As in director Alexandre Aja’s Horns, the action alternates reality/fantasy to middling effect.

A fun if sporadically schizoid return to one of the brighter, brasher comic-bookers of recent years.

Francesca Gregorini’s film stands or falls on a central mystery as silly as it is surreal. Fair play to Gregorini, though, for avoiding the temptation to deliver an outré slice of suburban Gothic; by framing events as melodrama, she can better examine themes of grief and motherhood.

While it offers spectacular CGI devastation and a chiselled hero, Pompeii is so soulless and empty that you won’t shed any tears when the ‘cano blows its top.

Classy work from director and cast, but an anti-climactic second half doesn’t quite knit together the incident and intrigue.

As sci-fi, it feels like a professionally produced hybrid that lacks its own identity. As a romance, it never fully earns your investment.

Rob Lowe provides colour as a Southern-accented sleazeball, while the Free Willy finale has enough vehicular mayhem to excuse its dodgy FX.

Like its title character, Chappie is stunning to behold and easy to like, but it’s still some way from fully developed.

Perfectly respectable, but it won’t linger in the memory like Luhrmann’s.

There’s creepy dolls, cameras tipped on their side, blasts of white noise and a horny teenage Scooby gang helping Jared Harris’ Oxford prof stir up a poltergeist in the mind of a moody emo girl (Olivia Cooke).

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.

Even the film’s key source of charm, its heartfelt allegory about tolerance, becomes a flaw when rare flashes of anarchy (notably a tribe of crazed rodents) are eclipsed by over earnestness.

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.

Aside from the usual self-slamming doors and flying bodies, there are enough creepy kids and hiding knives to distract from a plot that's increasingly mobile yet running on the spot.

The result? Not so much "World War Z" as World War Zzzz.

This voiceover is one of many perplexing elements in this ridiculously pumped-up military recruitment video, which intersperses brilliant and immersive combat scenes with excruciating comradely banter.

It’s not funny or inspirational, just loud and trite.

Looser, more conventional, and highly dependent on the enjoyably rambling bro-banter of NickKurtDale Inc, Horrible Bosses 2 is a mostly-cosy caper that gives off rather less blackly comic energy than its predecessor.

“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.

Cue 105 painful minutes of a fat guy getting punched in the face and falling down.

Starts off flavourful, turns rather bland. This Injustice League jaunt proves that DC is still a long way behind Marvel for on-screen action.

The first Meg never pretended to be anything more than a shamelessly imitative, big-fish smackdown. Yet even that low bar proves too high for this listless, mechanical follow-up.

Much mellowing and life-learning ensues in a plodding dramedy, though the glint in MacLaine’s eyes makes it almost worth your while. Almost.

Aiming straight for mounting dread, Parker gets the job done aggressively.

A fun if by-the-numbers heist movie that brings the laughs, but doesn't stand out from the crowd.

“Prepare for Gar-mageddon!” Or worse: more Smurfs films.

"Poltergeist" goes "Back To The Future" with only passable results in a film whose activity is more par for the course than paranormal.

Fans will find just enough heart-swelling moments involving friendships and family to enjoy one last group hug.

Both visually and in the action stakes, Jupiter Ascending could give pretty much any space movie a run for its money.

An unfathomably airless B-movie that betrays its USP by spreading the thrills too thinly. You can see why Stallone had second thoughts.

The cast commit, but The 355 is no lucky number for Kinberg, who only delivers diminished returns on spy-thriller genre conventions.

That a formula as well-trodden as Saw’s can still surprise, delight, and make you feel like you need a quick shower after is impressive.

Despite some appealing lensing and an edgier tone than a lot of Christian dramas (nudity, swearing, and in one memorable moment, self-cannibalism), this is a movie with zero subtext and even less subtlety.

Origins is an accomplished slice of comic-book entertainment, full of fights and action set-pieces impressive for a director touching big budget for the first time.

The final showdown whisks up the requisite excitement, but the open-ended coda feels like an optimistic throw of the dice from the franchise showing meagre signs of Harry Potter longevity.

It’s a smart gen-gap tale with loveable characters.

It’s unashamedly broad, sentimental and clichéd, but Cox anchors proceedings with wit and tenderness, while Smith (who can act and shoot at the same time) adds wonder.

The cars are hot, the action is decent, but the characters and plot need a serious tune-up.

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

Fitful jolts aside, the devil trots out the old tunes wearily in this hoary and overcooked valentine to a horror classic.

Boasts sporadically electrifying visuals but a frustratingly messy mythology.

Giant brains with teeth, suburban mutant zombies, more bullets than a John Woo film festival, and hot girls in skin-tight S&M outfits pummelling each other to a deafening dubstep soundtrack. If you're looking for brainless, blood-guzzling carnage, you've found it.

A genuine disappointment, given the talent involved, and a rare misstep for Penn, who can’t save this moribund vanity project from flatlining.

A few lowbrow laughs… but far too many one-note characters, performances, and plot points to make them worth showing up for.

The pacing is spot-on, the set-pieces memorable and all the characters are allowed to shine, without it ever becoming The Johnny Depp Show.

Previously known as "Mariah Mundi And The Midas Box," the retitling came with the straight-to-DVD release – presumably to help hide it from fans of G.P. Taylor’s original book.

Little ones will love the bright action scenes, but the lack of wit and humanity that makes exec producer John Lasseter’s best work so special will leave grown-ups feeling frustratingly grounded.

A through-and-through weepie that's unlikely to convert any Sparks naysayers. The darker hues of its war-based story nonetheless make the sugary excesses easier to swallow.

Another enjoyable yet flawed addition to Disney’s live-action catalog, with stunning visuals that capture the magic of the original but ultimately fail to keep up the pace.

Fresh cast, fresh ideas and full-on action gives Taylor’s reboot momentum, even if an overloaded script threatens to topple it at times. Doesn’t touch Cameron’s two movies, of course.

Come for the technical innovations, stay for… hmm. Two Will Smiths for the price of one just ain’t worth it.

It takes more than two Avengers and the director of Fast & Furious 8 to make the MIB hip again.

Shipp Jr. thrills, but a busy script blurs too many nuances.

Pierce Brosnan, a long way from his Bond days, huffs and puffs his way through a boilerplate thriller that finds his ex-CIA hitman, Peter Devereaux, retired to a coffee shop in Switzerland.

A classy cast and Frears' light touch can't help this innocent abroad dramedy into the winner's enclosure. More jeopardy, less laboured larking, and it could've romped home.

True, Hendricks has fun with her role as a good girl with a bad streak, while Shauna Cross and Johnny Rosenthal’s script fires off a few zingers. But with Thornton surprisingly disengaged and the robbery plot formulaic, it’s a limp dick of a sequel.

Its attempt to cram in both origin story and follow-up adventure makes it a long haul for the target tinies.

Any comparisons with Chicken Run are rendered poultry by half-baked gags. Even tykes will tell it to get stuffed.

Can’t decide if it’s a broad farce or a poignant portrait. Small wonder then, that it falls short on both counts, failing to earn either Bridesmaids-sized laughs or nods of recognition.

Not quite as good as the original, but John Singleton's boyz-and-their-customised-hoods sequel won't disappoint. Settle back, hang on and smell that rubber.

Everything gets just too damn convoluted for its own good, and it’s hard to care what becomes of Haggis’ characters as they’re shifted around. Any one of the strands expanded alone might have worked better.

Reitman’s topical and melancholy drama is commendably ambitious. But its OTT plotting and alarmist tone make it a Reefer Madness for the Instagram generation.

Wanted director Timur Bekmambetov stresses spectacle over subtext – and, effectively, leaves the cast floundering fast.

In narrowing his film’s field of activity, director Colin Trevorrow dispiritingly winds up reducing it to the tried, the tested, and the numbingly familiar.

Impressively designed throughout, The Unbeatables also keeps the laughs kicking.

Polished but pedestrian, Hillbilly Elegy is a boilerplate underdog tale that lacks bite – but gives good Glenn Close.

The requisite training montage is half-decent, and the split-screen end credits replay Van Damme’s infamous dancing in the original, with Moussi mirroring his every bad move.

Unfunny, unthrilling and unsexy, this doesn’t even reach the low bar set by the source material.

Lopez takes admirable care of the story’s human elements, seizing opportunities to find emotion amid the weapons-grade pyrotechnics of the chaotic action sequences. But the effective (if minimal) world-building really just masks a thin plot, hammy characters, and the kind of questionable logic leaps you so often find in this sort of big, silly space movie.

Leaner, meaner, and far superior to 2010's Clash cock-up. From top-grade 3D to a multitude of monsters and a welcome influx of acting talent, this is pure popcorn pleasure.

Ultimately, it’s not as awful as "Wild Wild West." But we’ll hazard a guess that Pirates 5 can’t come quick enough for Bruckheimer or Depp.

Twists pile as high as corpses before an overcooked ending sends things spiraling into silliness.

C+ gags and D- supporting characters sabotage the final grade, but a perma-livid Cube is the star pupil and the brutal playground punch-up doesn’t disappoint.

Past an impressive siege opening, everything in this `thriller' is terrible: the action, the supposed tension, the dialogue and the plot. Every opportunity to make it good is missed.

The cast try hard and are rewarded with some zesty dialogue, but remain shackled to the girl-with-dead-dad-grows-up formula.

Star Trek: Section 31 doesn't know what it wants to be. Is it a serious exploration of the criminal underbelly, a camp throwback to the noughties, or a tonally off combination of the two? Whatever it is, it doesn't work half as well as it should.

The leads deliver to order in this flimsy but playful frolic. A tankful of banter keeps the engine ticking nicely.

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.

It’s handsomely lensed, and when Cage and Cusack finally go nose-to-nose, the fur does fly.

The boundless inventiveness Nintendo is known for never quite bleeds through as you would expect, especially as an adaptation of one of Mario's most beloved 3D platformers. The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, then, shoots for the stars and ultimately comes up just short.

Sophie Lellouche’s slick debut is chock-full of Woody-com quotes and references, yet it remains an inconsequential, undernourished trifle that does sod-all with its potential.

The action’s routine (as is the norm for this sub-genre) and the spy plot skimps on mystery and twists. But Bautista and Coleman maintain their winning rapport from the first film, and Schaal’s inappropriate comments never fail to amuse. It’s just about enough.

It’s no slam dunk for King James in a reprise that shows you can only spread Space Jam so far.

Fun enough, but not the lightning-bolt-to-the-heart update we hoped for. For a far superior update of the Frankenstein myth, read Stephen King’s Revival.

Jones and Oldman are on autopilot, while Costner grizzles like a sore-headed bear. Only Gal Gadot, as Reynolds’ widow, has any cred in this utter pap.

As Peter Pan should be one of the ultimate wish-fulfilment heroes for kids, it’s baffling to see how he’s been appropriated for such an awfully middling adventure.

The kids are charmless, the writing is bland, and the embarrassing jokes sound like nails down a blackboard.

Valiant, but flawed. Some of the set-pieces are superb, but there isn’t enough meat on the bones to turn this into a classic.

Gormican’s script is the film’s big strength; the dialogue fizzes while the set-pieces pay off handsomely.

Justin Timberlake and Ben Affleck give their best poker faces but ultimately fail to convince you to gamble your cash away on this limp, unoriginal story of a man out of his depth.

If you can ignore the disturbing parallels with recent events, this middle-aged, Middle-American "Attack The Block" raises a laugh.

Disappointingly limp, with precious few belly laughs, despite a try-hard attitude.

While it may prove a good gateway horror for some, more experienced genre fans will likely wish it was a bit nastier.

With a wraparound narrative that never really strikes a balance between past and present, all that axe-flinging, ice-casting action makes a modest impact.

Rather than getting us on the ropes and landing some telling blows, Grudge Match keeps its distance and tosses meek jabs. Cheap sentimentality can’t disguise the crashing cynicism on display.

Vardalos does her best with her scenes as Toula, bringing some much-needed charm and emotional depth, while laughs are mostly driven by Andrea Martin’s Aunt Voula, who aptly introduces herself early on as "your favourite". But neither can save My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 from feeling like a pale imitation of what’s come before.

Fleischer made a better comedy-horror with Zombieland, but Venom’s a decent buddy actioner. You might even laugh your head off.

In the hands of director George Nolfi, what could have been a fascinating insight into street versus classical martial arts instead becomes a generic fight flick, with a script so heavy-handed it feels like it was bashed out with knuckle-dusters.