ALSO SHOWING

A SILENT VOICE (M)

ANIME fans who made the sublime Your Name such a resounding hit in Australian cinemas late last year should be making tracks to catch A Silent Voice ASAP. A box-office record-breaker at home in Japan, this moving and emotionally astute teen drama is every bit as strong as Your Name, albeit in subtly different ways.

GHOST IN THE SHELL (M)

Devotees of all things Ghost in the Shell can rest easy: this big-budget mainstream take on your favourite cyberpunk saga does not let the team down in any way that can’t be somehow forgiven. Not only has the movie been made with a respectful regard for the many source materials that have inspired it (particularly the iconic 1995 animated screen debut of the franchise); it also harnesses an ambitious creative vision that makes it a worthy addition to the wider canon in its own right.

THE LEGO BATMAN MOVIE (PG)

The Caped Crusader is back in Lego form, and as awesome as ever. Kids will love the fun, adults the sophisticated satirical rush given off by this entire experience. This Batman is living a dual existence — superhero by day, recluse by night. To add to his misery, attention is being drawn to the fact crime rates have never fallen but costumed criminals are on the rise.

THE BOSS BABY (PG)

Despite the casting of Alec Baldwin as the voice of a conniving, corporate infant in this animated comedy, a relatively ambitious plot involving a secret organisation run by babies gets left by the wayside.

BEAUTY AND THE BEAST (PG)

This lavish live-action remake of Disney’s 1991 animated classic does not disappoint in any way, but it’s not quite able to outshine the original. Thankfully the plotting does not deviate too much from that gem and there’s a great supporting cast of the old favourites including Mrs Potts, Lumiere and Cogsworth.

LIFE (MA15+)

If you dig the sight of an angry, ugly and hungry extraterrestrial organism sneaking aboard a spacecraft to play a game of hide-and-seek-and-eat, this is for you. A good effort from all the cast ensures this is very watchable, and keeps things credible.

KONG: SKULL ISLAND (M)

A triumphant return of everybody’s favourite oversized monkey, who goes ape on a remote island where nature has taken a radical detour from the norm. The year is 1973 and a shady black-ops analyst takes a team to the remote chunk of land, along with patriotic nutter Preston Packard (Samuel L Jackson) and his elite unit of fighters.