ON CIRCUIT
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible,
No Good, Very Bad Day: Pleasant, fairly inoffensive, slapstick family fare that is instantly forgettable. ★★★ WP
A Most Wanted Man: Phillip Seymour Hoffman’s character study of loneliness is set in the world of modern-day spycraft and the rendition of spies to the tender mercies of the US war on terror.
★★★★ TS Annabelle: In this prequel and spin-off to
The Conjuring, fans are informed of the origins of the infamous demonic doll, which unleashed terror in the life of John and Mia Form. While the director does a commendable job creating an ambience of fear, and actress Annabelle Wallis is forceful in her role, the storyline seems rather half-baked as it glosses over the allimportant cult angle. ★★★ DT A Walk Among the Tombstones: Liam Neeson pulls off anti-hero with conscience in a suspenseful 1999 period piece action
thriller. ★★★★ TS
Blood Ties: 70s crime drama which concentrates on the complicated relationship between a straight-laced cop brother played by Billy Crudup and his charismatic but violent criminal older brother played by Clive Owen. ★★★ TS
Concerning Violence: Using Frantz Fanon’s Wretched of the Earth as a basis, this documentary interrogates the idea of violence as a tool of the revolutionary.
★★★★ TS Dumb and Dumber To: Jim Carey and Jeff Daniels reunite two decades later for another road trip full of crude gags and
scatalogical humour. Stupid doesn’t even begin to describe this. ★ PE
Fed Up: As compelling as it is troubling, this documentary about the US food industry will outrage the viewer, but it is very much aimed at the US market. Intriguing, but hardly groundbreaking.
★★★ WP
God Help the Girl: Cynics might find this twee, but it mostly works because of the talented cast and sweet charm. ★★★ HR
Gone Girl: Ben Affleck plays a husband who is accused of murdering his famous wife Amy (Rosamund Pike). A dark, twisted, psychologically beguiling offering, this movie is skilfully threaded with an identifiable sense of realism.
★★★ DT Interstellar: Star-laden in more ways than one, this is a film of huge ideas, directed by Christopher Nolan with characteristic big feel, aided by Hoyte van Hoytema’s
awe-inspiring cinematography. ★★★ TS
Le Nozze di Figaro: The New York Metropolitan presents the opera The
Marriage of Figaro, directed by Richard Eyre, conducted by James Levine and starring bass-baritone Ildar Abrazakov as Figaro. ★★★★★ PB
Love is All You Need: Danish director Susanne Bier teases warm performances out of Pierce Brosnan and Trine Dyrholm in a picturesque Italian setting, redeeming the fluffy storyline. ★★★ WP
Magic in the Moonlight: Woody Allen directs a period drama set on the Côte d’Azur in the 1920s. Gorgeous to look at, but fails in both rom and com stakes. Colin Firth makes an excellent arrogant old guy though. ★★★ TS
No Good Deed: Taraji P Henson and Idris Elba in a clichéd home invasion thriller.
★★ TS Tarzan 3D: Creepy CGI animation with a patchy plot and little characterisation turns Edgar Rice Burroughs’ creation into an eco-warrior in a loincloth. ★★ TS Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Cheesy, fun reboot if you don’t take it seriously, clichéd, plot light and dull if you take it
seriously. ★★★ TS The 100-year-old man who climbed through a window and disappeared: Quirky, slightly absurd, darkly funny Swedish film about going with the flow, centred around a very ordinary guy. Sort of the Scandinavian version of Forrest
Gump. ★★★★ TS The Dolphin Tale 2: Just as sweet and amiable as the first film, this sequel is an old-fashioned drama for the whole family.
★★★ WP The Drop: Director Michaël R Roskam turns Dennis Lehane’s short story Animal
Rescue into a character study of a crime drama, with excellent performances from Tom Hardy, James Gandolfini, Noomi Rapace and Matthias Schoenaerts.
★★★★ TS The Equalizer: Director Antoine Fuqua goes for stylish violence over dramatic characterisation. No matter how hard Denzil Washington tries, he can’t quite detract from all that brutality. ★★ TS
The Good Lie: Director Philippe Falardeau’s follow-up to his Oscar
nominated Monsieur Lazhar focuses on
Sudanese refugees seeking a new life in America. Stars Arnold Oceng and Reese Witherspoon. ★★★ HR The Grand Seduction: Brendon Gleeson leads a fishing community trying to lure a big city doctor to come and work in the sticks. Sweet and beautifully filmed.
★★★ TS The Hundred Foot Journey: Lasse Hallström directs Helen Mirren in a predictable feel-good dramedy. ★★★ HR The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1: Laying the foundation for what promises to be an action-fuelled second part, director Francis Lawrence invests in more emotional context this time in this cleverly-penned uprising against the
Capitol. ★★★ DT The Immigrant: Bleakly plotted but gorgeously filmed, this period drama gives us the dingy side of the American Dream, set in New York 1912. ★★★★ TS
The Maze Runner: Post-apocalyptic sci-fi
with teenagers in a Lord of the Flies situation, but surrounded by a concrete maze rather than the deep blue sea. By the time the storyline implodes, you are vested in the well-acted characters and solid action sequences. ★★★ TS
The Prince: Bruce Willis, Jason Patric and John Cusack in a film about a retired assassin who has to get back in the game when his daughter is kidnapped. Taken
this is not. ★★ HR
The Signal: Beautifully executed, but this sci-fi headscratcher about three hackers stumbling their way cross-country doesn’t quite satisfy in the end, though the journey is intriguing. ★★★ HR
What If: Daniel Radcliffe manages to make us forget for a while the small boy with the specs, white owl and magical wand in this sweet, slightly zany romcom, because the chemistry between him and Zoe Kazan, as two awkward introverts, is believable. ★★★ WP When the Game Stands Tall: Christian-friendly football movie about how a team handles losing after an incredible winning streak. Threadbare clichéd inspirational messages vie with solid sports sequences.
★★ WP