THE BIG SCREEN
PATRIOTS DAY (15)
On April 15, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev (Alex Wolff) and his brother Tamerlan (Themo Melikidze) head into Boston with homemade bombs concealed in rucksacks. They drop the bags and move to safety before detonating the devices in quick succession near the finish line. Hundreds of people are injured in the blasts. Director Peter Berg’s bombastic approach to action sequences sets our pulses racing and he effortlessly holds us in a vice-like grip for more than two hours.
A CURE FOR WELLNESS (18)
Ambitious executive Lockhart (Dane DeHaan) gains rapid promotion when a colleague suffers a fatal heart attack. Senior staff reveal CEO Roland Pembroke (Harry Groener) has disappeared to an Alpine spa at a crucial juncture in a business deal. They need Lockhart to bring Pembroke back to sign off a hugely profitable merger. A Cure For Wellness is a fantastical yarn that promises far more than it delivers.
WITHIN (15)**
John Alexander (Michael Vartan) and his wife Melanie (Nadine Velazquez) move into a new home with their truculent daughter, Hannah (Erin Moriarty), who is less than thrilled about relocating during her senior year. Her only allies are the family cat and a kindly neighbour called Mrs Fletcher (JoBeth Williams). Within unfolds predictably, without a smouldering ember of dramatic tension.
JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 2 (15)
John Wick: Chapter 2 takes the bruising fisticuffs of the original to the next level, replete with a dizzying showdown in a hall of mirrors reminiscent of the 1974 Bond classic, The Man With The Golden Gun.
THE GREAT WALL (12A)
The Great Wall is an exceedingly expensive and glossy B-Movie, elevated to entertaining hokum by directorial brio and solid performances from the international cast.
HIDDEN FIGURES (PG)
This fact-based tale about African American women working at Nasa in the early years of the space programme stars Octavia Spencer, who does scene-stealing work as a would-be supervisor who intends to move with the times, not be held back by them.
THE FOUNDER (12A)
The Founder pivots around Michael Keaton, who stares unflinchingly into the camera for scenes that bookend the film, willing us to believe his patter. It’s a bravura portrayal of the deeply flawed McDonald’s mastermind, who put profit before personal relationships.