genre well yet again.

Sporadically funny, but never more than a sting of crude gags.

Enormous fun.

Even by the less-than-stressful standards of filmmaking for kids, this is disappointingly by-the-numbers effort.