At the movies
The Age of Adaline: Blake Lively gives a poised and mature performance in this film about the travails of a woman sentenced to immortality without the possibility of crow’s feet or a wobbly neck. ★★★
Avengers Age of Ultron: In the latest, increasingly confusing chapter of the Marvel- verse, Iron Man/ Tony Stark ( Robert Downey Jr.) accidentally creates an artificial intelligence ( voiced by James Spader) that wants to wipe out humanity. ★★★
Chappie: The latest from South Africa’s Neill Blomkamp ( District 9) features a grab- bag of AI and sci- fi elements that never quite mesh. In near- future Johannesburg, a robot police officer is given self- awareness and then falls in with a gang of criminals. Blade Runner meets Short Circuit, but not as good as either. ★★ ½
Cinderella: This frightfully earnest affair retells the 65- year- old Disney animated classic in live- action, with Lily James as the title character and Richard Madden as the charming prince. What it lacks in ironic winking it more than makes up for in twinkling and sparkling. ★★★ ½
Danny Collins: An aging rock star, Danny Collins ( Al Pacino), is thrown into a crisis when a longlost letter to him from John Lennon surfaces. Entertaining performances by Pacino and co- star Christopher Plummer. ★★★
The Divergent Series Insurgent: The second chapter in the Divergent trilogy opens with a bang and closes with a belief- beggaring revelation that nonetheless sets up the sequel. In between, Tris ( Shailene Woodley) must navigate young love and the five factions in a future dystopia. ★★★
Ex Machina: Writer- director Alex Garland has created what may be the best android anecdote since Blade Runner. A computer programmer ( Domhnall Gleeson) must decide whether a newly created robot ( Alicia Vikander) is selfaware. ★★★★★
Far From the Madding Crowd: Film adaptations have a way of flattening the subtleties of character in Victorian and Edwardian novels. This version of Thomas Hardy’s story of a woman considering three suitors is no exception. ★★★
Focus: Writers and directors John Requa and Glenn Ficarra deliver an oddly sedate con movie that offers a decent payoff, mostly thanks to the chemistry between stars Will Smith and Margot Robbie. ★★★ ½
Furious 7: The film commits its fair share of cinematic crimes. There’s its blatant disregard for the laws of physics, its rebuke of narrative logic and its criminal underuse of The Rock. Yet it’s incapable of being indictable: It’s pure popcorn escapism, brashly dumb and knowing at the same time. ★★★★
Get Hard: The Will Ferrell- Kevin Hart comedy aims for biting satire but falls short when it tips over from making fun of people. There just isn’t a lot of funny here. And it’s consistently ridiculous enough to be funny more often than not. ★★★
Glen Campbell I’ll be Me: This documentary chronicles Glen Campbell’s final tour while recording his decline as Alzheimer’s takes hold. The singer and his family use humour and candour to cope with the cruel diagnosis. ★★★★
Good Kill: There’s plenty of politics wrapped up in this story of drone pilot Tom Egan ( Ethan Hawke) being slowly torn apart by his missions. The film is at times almost purely intellectual. ★★★ ½
Going Clear Scientology and the Prison of Belief: Director Alex Gibney adapts Lawrence Wright’s book about the history of Scientology and some of its high- profile former adherents. A terrifying takedown. ★★★ ½
Home: Base on Adam Rex’s The True Meaning of Smekday — though not nearly as edgy — Home follows a bumbling alien invader ( Jim Parsons) who teams up with a human girl named Gratuity — Tip for short, and voiced by Rihanna — after Earth is invaded. Should be fun for kids. ★★★
Hot Pursuit: Reese Witherspoon is 5- foot- 1. Sofia Vergara is 42 ( years) and 32 inches ( F cup). This is the source of 90 per cent of the humour in Hot Pursuit. Witherspoon plays a cop so tightly coiled that if you tapped her on the shoulder she’d ring like a bell. What follows is a drab road movie. ★★
The Imitation Game: Benedict Cumberbatch stars as real- life mathematician Alan Turing, a genius who became instrumental in decrypting Nazi codes during the Second World War. This beautifully shot period piece explores Turing’s days at Bletchley. ★★★★
Industrial Soundtrack For The Urban Decay: This documentary looks at the origins of Industrial music. It winds through crumbling industrial cities of Europe before eventually ending in America’s thriving scene.
It Follows: This supremely effective horror from writer- director David Robert Mitchell sets up an effective and arresting premise — what if the D in STD stood for Demon? — then let the plot play out from there. ★★★★★
Jupiter Ascending: An embarrassment of riches quickly becomes a richness of embarrassment in this latest from the Wachowski siblings ( The Matrix). Mila Kunis is Jupiter Jones, who learns from an intergalactic mercenary ( Channing Tatum) that she’s the ruler of the Earth. ★★ ½
Lambert & Stamp: Bloated at two hours, with light commentary and a lack of original footage, this documentary on the managers behind The Who is too dry for any but the most diehard of fans. ★★
Mad Max Fury Road: Director George Miller’s fourth go at a Mad Max movie feels like an Iron Maiden album cover come to life. But it’s not nearly as quiet. . Fury Road is a two- hour car chase, but is a simple, satisfying story about humanity and redemption. ★★ ★ ★
Marinoni The Fire in the Frame: Documentary about Montreal’s legendary bicycle builder Giuseppe Marinoni. A racer in his youth, he decides at age 75 to try for the onehour distance record in his age group. Not rated
McFarland: Kevin Costner is Jim White, a coach and teacher who’s facing the end of his line because of a history of angry outbursts. If it could have brought more broken in energy to its lead, McFarland could probably cross the line into inspiring ★★ ½
Monkey Kingdom: Tina Fey winningly narrates this Disneynature doc about a troop of monkeys in Sri Lanka. Sure there are dangers. But don’t worry: You can bring the kids without fear they’ll be overly traumatized by events. ★★★ ½
Paddington: Cuter than kittens and sweeter than honey, this mix of live- action and computer animation conjures all the magic you want from a kids’ movie, especially one based on the beloved character of Paddington Bear. ★★★ ½
Paul Blart Mall Cop 2: Kevin James returns as the titular Segway- riding mall cop. Now he needs a vacation and what better place than Las Vegas. ( not reviewed)
Pitch Perfect 2: Directed by Elizabeth Banks, Pitch Perfect 2 is one of those wholly unnecessary but worthy sequels. But the film plays to its cast’s comedic chops and is earnest in ensuring everyone has fun. ★★★
Poltergeist: In a refreshing and unusual turn of events, this sequel to the original Poltergeist, may actually exceed its memorable antecedent. David Lindsay- Abaire contributes contemporary flair to a familiar template, while ratcheting up the pacing. 4 stars ★★★★
Run All Night: The latest Liam Neeson action movie features the star as Jimmy Conlon, a former hit man now drinking too much, but who sobers up when his son is threatened. Ed Harris is great as Neeson’s former boss and nemesis. . ★★★
The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel: Four years after the first engaging if mild diversion about elderly Britons getting to know the real India comes this equally inoffensive sequel. Sonny ( Dev Patel) is looking to expand his hotel. ★ ★★ ½
The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water: The film begins in SpongeBob’s undersea home but then moves to the beach, where a pirate ( Antonio Banderas) has appropriated the recipe for a prized Bikini Bottom burger. ★
Still Alice: Julianne Moore stars as Alice Howland, a linguistics professor diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s disease in this poignant drama. Still Alice is more than a dramatization of a medical condition — it’s a study of love. 1/2 ★★★
Strange Magic: Want to know what’s on George Lucas’s iPod? That might be the only reason to check out this animated jukebox musical about faeries who fall in love in an enchanted wood. ★★
True Story: Jonah Hill plays Michael Finkel, fired from The New York Times for inaccuracies in a story. He befriends jailed, accused killer Christian Longo ( James Franco), who had pretended to be Finkel while on the run. ★★
Tomorrowland: In the future of Tomorrowland the world is in a sorry state: forests are scorched, cities are drowning, civilization lay in ruin. All we need to avert global catastrophe, Tomorrowland cheerfully and naively explains, is a can- do attitude and a bit of imagination. ★
Unfriended: The twist in this found- footage horror is the footage unfolds in real time as students confront what appears to be the ghost of a girl who killed herself after being bullied. ★★★★
While We’re Young: Writer/ director Noah Baumbach’s latest prosciuttothin slices of observation skewer the middle- aged with their ossified flaws, and the young who are busy making up new ones. ★★★★★
Woman in Gold: The film fails to tap into the potential richness of its source material, art plundered from Austrian Jews by the Nazis during the Second World War and its restitution. ★★