The farcical third act, wrapped up too neatly by director Lucia Aniello, softens the blows. More edges needed.

Tough, stylish, violent and studded with stars – but like so many of its American gangsters, Killing Them Softly doesn't quite get the job done.

This honest, if not funny, comedy is all about Celeste. If anyone can make you sympathise with affluent LA yuppies, Rashida Jones can.

It may skip so quickly through historic events that it can feel rushed and flimsy, but excellent performances elevate it to serious Oscar contender.

It offers a surreal slant on post-Fukushima Japan where aggression lurks in every scene - even the romantic ones between high-schooler Yuichi (Shôta Sometani) and his stalker classmate, Keiko (Fumi Nikaidô).

An intriguing tale of faith under pressure emerges, but it’s too slow and simple to truly convince.

Taking a weird swerve into rom-zom-com, the third [REC] shaky-horror ends up pulled apart by its own genre mutations.

A highly enjoyable slice of in-one-eye, out-the-other nonsense. It may coast on the charisma of its leads at times, and it’s hardly deep, but there’s a Friday night to be had.

The director paints a partisan picture, but offers an eloquent and effective challenge to orthodox eco-wisdom.

Mme C. is Carine Roitfeld, ex-editor of Vogue Paris and former stylist. She’s a maternal presence – her own son calls her a MILF. Which makes for fantastic access, if minimal drama.

Forceful and arresting, Ayer's follow-up to "Harsh Times" and "Street Kings" sees him confidently playing to his strengths.

Despite the candid vérité stylings, art-dance powerhouse Grace Jones remains a magnetic enigma in Sophie Fiennes’ docu-study.

Aja brings an exciting if less- than-watertight script to life with a minimum of fuss, plenty of flair and just a few eye-rolls.

The film flirts with near-offensive gags and attitudes, but there’s inventive use of forced perspective, even if the focus should be more on Diane changing hers.

A last, cheering hurrah from two dudes.

A solid if unexceptional sea movie whose brevity is welcome after the stodgy likes of "Midway." Hanks keeps the propellers churning.

Simply doesn't have the original's magic.

An intriguing insight into Lynch’s genius, intimately crafted and leaving you wanting more.

The stand-out, though, is Mikkel Boe Folsgaard as the King. Teetering on the edge of sanity, he is both detestable and sympathetic.

We’ve seen Stiller do ‘exasperated malcontent’ before, but this remains a perceptive portrait of fortysomething angst.

Rampage was always going to be the cinematic equivalent of junk food – enjoyable enough while consumed, but devoid of nourishment. When the homo sapiens are on screen, you can feel the film start to flatline but, against the odds, a computer-generated gorilla might just win you over.

Any attempt at Chariots of Fire-style emotional intensity is tanked, however, by Callum Turner’s unhelpfully laconic, low-key performance.

Pixar’s least essential franchise gets back on track with a polished but disposable threequel.

As much as Oygen pulls you along in the moment, it doesn’t leave you with anything that’ll particularly linger.

As terrific as Colman is, however, the film around her has a schematic and engineered quality not too dissimilar from Jones’ prized projectors.

Writer/director Trapero arguably crams too much into the film’s running time, but potent turns and Michael Nyman’s yearning score are among the compensations.

Jean-Pierre Léaud effortlessly summons up the iron ruler inside the failing man.

An attractive if conventional biopic of French underwater explorer Jacques Cousteau.

A solid if far-fetched thriller that still entertains, even as it goes off the rails.

The sheer volume of potential readings eventually stalls on reductive soundbites about a faithless generation, but the set-pieces sizzle with style.

Sharp social commentary and slick genre trappings make for thought-provoking entertainment, even if it never entirely hooks you.

Built around a multilayered performance from Duris, it's a film unafraid to pose more questions than it answers.

With its monochrome stylings and a plot laced with ennui, it might be the most French film ever made, but there’s no denying Garrel’s craft.

With the story fit to burst with an Ocean's trilogy worth of hustles, tricks and grifts (some of them smart, others groan-inducing), at least Robbie is the genuine article – sharing playful chemistry with Smith, but ultimately stealing the movie from right under his nose.

Bigger, bloodier, blunter. Ghostface goes all-in for the kills in a brash but broad requel-sequel, sharpened by Barrera/Ortega’s ace pairing.

The shadow of subsequent events looms oppressively large, but Greg Barker’s film still speaks eloquently for diplomacy and selfless public service.

The result is poetic but unfocused.

Slick and silly action sequences garner Fight or Flight well-earned John Wick and Bullet train comparisons, while Josh Hartnett proves himself a worthy action hero on this, at times, bumpy flight path.

Careful, kids – rock’n’roll can get you pregnant. Or that’s what one Mormon teen believes in this cute lo-fi indie from first-timer Rebecca Thomas.

Adapting from Rumaan Alam’s bestseller, writer/director Esmail (creator of TV’s tech-conspiracy drama Mr Robot) paints a scarily plausible picture of how fast chaos and conflict erupt when our computer-reliant systems suddenly start to fail. But his endlessly bickering characters ultimately stop us caring whether their world ends with a bang or with a whimper.

“I’m always going to be inside your head,” growls Crowe. Maybe not, but this fast, brutal chase-fest is trashy fun while it lasts.

Like an arthouse Ghost, this is bold, original filmmaking with a pervasive sense of amused detachment.

John Cena’s a joy to watch, but Paul Feig’s latest isn’t quite on the money.

Sometimes fun, sometimes flatly awkward.

George Miller combines myth, magic, and romance to mixed effect in a visually dazzling adult fairytale starring a committed Swinton and Elba.

The culture clash comedy cleaves to predictability but the story’s specificity sustains its perceptive look at the human impact of post-9/11 jingoism.

A sombre crimer that resists easy thrills, investing instead in grit, intelligence and complex characterisation.

Haggis struggles to make his presence felt over ludicrous thrills, but Crowe is superb and the entertainment factor high.

The film falters mostly with its disappointingly one-note female characters ... It’s a shame, for Reminiscence has some impressive ingredients floating around in its murky mix.

By the beard of Zeus! Brett Ratner delivers fast, fun thrills to score a sound victory over Renny Harlin’s laborious The Legend Of Hercules.

This muted procedural promises more than it can deliver.

It takes real talent to make something so studied feel this soufflé-light, especially in the Hatchers’ charming naturalism. Trouble is, Bujalski is too successful – in the end, everything is left hanging.

There are thrills and feels but this reimagination of the delightful animation doesn’t take flight often enough.

The doc-flavoured approach lends both urgency and tedium, while the blend of miniatures, stop-motion and CGI references the various looks of his 63-year history.

Just as daft as it sounds but not half as bad, this Alpine splatter-fest works surprisingly well thanks to the old-school FX, the creative death scenes, and a vein of self-awareness that never gets too smug.

Too long and with too many characters to get through, Mother's Day holds effective sequences, ramming home its (recycled) message: the animal lurks in us all.

The script is straightforward enough, but Lights Out director David F. Sandberg’s careful visuals emphasise shivery mood for something worthy of the Conjuring label.

A spirited and likeable Christmas musical that boasts terrific songs and looks the part, Jingle Jangle covers a threadbare story with just enough tinsel.

A patchy biopic that only thrills when Gordon-Levitt finally steps out onto the wire. Still, for all the 3D showboating, it’s a touching tribute to the Twin Towers.

What Fantastic Beasts lacks in wonderment it almost makes up for in scares and subtext.

This is 007 in mid-story crisis; a festival of blaring action set-pieces propping up a scrappy script and undercooked characters.

Neatly juxtaposes the beauty of the landscape with the enmities it engenders.

Overlong, but Momoa’s charisma, plus first-class fishy FX, keep it afloat.

It’s a big old mess of a movie, in other words: flawed and (sometimes) fun.

Though stronger in its more straightforward first half than in its experimental and hallucinatory second, 28 Years… still provides enough terror, splatter and suspense to satisfy.

Tasked with brokering a peace between event-sized thrills, gaming lore and high fantasy, Jones embraces Warcraft’s world with laudable commitment: but when it comes to charging it with life, sheer bulk gets the better of him.

The sci-fi settings – dystopian grit-scape, rainbow-coloured cosmos – are dazzlers; the satire is playful not snarky; and as you’d expect, several unexpected cameos. It doesn’t sweat too hard to appease both kids and adults – the latter’s pain much felt in a scene you might describe as product mis-placement.

Grindhouse with giggles, this potboiler parody offers just enough to avoid being a curio – not least Ferrell at his straight-faced best. Arriba!

The final act loses its way, but in the main West wraps his slasher trilogy in satisfying style, putting a blood-soaked, Hollywood-branded bow on his eras-spanning saga.

Murphy consolidates his comeback with an engaging performance in an often thrilling thriller. Metro mixes high-quality stunts and slick dialogue with enough menace to keep the audience nibbling its cuticles until the closing credits. Welcome back, Edward.

It’s a sensitive, sweet, frequently heartbreaking trip through deeply personal history, but there’s no getting round the fact that Gray had what most might consider a fairly typical childhood.

While bemoaning how tough life has become in the made-up Palmera City, Jaime’s sister Milagro (Belissa Escobedo) remarks that "progress is not for us!" In a genre increasingly subsumed by numbing bombast, Blue Beetle’s abundance of personality might just be progress enough.

Godzilla: King Of The Monsters improves on its predecessor in terms of the kaiju carnage, but still can’t quite make you care about the humans underfoot.

A bright, breezy Irish monster mash boasting gorgeous cinematography, appealing performances and great SFX, even if it’s a little slight for can’t-miss status.

Handsome, risk-taking Netflix remake sacrifices suspense for sweeping sadness.

The sticking point for some will be the bone-crunching violence, of which there’s A LOT. But if you can stomach that, then this ticks that dumb-fun summer-movie box nicely.

It’s let down by some erratic, repetitive plotting.

Despite the well-honed wizarding credentials of Yates and co-scripters Steve Kloves and Rowling, the series still can’t seem to settle on a hero. Let’s hope that the prospective next two helpings can unravel whether it’s Newt’s beast-fuelled journey or Dumbledore’s quest with which we’re hitching a ride.

It’s no "Drive," and even hardcore fans will struggle to love a film that’s as mad as a bag of prawn crackers, but as an exercise in style, it has many moments to savour.

A curious hybrid of grim fairytale and gory horror, del Toro’s ninth feature is striking but sorely lacking in surprises. Great ghosts, but del Toro is capable of so much more.

Russell follows "The Fighter" with a softer, soapier family dysfunction drama, lightly comic enough to make for palatable Friday-night viewing. As its nutty lovebirds, Cooper and Lawrence save Playbook from the director's surprisingly mundane impulses.

While it paints a convincing vision of lives ruled and ruined by the bottle, none of this makes for compelling viewing. Certainly not an hour-and-a-half of it.

Keep The Lights On feels lopsided in its focus on Erik, with Paul remaining a strangely remote object of the former's romantic devotion.

Ambitiously staged and impressively shot, Monsters: Dark Continent makes a bold stab at mounting a franchise but lacks the vision and surprise of its predecessor.

Lie Laas' furrowed lead and Nørgaard's taut orchestration of flashback-pumped plotting help flesh out old clichés – at least until the climax takes a glum turn for the overwrought.

Berry and Wahlberg’s engaging dynamic elevates this nonsensical action caper. Forgettable fun.

All right, it's not up there with "Bridesmaids" but, thanks to a game Graynor (here channelling a young Bette Midler), a revolving door of cameos and some gloriously smutty pillow talk, For A Good Time delivers, yes, exactly that.

An exploitation movie that, paradoxically, exhibits too much good taste. Still, expect “Saws all!” to become a 2018 catchphrase.

It’s impossible to hate a film where the cast is so game, but you may struggle to remember it the morning after.

Following the buddy-cop handbook to the letter, The Heat is derivative stuff, but McCarthy gives it the kick it needs to keep rolling along.

Where Elmo proved to be spiky Kevin Clash’s alter-ego, this sweet if superfluous doc shows that Spinney is Big Bird, a tireless performer who refuses to retire.

If Miyazaki Jr elevates the material, it’s through style. Dripping with watercolour warmth, the rapturous images convey how a country’s efforts to right itself resonate with the young.

Favoring charisma over character, this action-espionage thriller hangs lots of action – some solid, some ace – on a threadbare plot.

Despite leaving its love affair on the launch pad, this sassy NASA romcom fulfils its mission to entertain.

Typified by Penn's blustery performance, Gangster Squad is sleek, stylish but superficial. Easy on the eye, even easier on the brain, it doesn't last long in the memory.

Love Eurovision? You'll love this. Never heard of Eurovision? You may find it all bewildering.

Despite the leads’ chemistry, Carmen doesn’t manage to turn these sparks of brilliance into something bigger. The focus on dance over dialogue doesn't help a meandering plot that never feels like it’s getting anywhere. And while the Mexican/US border offers ripe context for political discourse, the script only scratches the thematic surface.

Andy’s favourite sci-fi movie won’t be yours. But it’s a fun adventure with animation that sucks your eyeballs from their sockets.