A real crowd-pleaser

Zealots called the Second Salemers, led by Mary Lou Barebone (Samantha Morton) and her adopted son Credence (Ezra Miller), preach hell and damnation in 1926 New York, following a reign of terror perpetrated by dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald (Johnny Depp). Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) arrives in the Big Apple at the height of this paranoia, carrying an enchanted suitcase with hidden pocket-dimensions full of endangered critters. A No-Maj called Jacob Kowalski (Dan Fogler) accidentally picks up Newt's luggage and releases otherworldly species in breach of the Statute of Secrecy. Beasties go on the rampage and Newt attempts to recapture them aided by Jacob, a former Auror called Porpentina Goldstein (Katherine Waterston) and her mind-reading sister, Queenie (Alison Sudol). Percival Graves (Colin Farrell), Director of Magical Security, is convinced that Newt's illegally imported creatures are responsible for a brutal attack. He declares war on the fugitives in a city where dark forces are gathering. As origin stories go, Fantastic Beasts... is a crowd-pleasing doozy.

Rating: Four stars

YOUR NAME (12A)

Mitsuha (voiced by Mone Kamishiraishi) is a schoolgirl, who lives in the mountain town of Itomori with her grandmother Hitoha (Etsuko Ichihara) and younger sister, Yotsuha (Kanon Tani). The girls' father is mayor Toshiki (Masaki Terasoma) and they honour the gods by performing religious ceremonies in flowing robes at the family's Shinto temple, which cruel classmates watch with pitying sneers. Yotsuha ignores the taunts, but Mitsuha's teenage pride is bruised with each insult. Mitsuha yearns to escape her backwater life for the thrum of the city. She gets her wish when she is magically transported into the gangly frame of Tokyo schoolboy Taki (Ryunosuke Kamiki), who works part-time as a waiter and has a crush on fellow server Ms Okudera (Masami Nagasawa). Taki is simultaneously transported into Mitsuha's body and relies on her friends Tessie (Ryo Narita) and Sayaka (Aoi Yuki) to blend in. In their gender-swapped guises, the teenagers experience each other's worlds through inquisitive eyes. As Mitsuha and Taki criss-cross back and forth, seemingly never destined to meet, they leave notes on each other's mobile phones to keep track of their out-of-body exploits. Adapted from Shinkai's novel, Your Name is an engrossing, heartfelt and dreamlike yarn that leaves a small lump in the throat.

Rating: Four stars

ARRIVAL (12A)

Like Close Encounters Of The Third Kind, Arrival philosophises and digests before it considers locking and loading a weapon. Twelve giant obloid spacecraft enter Earth's atmosphere and descend over seemingly random locations including Devon, the Black Sea and a lush meadow in Montana. US Army Colonel Weber (Forest Whitaker) leads the American response and he recruits emotionally scarred linguistics expert Dr Louise Banks (Amy Adams) to decipher a coded language used by the visitors. Banishing painful memories of her young daughter's death, Louise aligns with military scientist Ian Donnelly (Jeremy Renner) to unravel the conundrum, while the CIA, led by Agent Halpern (Michael Stuhlbarg), considers the terrifying possibility that we are in the calm before an intergalactic storm. As nations grow nervous, especially General Shang (Tzi Ma), chairman of the People's Liberation Army in China, Louise and Ian take potentially lethal leaps of faith to better understand the aliens' intentions. Meanwhile, Captain Marks (Mark O'Brien) and other subordinates under Weber's command debate a blunt show of force against the tentacled extra-terrestrials. Anchored by Adams' mesmerizing performance, Arrival is an extremely stylish tale of grief and self-sacrifice that uncoils beautifully for two hours.

Rating: Four stars

AMERICAN PASTORAL (15)

Director Ewan McGregor employs the framing device of a 40-year high school reunion, where author Nathan Zuckerman (David Strathairn) wanders familiar corridors and meets his old friend, Jerry Levov (Rupert Evans). They reminisce and Jerry reveals that he has just buried his star athlete older brother, Seymour (McGregor again). Apparently, Seymour's turbulent relationship with his daughter was at the heart of his decline. In flashback, we see Jewish American businessman Seymour assume control of the Newark Maid Glove factory established by his father (Peter Riegert) and marry an Irish-Catholic girl called Dawn (Connelly), who once proudly held the title of Miss New Jersey. Seymour and Dawn raise a stuttering daughter called Merry (Dakota Fanning) on their farm in Old Rimrock, where they are largely cocooned from a rapidly changing world. As shocking images of Vietnam flicker on the TV screen, Merry discovers her voice and lashes out. A shocking act of violence at Rimrock post office changes the Levovs' cosy existence forever. American Pastoral is a stagnant adaptation of Philip Roth's book, which intercuts archive news footage of Martin Luther King and the moon landing to provide a historical backdrop to the family's turmoil.

Rating: Two stars

NOCTURNAL ANIMALS (15)

Los Angeles gallery owner Susan Morrow (Amy Adams) stages provocative exhibitions, which elicit coos of appreciation from her pals Alessia (Andrea Riseborough) and Carlos (Michael Sheen), but are - by her own admission - emotionally numb. That's also a succinct description for her marriage to philandering businessman Hutton (Armie Hammer), whose financial woes impact the gallery's future. Out of the blue, Susan receives a manuscript from her first husband, Edward (Jake Gyllenhaal), whose sweet nature and humble Texan origins jarred with her monstrous mother, Anne (Laura Linney). Susan and Edward haven't spoken in 19 years, so his communication is both intriguing and unsettling. With Hutton away on business, Susan devours the pages of Edward's manuscript and in her mind's eye, she imagines Tony Hastings (Gyllenhaal again), his wife Laura (Isla Fisher) and teenage daughter India (Ellie Bamber) taking a late night drive. On an empty stretch of desert highway, the family is terrorized by Ray Marcus (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and his buddies. Laura and India are abducted and local detective Bobby Andes (Michael Shannon) supports Tony as the husband discovers the women's horrifying fate. Nocturnal Animals serves up a dish of revenge with measured restraint, bolstered by powerhouse performances from Adams and Gyllenhaal.

Rating: Four stars

THE LIGHT BETWEEN OCEANS (12A)

The film's set shortly after World War One and follows Tom Sherbourne (Michael Fassbender), a man seeking a peaceful existence after his horrific experiences on the front line. He puts himself forward for the role of lighthouse keeper on the uninhabited Janus Rock off the west coast of Australia. Though he intends to live a life of solitude, he can't help but fall for the vibrant Isabel Graysmark (Alicia Vikander), a young woman who lives in the harbour town. They marry and for a while lead an idyllic existence on the beautifully stark island. Tom manages to slowly shake the horror of his past, along with his moustache, and Isabel blooms. But as time passes, they're delivered devastating blows to any hope of having a family of their own. One day, a rowing boat washes ashore. Inside they find a dead man and a crying baby. Isabel, desperate and broken, pleads with Tom to raise the girl as their own. Despite his reservations, he relents and the trio flourish miles from inquisitive locals. But on one of their visits to the mainland, Tom discovers a local woman, Hannah (Rachel Weisz) who's grieving a husband and child lost at sea. He contacts Hannah anonymously; a decision that sets into a motion a chain of events with devastating and long-lasting consequences. The film looks marvellous, as do Fassbender and Vikander as they look wistfully out to the vast ocean. But while they individually put in captivating performances, there's an element of passion lacking, which is surprising given the pair fell in love for real during the shoot.

Rating: Three stars

THE ACCOUNTANT (15)

Christian Wolff (Ben Affleck) meticulously investigates embezzlement, insider trading and other financial irregularities in criminal enterprises. He works alone and is ruthless in his pursuit of wrongdoing. The Treasury Department, led by soon-to-retire financial crimes director, Raymond King (JK Simmons), is determined to expose Wolff as the shadowy figure called The Accountant. King blackmails ambitious analyst Marybeth Medina (Cynthia Addai-Robinson) into following the evidence trail and confirming Wolff's involvement. She has one month to deliver results or face criminal charges for a serious lapse of judgement in her past. Meanwhile, Wolff is hired by Lamar Blackburn (John Lithgow), long-serving CEO of Living Robotics, to verify the findings of a perky in-house accountant, Dana Cummings (Anna Kendrick), who alleges more than 60 million dollars of company funds have gone astray. Wolff's forensic examination of 15 years' of data coincides with a series of suspicious deaths orchestrated by a bruising hit man (Jon Bernthal). The Accountant is a slick, engrossing romp that uses the lead character's developmental disability as a hook for cheap yet satisfying thrills.

Rating: Three stars

A STREET CAT NAMED BOB (12A)

James (Luke Treadaway) sleeps rough like his friend Baz (Darren Evans) and earns a few precious coins each day by playing his guitar. Every week he visits support worker Val (Joanne Froggatt), who oversees the methadone programme that is the first step towards defeating his heroin addiction. Val manages to secure James a flat to aid his recovery and the busker quickly makes two new friends: a free-spirited neighbour called Belle (Ruta Gedmintas), who knows only too well the devastation wrought by drugs, and a stray cat, which he christens Bob. Bob's presence at impromptu busking gigs inspires generosity from normally resistant passersby and James' confidence grows that he can turn his life around by selling copies of the Big Issue as well as performing, and rebuild bridges with his estranged father Nigel (Anthony Head). However, Val is deeply concerned that James might be anchoring his entire recovery to an animal, who could slink away just as quickly as he arrived. A Street Cat Named Bob offsets the adorable central relationship with sobering scenes of drug abuse. Treadaway slept rough for the role and he captures the desperation and weary resignation of a man who believes that life has turned its back on him. Bob the cat is a natural on camera and looks natty in colourful knitted scarves.

Rating: Three stars

DOCTOR STRANGE (12A)

Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) is a brilliant and arrogant neurosurgeon, with a minimalist Manhattan apartment and an off-limits romance with fellow medic, Christine Palmer (Rachel McAdams). Years of meticulous study are jeopardised when Strange foolishly takes a telephone call in his speeding silver Lamborghini. Medical colleagues save his life, but not his career, surgically refashioning his trembling hands with 11 metal pins. Cast adrift from the world of science, Strange heads to Kathmandu in search of spiritual enlightenment in the company of an enigmatic Celtic shaman called The Ancient One (Tilda Swinton), who harnesses energy to shape reality. Two of her Masters, Karl Mordo (Chiwetel Ejiofor) and Wong (Benedict Wong), take Strange under their wing and spearhead his training so he can travel long distances with a swish of his hand. As his confidence grows, Strange learns about a former Master, Kaecilius (Mads Mikkelsen), who strayed from the path of righteousness and uses his powers for evil. When Kaecilius threatens Strange's old life, including the beautiful Christine, the medic puts his training into practice to save everything he holds dear. Aside from the trippy effects, which left me wishing I could turn back time like the title character and pre-medicate, Doctor Strange is a satisfying opening salvo. Cumberbatch digs deep beneath the bruised skin of his character's overinflated ego, verbalizing the inner turmoil of a self-anointed god, who learns that he is flawed and not entirely the master of his own destiny.

Rating: Four stars

QUEEN OF KATWE (PG)

Queen Of Katwe unfolds largely in chronological order, meeting 10-year-old Phiona Mutesi (Madina Nalwanga) in the bustle of Kampala's streets in 2007, where she sells maize with her brother Brian (Martin Kabanza). They return home with money to keep a roof over the heads of their single mother Nakku Harriet (Lupita Nyong'o), older sister Night (Taryn 'Kay' Kyaze) and younger brother Richard (Ivan Jacobo). By chance, Phiona and Brian meet engineer Robert Katende (David Oyelowo), who is spearheading a missionary program, which supplies porridge to local children as they learn to play chess. Phiona demonstrates natural aptitude for the game and gradually outmanoeuvres her fellow "pioneers" including Ivan (Ronald Ssemaganda), Benjamin (Ethan Nazario Lubega) and Gloria (Nikita Waligwa). With help from his schoolteacher wife Sara (Esther Tebandeke), Robert mentors Phiona and inspires the girl to compete at the World Chess Olympiad in Russia. "Sometimes the place you are used to is not the place you belong," he tells his protegee.

Rating: Four stars

TROLLS (U)

Once a year on the Trollstice, a race of disgruntled ogres called Bergens unlock their inner joy by feasting on shiny trolls. King Gristle Sr (voiced by John Cleese) and his drooling head Chef (Christine Baranski) lead the festivities but the Bergens' reverie is cut short when the trolls, led by benevolent King Peppy (Jeffrey Tambor), escape to a new home. "I never got to eat a troll. What's going to make me happy now?" snivels young Prince Gristle Jr (Christopher Mintz-Plasse). "Nothing," replies the king tersely. Twenty years after the great escape, Princess Poppy (Anna Kendrick) has succeeded as ruler of the trolls, who sing, dance, enjoy group hugs and feverishly glue felt and paper into their scrapbooks. Everyone except for eternal pessimist Branch (Justin Timberlake), who lives in a Bergen-proof subterranean bunker crammed with 10 years of rations. When the Bergen Chef discovers the new troll village and captures several of Poppy's friends, including zen master Creek (Russell Brand) and Biggie (James Corden), the princess pleads with Branch for assistance. "Why don't you try scrapbooking them to freedom?" he responds meanly. Overcoming their initial differences, Poppy and Branch embark on a daredevil rescue mission to the Bergen castle where they play matchmakers to Prince Gristle Jr and scullery maid Bridget (Zooey Deschanel).

Rating: Three stars

I, DANIEL BLAKE (15)

Daniel Blake, a 59-year-old joiner has to spend 35 hours a week applying for jobs that he can't take because of his medical condition, and this search for employment propels him into an online world that is completely alien to a man who has worked with his hands his entire life. "I hear this all the time, 'We're digital by default'," he rages. "Well, I'm pencil by default!" Daniel (Dave Johns) has recently suffered a heart attack and his doctor has signed him off work until he recovers. Following an assessment by telephone, a letter from the Department for Work and Pensions arrives in the post, which reveals he is not entitled to sickness benefit. In order to qualify for jobseeker's allowance, he has to agree to spend his week pointlessly looking for employment or attending a CV workshop, while clashing with officious staff, who adhere rigidly to the rules. When Daniel attempts to fill in the jobseeker's form online at his local library with the assistance of people sitting on the other computers, he fails to complete the screens within his allocated slot. "Sorry mate, your time's up!" a young men tells him, those words laced with hidden meaning given Daniel's recent scare. During one foray in search of compassion, Daniel meets feisty single mother Katie (Hayley Squires) and her two young children, Dylan (Dylan McKiernan) and Daisy (Briana Shann), who have been moved hundreds of miles from London into rundown council accommodation in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Despite his woes, Daniel becomes a fatherly figure to Katie, completing simple DIY tasks to ensure her accommodation is tolerable. Cruel fate sinks its talons into both Daniel and Katie, and they are forced to make terrible choices to keep their heads above water.

Rating: Three stars

JACK REACHER: NEVER GO BACK (12A)

Jack Reacher (Tom Cruise) is living off the grid, embracing a nomadic lifestyle that allows him to move between low-rent motels as he brings down men and women in uniform who abuse their position. En route to a face-to-face meeting with his successor, Major Susan Turner (Cobie Smulders), Reacher discovers that she has been accused of espionage. When associates of Turner are slain before they can testify, Reacher realises that he has stumbled upon a wider conspiracy involving overseas shipments of weaponry. Against the odds, Reacher springs Turner from her high-security holding cell so they can expose corruption within the Army ranks, which could implicate retired General Harkness (Robert Knepper). However, a tenacious assassin called The Hunter (Patrick Heusinger) is on their trail, flanked by violent henchmen, who will stop at nothing to silence witnesses. In the midst of this taut game of cats and mice, Jack faces claims that a smart-talking teenager called Samantha (Danika Yarosh) is his daughter from a previous relationship. Bullets ricochet, Jack communicates with his bloodied fists and must somehow keep Samantha out of The Hunter's gun sights. Jack Reacher: Never Go Back simmers pleasantly thanks to the on-screen chemistry between Cruise and Smulders, the latter rolling up her sleeves to inflict bruises in the accomplished action set pieces.

Rating: Three stars

KEEPING UP WITH THE JONESES (12A)

Jeff Gaffney (Zach Galifianakis) works in human resources at a company, which produces microchips and components for aerospace and military contracts. His wife Karen (Isla Fisher) is an interior designer and they enjoy a simple life in a leafy cul-de-sac, where they exchange pleasantries with other residents including Jeff's work colleague Dan (Matt Walsh) and his wife, Meg (Maribeth Monroe). Out of the blue, travel writer Tim Jones (Jon Hamm) and food blogger wife Natalie (Gal Gadot) move in across the street, paying cash for their home without viewing the property. "Who would buy a house without seeing it first?" wonders Karen, who becomes convinced that the seemingly perfect Joneses are hiding something. The Gaffneys clumsily infiltrate their neighbour's home and discover that Tim and Natalie are government spies with gadgets galore and a licence to kill. Unwittingly, Jeff and Karen become embroiled in global espionage, testing the strength of their humdrum marriage as they pursue a criminal mastermind known as the Scorpion (Patton Oswalt). Keeping Up With The Joneses wheezes and puffs through various set pieces, including a bullet-riddled car chase and a frenetic shoot-out, without any obvious punchlines or pay-offs.

Rating: Two stars

AMERICAN HONEY (15)

Eighteen-year-old Star (Lane) has been left to care for two young siblings, while her mother implodes on drugs. The children scour dumpsters for discarded food still fit for consumption and at night, Star endures the groping hands of her abusive stepfather. During a sortie to a supermarket, Star encounters a group of fun-loving teenagers led by Jake (Shia LaBeouf), who claims to be the manager of a door-to-door magazine subscription business. "You can make 300 dollars a day if you're good," Jake assures Star. Initially, she isn't convinced by his bluster and haphazard attire, which he jokingly describes as "a little Donald Trumpish". Determined to escape the degradation of home, Star hits the road with Jake and the other kids, including misfit Pagan (Arielle Holmes) and blonde prankster Corey (McCaul Lombardi). As they arrive at a motel, Star encounters the business' iron-fisted boss, Krystal (Riley Keough), who only retains youngsters that sell subscriptions by peddling fake sob stories. Failure won't be tolerated.

Rating: Four stars

INFERNO (12A)

Inferno opens with crazed scientist Bertrand Zobrist (Ben Foster) taking a backwards dive from a bell tower in Florence, thereby escaping the clutches of security forces led by Christoph Bruder (Omar Sy). Soon after, Harvard University professor Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks) wakes in a hospital in the same city with a gunshot wound to the head and a fractured memory. Kind medic Dr Sienna Brooks (Felicity Jones) tends to him and when bullets fly in the corridors, she helps Langdon escape to her nearby apartment. A thumbprint-encoded vial in Langdon's pocket reveals the first clue of a globe-trotting treasure hunt involving Dante's Inferno and a plague engineered by Zobrist to solve the overpopulation crisis in one bold stroke. Working against them is Harry Sims (Irrfan Khan), head of a shadowy consortium, which billionaire Zobrist engaged to protect his interests. Sims despatches a gun-toting assassin called Vayentha (Ana Ularu), who is dressed as a Carabinieri, to prevent the professor from unravelling the mystery: "Eliminate Langdon. Fail and you will be held accountable!" Meanwhile, old flame Elizabeth Sinskey (Sidse Babett Knudsen), head of the World Health Organisation, is also on the fugitives' trail... Inferno goes through the motions as Langdon and Sienna uncover hidden messages in artworks and artefacts in their attempt to avert mankind's darkest hour.

Rating: Three stars

STORKS (U)

Hunter (voiced by Kelsey Grammer), current CEO of this global empire, prepares to hand over the reins to his nervous protege, Junior (Andy Samberg). The only fly in the ointment is 18-year-old Tulip (Katie Crown), the last baby out of the machine, who couldn't be flown to her parents because of an accident with her tracking beacon. She has grown up in the company of her feathered foster family and now wreaks havoc at Cornerstone with her contraptions. "The only thing you need to do to be named boss on Monday is liberate the orphan Tulip," booms Hunter. Junior's efforts to eject Tulip coincide with the arrival of a letter from 10-year-old Nate Gardner (Anton Starkman), who pleads for a baby brother to remind his workaholic parents (Ty Burrell, Jennifer Aniston) of their priorities. An adorable baby christened Diamond Destiny emerges from the machine and Junior and Tulip embark on a madcap quest to deliver the gurgling infant. Junior's jealous rival for the CEO position, a pigeon called Toady (Stephen Kramer Glickman), gives chase, determined to thwart them. Storks is gently amusing rather than laugh-out-loud hilarious, including several surreal flourishes involving a pack of gymnastic wolves led by Alpha (Keegan-Michael Key) and Beta (Jordan Peele).

Rating: Three stars

THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN (15)

Rachel Watson (Emily Blunt) has self-imploded following an acrimonious divorce from her cheating husband, Tom (Justin Theroux). When she wakes from her drunken stupors, Rachel has alarming gaps in her memory and, on one occasion, she is covered in bruises and blood. As a result of her intoxication, Rachel loses her job at a PR firm, which she conceals from her roommate Cathy (Laura Prepon) by taking her usual train each morning and sitting in the park with a bottle of spirits. The journey takes her past her old house where Tom is now happily settled with his mistress Anna (Rebecca Ferguson) and their baby. The tracks also pass by the residence of neighbours Scott (Luke Evans) and Megan Hipwell (Haley Bennett), and Rachel fantasizes about the couple's seemingly perfect relationship. One morning, Rachel stares bleary-eyed out of the train window and glimpses Megan in a clinch with another man. Megan subsequently vanishes and Detective Sergeant Riley (Allison Janney) becomes interested in Rachel's hazy recollection, especially since the drunkard has no alibi for the hours leading up to Megan's disappearance. Perhaps psychiatrist Dr Kamal Abdic (Edgar Ramirez) can help Rachel to unlock her subconscious. She will soon realise that some memories are best forgotten. The Girl On The Train is a smart psychological potboiler anchored by a strong performance from Blunt as a self-destructive woman, who is figuratively going off the rails in her darkest hour.

Rating: Three stars

WAR ON EVERYONE (15)

Officer Terry Monroe (Alexander Skarsgard) and his partner Bob Bolano (Michael Pena) protect their own interests with a flash of their police badges. "Like I always say, 'If it ain't broke, break it'," grins Terry before they embark on one destructive rampage. Lieutenant Gerry Stanton (Paul Reiser) issues his men with a final warning before they head out on surveillance and learn that Lord James Mangan (Theo James) and his sidekick Birdwell (Caleb Landry Jones) are plotting a bank robbery. Terry and Bob glean more details from informant Reggie (Malcolm Barrett) and allow the heist to take place with the intention of pocketing the ill-gotten profits themselves. However, Lord Mangan is no pushover and he threatens Terry's girlfriend Jackie (Tessa Thompson) and Bob's wife Delores (Stephanie Sigman). Emboldened by booze or a line of cocaine, Terry and Bob prepare to do their duties to maintain a semblance of order on the streets of Albuquerque. War On Everyone is a rumbustious and politically incorrect romp that is disappointingly light on substance.

Rating: Three stars

MISS PEREGRINE'S HOME FOR PECULIAR CHILDREN (12A)

Jacob Portman (Asa Butterfield) has always been close to his grandfather Abe (Terence Stamp). When the old man perishes in mysterious circumstances, the grief-stricken teenager turns to psychiatrist Dr Golan (Allison Janney) to come to terms with his loss. She approves a visit to Cairnholm island off the coast of Wales - population 93 - where Abe claimed he spent his formative years in a home for gifted children. Accompanied by his birdwatcher father Franklin (Chris O'Dowd), Jacob makes the long journey and visits the derelict home alone, searching for some tenuous connection to his grandfather. Amongst the rubble, Jacob encounters a girl called Emma Bloom (Ella Purnell), who wears lead shoes to stop her floating away. She helps him to enter a magical time loop set to September 3, 1943, which is controlled by Miss Alma LeFay Peregrine (Green), headmistress of the school. Other students include pyrokinetic teenager Olive (Lauren McCrostie), prophetic dreamer Horace (Hayden Keeler-Stone), invisible boy Millard (Cameron King) and the masked twins (Thomas Odwell, Joseph Odwell). Miss Peregrine and her charges are being hunted by gnarly, undead creatures called Hollows, led by the menacing Mr Barron (Samuel L Jackson). Jacob promises Emma that he will return to the home the following day to help the outcasts evade a grim fate. Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children is an entertaining and briskly paced adventure with some lip-smacking macabre touches.

Rating: Three stars

DEEPWATER HORIZON (12A)

Engineer Mike Williams (Mark Wahlberg) kisses his beautiful wife Felicia (Kate Hudson) goodbye before he boards a helicopter to the BP-owned and operated drilling platform Deepwater Horizon located approximately 40 miles off the coast of Louisiana. Other passengers include installation manager Jimmy Harrell (Kurt Russell) and third mate Andrea Fleytas (Gina Rodriguez). "This is the well from hell, girl," a co-worker tells Andrea, half joking. Once they land, Jimmy becomes concerned that BP officials, including well site leader Donald Vidrine (John Malkovich), have not carried out sufficient checks to ensure the drill is operating safely. Jimmy orders a test, which brings back concerning yet inconclusive results and reluctantly he gives the go ahead to continue drilling. Crew members including Jason Anderson (Ethan Suplee) and Caleb Holloway (Dylan O'Brien) attempt to make up for lost time, but a massive blowout tears through the 121-metre long rig. Survivors of the initial blast race against time to lower lifeboats into the water before flames engulf the entire structure. Deepwater Horizon captures the chaos of that fateful day, and the courage of men and women who risked their lives to save friends and coworkers from the rig's twisted metal.

Rating: Three stars

THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN (12A)

The year is 1879 and the scars of the American Civil War are yet to heal. The God-fearing folk of Rose Creek seek solace in church, but the spiritual peace is shattered by the arrival of greedy industrialist Bartholomew Bogue (Peter Sarsgaard) and his goons, who intend to drive families out of their homes. "Twenty dollars for each parcel of land," Bogue tells the enraged congregation, shooting dead several dissenters, including faithful husband Matthew Cullen (Matt Bomer). Grieving widow Emma Cullen (Haley Bennett) and her friend Teddy (Luke Grimes) canter to neighbouring Amador City to enlist the services of bounty hunter Sam Chisolm (Denzel Washington) to kill Bogue. "You don't need a bounty hunter, you need an army," scoffs Chisolm, who has crossed paths with the industrialist before. Moved by Emma's tearful plight, the gunslinger corrals six men of dubious character to wage war in Rose Creek: compulsive gambler Josh Farraday (Chris Pratt), sharp shooter Goodnight Robicheaux (Ethan Hawke), assassin Billy Rocks (Byung-hun Lee), tracker Jack Horne (Vincent D'Onofrio), Mexican outlaw Vasquez (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo) and Comanche warrior Red Harvest (Martin Sensmeier). The scene is set for a rootin' tootin' showdown between the rival factions. The Magnificent Seven rests comfortably on the shoulders of Washington and his co-stars.

Rating: Three stars

THE GIRL WITH ALL THE GIFTS (15)

An aggressive fungal infection has reduced the majority of the population to carnivorous predators known as "hungries". The contagion is spread through bodily fluids and victims are inactive unless they scent living prey, which inflames their appetite for flesh. At a heavily protected military base in rural England, Dr Caroline Caldwell (Glenn Close) oversees experiments on a group of infected children, who have miraculously retained their mental acuity. Her goal is to synthesize a vaccine from their brain matter and spinal fluid before the fungus becomes airborne. Schoolteacher Helen Justineau (Gemma Arterton) is one of the on-site staff, and she grows especially fond of a 10-year-old subject called Melanie (Sennia Nanua). "She likes me best," the girl teases Sergeant Eddie Parks (Paddy Considine), whose overwhelmed troops cull the rampaging hordes that swarm around the facility. When the security of the base is fatally compromised, Sergeant Parks escorts Dr Caldwell, Helen and Melanie off-site with fellow soldiers, Kieran (Fisayo Akinade) and Dillon (Anthony Welsh). They trundle across rugged terrain in search of refuge from the slaughter, gun sights scanning the horizon for potential danger. "Our mission statement now is to keep ourselves off the menu," growls Perks. The Girl With All The Gifts shuffles through a series of claustrophobic set pieces, slowly whittling down the cast with bullets or bites.

Rating: Three stars

BRIDGET JONES'S BABY (15)

Director Sharon Maguire, who helmed Bridget Jones's Diary, and her clucky trio of screenwriters, which includes co-star Emma Thompson, are in a celebratory mood. They bookmark the heroine's trials and vacillations with nostalgic flashbacks to earlier films reminding us of Bridget's infuriating obsessions and her fitful romantic dalliances with Colin Firth and Hugh Grant's paramours. "I'm trying not to think I'm past my sexual sell-by date," laments Bridget, as she careens at high speed towards her 43rd birthday without a wedding ring on her finger. She works as a producer at Hard News alongside old boss Richard Finch (Neil Pearson) and newscaster pal Miranda (Sarah Solemani), who suggests a hedonistic girls-only weekend at a music festival. The gal pals descend on a muddy field, which Miranda pithily describes as "Sodom and Gomorrah... with tofu". A late-night blunder into the wrong yurt leads to a spontaneous coupling with a handsome American love guru called Jack Quant (Patrick Dempsey). A few days later, Bridget is powerless to resist the silky charms of old flame Mark Darcy (Firth), who is separating from his wife. A pregnancy test at work confirms that Bridget is about to gain weight. If only she knew who was the father...

Rating: Four stars

BLAIR WITCH (15)

For more than 20 years, James Donahue (James Allen McCune) has been haunted by the disappearance of his sister Heather, whose chilling final moments were documented in footage from October 1994 that became The Blair Witch Project. James is convinced she is alive and his suspicions seem to be confirmed by shaky handheld footage posted on a video sharing website by username Darknet 666. "If there's any chance I can find out what happened to her, I need to try," James tells his girlfriend Lisa (Callie Hernandez), who is making a documentary for a class project. She packs recording devices and a drone and heads to Burkittsville with James and their good friends, Peter (Brandon Scott) and Ashley (Corbin Reid), in order to rendezvous with Darknet 666 aka oddball Lane (Wes Robinson) and his girlfriend Talia (Valorie Curry). The couple believe wholeheartedly in the legend of the Blair Witch and forcibly persuade James and his pals to let them join the expedition. Ignoring a sign which reads, "No entry after nightfall", the group treks into the woods with flashlights and camping gear.

Rating: Three stars

HUNT FOR THE WILDERPEOPLE (12A)

Thirteen-year-old tearaway Ricky (Dennison) is "a bad egg" according to deranged social services worker Paula (Rachel House), who reels off a litany of offences including stealing, arson and graffiti. "That's just the stuff we know about," she adds menacingly. Paula and her police officer sidekick Andy (Oscar Kightley) place Ricky with clucky farm wife Bella (Rima Te Wiata) and her grumpy husband Hector (Neill). "You're a big fella!" grins Bella, surveying Ricky up close. "Who ate the guy who ate all the pies, eh?" Her politically incorrect version of maternal pride melts Ricky's stony facade and he settles into a cosy bedroom, which has books, an Indian lamp and "a nice sharp knife to kill monsters in the night." A tragic twist of fate threatens to send Ricky to the nearest juvenile detention centre. So Hector heads into the bush with his young ward and their trusty dogs, Zag and Tupac. Their disappearance sparks a nationwide man hunt led by Paula, who has never lost a child in her care.

Rating: Four stars

CAPTAIN FANTASTIC (15)

Ben Cash (Viggo Mortensen) and his wife Leslie (Trin Miller) raise their six-strong brood in relative isolation so the children won't be tainted by capitalism or organised religion. The youngsters - Bodevan (George MacKay), Kielyr (Samantha Isler), Vespyr (Annalise Basso), Rellian (Nicholas Hamilton), Zaja (Shree Crooks) and Nai (Charlie Shotwell) - learn to live off the land and fire their imaginations by reading classics like The Brothers Karamazov and Middlemarch. Alas, Leslie has bipolar disorder and she eventually takes her own life while undergoing treatment at a hospital. Ben wants to take the children to the funeral, but Leslie's father Jack (Frank Langella) forbids him from attending. "Grandpa can't oppress us," argues Zaja and the family boards their ramshackle bus, christened Steve, and heads to New Mexico to give Leslie the Buddhist cremation she requested in her will. En route, the Cash clan experiences eye-opening encounters with Ben's sister Harper (Kathryn Hahn) and her husband Dave (Steve Zahn). Captain Fantastic lives up the superlative of its title, compelling us to care deeply about the wounded characters as they search for peace and unity in a world of bitter conflict.

Rating: Four stars

KUBO AND THE TWO STRINGS (PG)

In the latest stop-motion animated fantasy from Laika Entertainment, creators of Coraline and The Boxtrolls, we meet Kubo (voiced by Art Parkinson), who lives in a cave with his mother Sariatu (Charlize Theron), a sorceress whose powers have been drained protecting her son from his evil grandfather, Raiden (Ralph Fiennes). "You must always stay hidden from the night sky," Sariatu warns Kubo before he sets off for a nearby village to entertain locals with tall tales, which he brings to life using origami animals and a three-stringed shamisen. During one of these expeditions, Kubo stays out after sundown in the hope of contacting the spirit of his father, a valiant warrior called Hanzo. Under the cover of night, Kubo's evil aunts (Rooney Mara) materialise and launch a devastating attack. When the boy regains consciousness, his mother is gone. In her place is Monkey, who has been magically brought to life from a wooden charm that Kubo used to carry around in his pocket. "Do you ever say anything encouraging?" Kubo asks his primate protector as they embark on a noble quest to locate three magical items: the Sword Unbreakable, the Breastplate Impenetrable and the Helmet Invulnerable. "I encourage you not to die," tersely responds Monkey, who reluctantly joins forces with a forgetful samurai called Beetle (Matthew McConaughey) to protect Kubo from harm. Kubo And The Two Strings is a joyous conflation of old and new.

Rating: Four stars

DON'T BREATHE (15)

Rocky (Jane Levy) intends to move to California with her little sister Diddy (Emma Bercovici) to escape their spiteful mother (Katia Bokor). To finance the relocation, Rocky robs valuables from homes with her boyfriend Money (Daniel Zovatto) and pal Alex (Dylan Minnette), whose father runs a security firm that has spare keys to the targeted properties. The trio learn about a blind Army veteran called Norman Nordstrom (Stephen Lang), who lives in the neighbourhood and apparently has 300,000 US dollars in a safe in his ramshackle home - an out-of-court settlement for the death of his daughter. "Above 10K's major larceny if we get caught!" Alex nervously reminds his greedy accomplices. "We won't get caught," Rocky assures him. The thieves gain access and leave a homemade chloroform bomb in Norman's bedroom, which should temporarily incapacitate the owner. Rocky, Money and Alex learn to their cost that Norman isn't helpless. He locks the exits, cuts the electricity to the lights and prepares to hunt his terrified prey in the dark using his heightened sense of hearing and smell. Don't Breathe is a masterful exercise in nerve-jangling simplicity.

Rating: Four stars

DAVID BRENT: LIFE ON THE ROAD (15)

It has been 12 years since David Brent (Ricky Gervais) awkwardly ruled the roost at the Slough branch of Wernham Hogg Paper Company. He's now a travelling salesman at Lavichem, peddling sanitary products with gusto and irritating his work colleagues including office bully Jezza (Andrew Brooke) and HR manager Miriam (Rebecca Gethings). Brent does have a few supporters, including Pauline from accounts (Jo Hartley), who has a crush on him, and receptionist Karen (Mandeep Dhillon). "Most people don't get him, but I do," beams fellow salesman Nigel (Tom Bennett). Brent takes unpaid leave from his unedifying day-to-day grind to pursue his dream of music stardom as lead singer of his unsigned band. "The ghost of Alexander O'Neal visited me one night and said, 'You have got what it takes'," explains Brent, who plunders his savings to hire a despairing road manager (Tom Basden) and a quartet of talented sessions musicians, including his nephew Stu (Stuart Wilkinson) on guitar. A rapper called Dom Johnson (Ben Bailey Smith aka Doc Brown) joins Foregone Conclusion to bolster the band's yoof appeal as the mutinous and motley crew embarks on a tour of venues close to the Lavichem office. David Brent: Life On The Road is peppered with uproarious one-liners and moments of skin-crawling brilliance that confirm Gervais as a master of unflattering observation.

Rating: Four stars

NINE LIVES (PG)

Business tycoon Tom Brand (Kevin Spacey) is poised to open the tallest skyscraper in the northern hemisphere - a monolith of glass and steel dwarfed only by his overinflated ego. Tom's unerring dedication to his job drives a wedge between the mogul and his family: long-suffering wife Lara (Jennifer Garner), son David (Robbie Amell), who works alongside his old man, and young daughter Rebecca (Malina Weissman). For Rebecca's birthday present, Tom begrudgingly agrees to buy a cat and he hurries into Purrkins Pet Shop run by the enigmatic Felix Perkins (Walken). On his way home with a scrawny Siberian named My Fuzzypants, Tom is involved in an accident and his consciousness is magically transferred into the cat. Perkins reveals that Tom has a few days to reconcile with his family in his four-legged form or he must remain as a cat for the rest of his nine lives. "If this is what it takes to become human, I will become the best cat that ever lived," vows the businessman as he rebuilds bridges with his loved ones and faces a boardroom coup orchestrated by his ambitious underling (Mark Consuelos). Nine Lives is a supernatural yarn in the vein of Freaky Friday and Big, without the charm or emotional wallop of those enduring family favourites.

Rating: Two stars

PETE'S DRAGON (PG)

A little boy called Pete (Levi Alexander) is orphaned in a road accident and left to fend for himself in the forest that buffers the community of Millhaven. The helpless and tearful child is rescued from a pack of hungry wolves by a green dragon, which the boy names Elliott after a character in his picture book. For six years, Pete (now played by Oakes Fegley) and Elliott grow up side-by-side beneath the forest's lush canopy until a logging operation led by lumber mill owner Jack Meacham (Wes Bentley) and his brother Gavin (Karl Urban) disturbs the peace. Jack's wife Grace (Bryce Dallas Howard), who is a forest ranger, discovers Pete living wild and spirits him back to civilisation. The orphan bonds with her daughter Natalie (Oona Laurence) and father (Robert Redford), who claims to have seen a dragon many years ago. However, the ranger cannot believe in the existence of mythical beasts, even when Pete draws a crayon picture of his best friend. Pete's Dragon casts a heady spell by combining solid, old-fashioned storytelling with dazzling visuals.

Rating: Four stars

MIKE AND DAVE NEED WEDDING DATES (15)

Jeanie Stangle (Sugar Lyn Beard) is concerned that her impending nuptials to sweetheart Eric (Sam Richardson) will be ruined by the drunken antics of her knucklehead brothers, Mike (Adam DeVine) and Dave (Zac Efron). So their parents (Stephen Root, Stephanie Faracy) insist the boys attend the wedding in Hawaii with respectable girls on their arms. Mike and Dave advertise for dates and their plea leads to an awkward television appearance on The Wendy Williams Show. Party girls Tatiana (Aubrey Plaza) and Alice (Anna Kendrick) see the appeal and put on their best airs and graces to impress the Stangles. Mike and Dave are fooled by the ruse and Tatiana and Alice are whisked away to paradise for Jeanie's big day, where the girls gradually reveal their true selves. Meanwhile, Mike's attempts to woo Tatiana are thwarted by rival overtures from his bisexual cousin, Terry (Alice Wetterlund). Mike And Dave Need Wedding Dates delights in the misfortunes of the eponymous brothers, and Efron and DeVine gleefully humiliate themselves for cheap giggles.

Rating: Three stars

FINDING DORY (U)

Dory (Ellen DeGeneres) is the next-shell neighbour of Marlin (Albert Brooks) and his young son, Nemo (Hayden Rolence) on the Great Barrier Reef. During a field trip to witness the stingray migration, the loveable blue tang experiences a rush of fragmented memories of her parents Charlie (Eugene Levy) and Jenny (Diane Keaton). "I miss 'em", Dory tells Marlin and the plucky fish embark on an epic quest to California to reunite the forgetful daughter with her loved ones. Initially, the travellers ride strong currents with sea turtle Crush (Andrew Stanton) and his bodacious brethren, but when they eventually arrive at the Marine Life Institute, Dory is separated from her pals. She languishes in quarantine with a grouchy septopus called Hank (Ed O'Neill), who possesses remarkable powers of camouflage. Meanwhile, Marlin and Nemo abide by Dory's mantra - "Just keeping swimming" - and enlist help from wise-cracking sea lions Fluke (Idris Elba) and Rudder (Dominic West), near-sighted whale shark Destiny (Kaitlin Olson) and a beluga whale called Bailey (Ty Burrell), who has lost his echo location as the result of a concussion. Finding Dory is the emotional and comical equal of its predecessor, dazzling the senses with stunningly realistic visuals and Thomas Newman's buoyant orchestral score.

Rating: Four stars

JASON BOURNE (12A)

Jason Bourne (Matt Damon) believes he knows how the US government moulded him into a trained killer as part of Operation Treadstone. He is living off the grid on the Greek-Albanian border and posing as a bare-knuckle brawler. Far away in Iceland, former contact Nicky Parsons (Julia Stiles) illegally accesses the CIA mainframe to download confidential files about Bourne's former life as David Webb. She discovers a shocking secret and resolves to share the data with the elusive operative. "We've just been hacked. Could be worse than Snowden," agent Craig Jeffers (Ato Essandoh) informs his boss, CIA Director Robert Dewey (Tommy Lee Jones), once the breach is detected. Ambitious protegee Heather Lee (Alicia Vikander) plants malware that allows her to covertly track Nicky's movements. "I will deliver Parsons, the files and - if he's out there - I will give you Bourne too," Heather promises Dewey. She dispatches a hit man, codename Asset (Vincent Cassel), to neutralise the targets. Meanwhile, Dewey locks horns with technology guru Aaron Kalloor (Riz Ahmed) about invasions of privacy which allow the US government to spy on citizens. Jason Bourne is a deceptive slow burn for the opening half hour, but once the script lights the fuse on manifold deceptions, there's little time to breathe between plot revelations and bloodthirsty retribution.

Rating: Four stars

THE BFG (PG)

The heroine is a precocious orphan called Sophie (Ruby Barnhill), who is snatched from her bed at the witching hour by a hooded 24-feet tall figure. The behemoth spirits the girl over verdant valleys and crashing seas to the rolling landscapes of Giant Country. "No such place!" Sophie defiantly informs her host, who introduces himself as the Big Friendly Giant (Mark Rylance). The BFG wouldn't normally kidnap a chiddler, but he explains that he was fearful Sophie might cause a great rumpledumpus by yodelling the news that she had seen a giant. A tender and deeply touching friendship is forged between Sophie and her kind-hearted abductor, who exists on a diet of disgusterous snozzcumbers and is bullied by filthsome fellow giants including Fleshlumpeater (Jemaine Clement), Bloodbottler (Bill Hader), Maidmasher (Olafur Darri Olafsson) and Manhugger (Adam Godley). In order to rid Giant Country of these man-gobblers, Sophie hatches a hare-brained scheme to visit The Queen (Penelope Wilton) at Buckingham Palace. The BFG joins her on this madcap quest, and his presence smacks the gobs of the assembled staff including The Queen's dutiful maid Mary (Rebecca Hall) and head butler Mr Tibbs (Rafe Spall). Directed with verve by Spielberg, The BFG is a visually arresting ride that gently tugs heartstrings in between rollicking set pieces.

Rating: Four stars

ICE AGE: COLLISION COURSE (U)

The film opens with Scrat inadvertently propelling a giant space rock towards the third rock from the sun. Back on terra firma, Manny the woolly mammoth (Ray Romano) has forgotten about his wedding anniversary and pretends fireworks in the sky - actually meteorite chunks entering the atmosphere - are a surprise for his wife Ellie (Queen Latifah). Wonderment turns to terror as molten missiles careen into the earth. "Manny's love is killing us!" screams one of the critters as everyone gallop into caves, cowering together for shelter. Once the deluge subsides, Manny and his pals Diego the sabre-toothed tiger (Denis Leary) and Sid the sloth (John Leguizamo) emerge to survey the devastation. One-eyed daredevil weasel Buck (Simon Pegg) discovers ancient runes that confirm a giant meteorite is heading for the planet. The animals, including Diego's tigress sweetheart Shira (Jennifer Lopez), Sid's 80-year-old grandmother (Wanda Sykes), Manny's spunky daughter Peaches (Keke Palmer) and her laidback boyfriend Julian (Adam DeVine), embark on a madcap quest to avert disaster. Meanwhile, a family of carnivorous flying dinosaurs, comprising father Gavin (Nick Offerman) and children Gertie (Stephanie Beatriz) and Roger (Max Greenfield), tracks the exodus from the air. Ice Age: Collision Course relies on old tensions between friends and family members to provide the fifth film with a burp of dramatic momentum that quickly dissipates.

Rating: Three stars

THE SECRET LIFE OF PETS (U)

Katie (voiced by Ellie Kemper) lives in her Manhattan apartment with a mischievous terrier named Max (Louis CK). "Our love is stronger than words or shoes," explains Max, referring to his penchant for chewing his owner's footwear when he was a puppy in training. He is good friends with other domesticated animals and birds including a pampered Eskimo dog named Gidget (Jenny Slate), who is head over fluffy tail in love with Max, and a sardonic house cat named Chloe (Lake Bell), who nurtures a healthy disdain for anything that doesn't enrich her selfish existence. "Dog people do weird, inexplicable things," she purrs, "like they get dogs instead of cats." Max's bond with Katie is threatened when his owner brings home a lolloping mongrel named Duke (Eric Stonestreet), who she has saved from the pound. Intense rivalry spills out onto the city streets where Max and Duke fall foul of a sphynx cat called Ozone (Steve Coogan) and are mistaken for strays by animal control officers. The snarling enemies are rescued by a maniacal white rabbit named Snowball (Kevin Hart), who pressgangs them into service in his army of unwanted animals, who live in the sewers. The Secret Life Of Pets is the brainchild of the makers of Despicable Me and Minions, and retains a similar visual style and family-friendly sense of humour.

Rating: Three stars

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FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM (12A)

Zealots called the Second Salemers, led by Mary Lou Barebone (Samantha Morton) and her adopted son Credence (Ezra Miller), preach hell and damnation in 1926 New York, following a reign of terror perpetrated by dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald (Johnny Depp). Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) arrives in the Big Apple at the height of this paranoia, carrying an enchanted suitcase with hidden pocket-dimensions full of endangered critters. A No-Maj called Jacob Kowalski (Dan Fogler) accidentally picks up Newt's luggage and releases otherworldly species in breach of the Statute of Secrecy. Beasties go on the rampage and Newt attempts to recapture them aided by Jacob, a former Auror called Porpentina Goldstein (Katherine Waterston) and her mind-reading sister, Queenie (Alison Sudol). Percival Graves (Colin Farrell), Director of Magical Security, is convinced that Newt's illegally imported creatures are responsible for a brutal attack. He declares war on the fugitives in a city where dark forces are gathering. As origin stories go, Fantastic Beasts... is a crowd-pleasing doozy.

Rating: Four stars

YOUR NAME (12A)

Mitsuha (voiced by Mone Kamishiraishi) is a schoolgirl, who lives in the mountain town of Itomori with her grandmother Hitoha (Etsuko Ichihara) and younger sister, Yotsuha (Kanon Tani). The girls' father is mayor Toshiki (Masaki Terasoma) and they honour the gods by performing religious ceremonies in flowing robes at the family's Shinto temple, which cruel classmates watch with pitying sneers. Yotsuha ignores the taunts, but Mitsuha's teenage pride is bruised with each insult. Mitsuha yearns to escape her backwater life for the thrum of the city. She gets her wish when she is magically transported into the gangly frame of Tokyo schoolboy Taki (Ryunosuke Kamiki), who works part-time as a waiter and has a crush on fellow server Ms Okudera (Masami Nagasawa). Taki is simultaneously transported into Mitsuha's body and relies on her friends Tessie (Ryo Narita) and Sayaka (Aoi Yuki) to blend in. In their gender-swapped guises, the teenagers experience each other's worlds through inquisitive eyes. As Mitsuha and Taki criss-cross back and forth, seemingly never destined to meet, they leave notes on each other's mobile phones to keep track of their out-of-body exploits. Adapted from Shinkai's novel, Your Name is an engrossing, heartfelt and dreamlike yarn that leaves a small lump in the throat.

Rating: Four stars

ARRIVAL (12A)

Like Close Encounters Of The Third Kind, Arrival philosophises and digests before it considers locking and loading a weapon. Twelve giant obloid spacecraft enter Earth's atmosphere and descend over seemingly random locations including Devon, the Black Sea and a lush meadow in Montana. US Army Colonel Weber (Forest Whitaker) leads the American response and he recruits emotionally scarred linguistics expert Dr Louise Banks (Amy Adams) to decipher a coded language used by the visitors. Banishing painful memories of her young daughter's death, Louise aligns with military scientist Ian Donnelly (Jeremy Renner) to unravel the conundrum, while the CIA, led by Agent Halpern (Michael Stuhlbarg), considers the terrifying possibility that we are in the calm before an intergalactic storm. As nations grow nervous, especially General Shang (Tzi Ma), chairman of the People's Liberation Army in China, Louise and Ian take potentially lethal leaps of faith to better understand the aliens' intentions. Meanwhile, Captain Marks (Mark O'Brien) and other subordinates under Weber's command debate a blunt show of force against the tentacled extra-terrestrials. Anchored by Adams' mesmerizing performance, Arrival is an extremely stylish tale of grief and self-sacrifice that uncoils beautifully for two hours.

Rating: Four stars

AMERICAN PASTORAL (15)

Director Ewan McGregor employs the framing device of a 40-year high school reunion, where author Nathan Zuckerman (David Strathairn) wanders familiar corridors and meets his old friend, Jerry Levov (Rupert Evans). They reminisce and Jerry reveals that he has just buried his star athlete older brother, Seymour (McGregor again). Apparently, Seymour's turbulent relationship with his daughter was at the heart of his decline. In flashback, we see Jewish American businessman Seymour assume control of the Newark Maid Glove factory established by his father (Peter Riegert) and marry an Irish-Catholic girl called Dawn (Connelly), who once proudly held the title of Miss New Jersey. Seymour and Dawn raise a stuttering daughter called Merry (Dakota Fanning) on their farm in Old Rimrock, where they are largely cocooned from a rapidly changing world. As shocking images of Vietnam flicker on the TV screen, Merry discovers her voice and lashes out. A shocking act of violence at Rimrock post office changes the Levovs' cosy existence forever. American Pastoral is a stagnant adaptation of Philip Roth's book, which intercuts archive news footage of Martin Luther King and the moon landing to provide a historical backdrop to the family's turmoil.

Rating: Two stars

NOCTURNAL ANIMALS (15)

Los Angeles gallery owner Susan Morrow (Amy Adams) stages provocative exhibitions, which elicit coos of appreciation from her pals Alessia (Andrea Riseborough) and Carlos (Michael Sheen), but are - by her own admission - emotionally numb. That's also a succinct description for her marriage to philandering businessman Hutton (Armie Hammer), whose financial woes impact the gallery's future. Out of the blue, Susan receives a manuscript from her first husband, Edward (Jake Gyllenhaal), whose sweet nature and humble Texan origins jarred with her monstrous mother, Anne (Laura Linney). Susan and Edward haven't spoken in 19 years, so his communication is both intriguing and unsettling. With Hutton away on business, Susan devours the pages of Edward's manuscript and in her mind's eye, she imagines Tony Hastings (Gyllenhaal again), his wife Laura (Isla Fisher) and teenage daughter India (Ellie Bamber) taking a late night drive. On an empty stretch of desert highway, the family is terrorized by Ray Marcus (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and his buddies. Laura and India are abducted and local detective Bobby Andes (Michael Shannon) supports Tony as the husband discovers the women's horrifying fate. Nocturnal Animals serves up a dish of revenge with measured restraint, bolstered by powerhouse performances from Adams and Gyllenhaal.

Rating: Four stars

THE LIGHT BETWEEN OCEANS (12A)

The film's set shortly after World War One and follows Tom Sherbourne (Michael Fassbender), a man seeking a peaceful existence after his horrific experiences on the front line. He puts himself forward for the role of lighthouse keeper on the uninhabited Janus Rock off the west coast of Australia. Though he intends to live a life of solitude, he can't help but fall for the vibrant Isabel Graysmark (Alicia Vikander), a young woman who lives in the harbour town. They marry and for a while lead an idyllic existence on the beautifully stark island. Tom manages to slowly shake the horror of his past, along with his moustache, and Isabel blooms. But as time passes, they're delivered devastating blows to any hope of having a family of their own. One day, a rowing boat washes ashore. Inside they find a dead man and a crying baby. Isabel, desperate and broken, pleads with Tom to raise the girl as their own. Despite his reservations, he relents and the trio flourish miles from inquisitive locals. But on one of their visits to the mainland, Tom discovers a local woman, Hannah (Rachel Weisz) who's grieving a husband and child lost at sea. He contacts Hannah anonymously; a decision that sets into a motion a chain of events with devastating and long-lasting consequences. The film looks marvellous, as do Fassbender and Vikander as they look wistfully out to the vast ocean. But while they individually put in captivating performances, there's an element of passion lacking, which is surprising given the pair fell in love for real during the shoot.

Rating: Three stars

THE ACCOUNTANT (15)

Christian Wolff (Ben Affleck) meticulously investigates embezzlement, insider trading and other financial irregularities in criminal enterprises. He works alone and is ruthless in his pursuit of wrongdoing. The Treasury Department, led by soon-to-retire financial crimes director, Raymond King (JK Simmons), is determined to expose Wolff as the shadowy figure called The Accountant. King blackmails ambitious analyst Marybeth Medina (Cynthia Addai-Robinson) into following the evidence trail and confirming Wolff's involvement. She has one month to deliver results or face criminal charges for a serious lapse of judgement in her past. Meanwhile, Wolff is hired by Lamar Blackburn (John Lithgow), long-serving CEO of Living Robotics, to verify the findings of a perky in-house accountant, Dana Cummings (Anna Kendrick), who alleges more than 60 million dollars of company funds have gone astray. Wolff's forensic examination of 15 years' of data coincides with a series of suspicious deaths orchestrated by a bruising hit man (Jon Bernthal). The Accountant is a slick, engrossing romp that uses the lead character's developmental disability as a hook for cheap yet satisfying thrills.

Rating: Three stars

A STREET CAT NAMED BOB (12A)

James (Luke Treadaway) sleeps rough like his friend Baz (Darren Evans) and earns a few precious coins each day by playing his guitar. Every week he visits support worker Val (Joanne Froggatt), who oversees the methadone programme that is the first step towards defeating his heroin addiction. Val manages to secure James a flat to aid his recovery and the busker quickly makes two new friends: a free-spirited neighbour called Belle (Ruta Gedmintas), who knows only too well the devastation wrought by drugs, and a stray cat, which he christens Bob. Bob's presence at impromptu busking gigs inspires generosity from normally resistant passersby and James' confidence grows that he can turn his life around by selling copies of the Big Issue as well as performing, and rebuild bridges with his estranged father Nigel (Anthony Head). However, Val is deeply concerned that James might be anchoring his entire recovery to an animal, who could slink away just as quickly as he arrived. A Street Cat Named Bob offsets the adorable central relationship with sobering scenes of drug abuse. Treadaway slept rough for the role and he captures the desperation and weary resignation of a man who believes that life has turned its back on him. Bob the cat is a natural on camera and looks natty in colourful knitted scarves.

Rating: Three stars

DOCTOR STRANGE (12A)

Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) is a brilliant and arrogant neurosurgeon, with a minimalist Manhattan apartment and an off-limits romance with fellow medic, Christine Palmer (Rachel McAdams). Years of meticulous study are jeopardised when Strange foolishly takes a telephone call in his speeding silver Lamborghini. Medical colleagues save his life, but not his career, surgically refashioning his trembling hands with 11 metal pins. Cast adrift from the world of science, Strange heads to Kathmandu in search of spiritual enlightenment in the company of an enigmatic Celtic shaman called The Ancient One (Tilda Swinton), who harnesses energy to shape reality. Two of her Masters, Karl Mordo (Chiwetel Ejiofor) and Wong (Benedict Wong), take Strange under their wing and spearhead his training so he can travel long distances with a swish of his hand. As his confidence grows, Strange learns about a former Master, Kaecilius (Mads Mikkelsen), who strayed from the path of righteousness and uses his powers for evil. When Kaecilius threatens Strange's old life, including the beautiful Christine, the medic puts his training into practice to save everything he holds dear. Aside from the trippy effects, which left me wishing I could turn back time like the title character and pre-medicate, Doctor Strange is a satisfying opening salvo. Cumberbatch digs deep beneath the bruised skin of his character's overinflated ego, verbalizing the inner turmoil of a self-anointed god, who learns that he is flawed and not entirely the master of his own destiny.

Rating: Four stars

QUEEN OF KATWE (PG)

Queen Of Katwe unfolds largely in chronological order, meeting 10-year-old Phiona Mutesi (Madina Nalwanga) in the bustle of Kampala's streets in 2007, where she sells maize with her brother Brian (Martin Kabanza). They return home with money to keep a roof over the heads of their single mother Nakku Harriet (Lupita Nyong'o), older sister Night (Taryn 'Kay' Kyaze) and younger brother Richard (Ivan Jacobo). By chance, Phiona and Brian meet engineer Robert Katende (David Oyelowo), who is spearheading a missionary program, which supplies porridge to local children as they learn to play chess. Phiona demonstrates natural aptitude for the game and gradually outmanoeuvres her fellow "pioneers" including Ivan (Ronald Ssemaganda), Benjamin (Ethan Nazario Lubega) and Gloria (Nikita Waligwa). With help from his schoolteacher wife Sara (Esther Tebandeke), Robert mentors Phiona and inspires the girl to compete at the World Chess Olympiad in Russia. "Sometimes the place you are used to is not the place you belong," he tells his protegee.

Rating: Four stars

TROLLS (U)

Once a year on the Trollstice, a race of disgruntled ogres called Bergens unlock their inner joy by feasting on shiny trolls. King Gristle Sr (voiced by John Cleese) and his drooling head Chef (Christine Baranski) lead the festivities but the Bergens' reverie is cut short when the trolls, led by benevolent King Peppy (Jeffrey Tambor), escape to a new home. "I never got to eat a troll. What's going to make me happy now?" snivels young Prince Gristle Jr (Christopher Mintz-Plasse). "Nothing," replies the king tersely. Twenty years after the great escape, Princess Poppy (Anna Kendrick) has succeeded as ruler of the trolls, who sing, dance, enjoy group hugs and feverishly glue felt and paper into their scrapbooks. Everyone except for eternal pessimist Branch (Justin Timberlake), who lives in a Bergen-proof subterranean bunker crammed with 10 years of rations. When the Bergen Chef discovers the new troll village and captures several of Poppy's friends, including zen master Creek (Russell Brand) and Biggie (James Corden), the princess pleads with Branch for assistance. "Why don't you try scrapbooking them to freedom?" he responds meanly. Overcoming their initial differences, Poppy and Branch embark on a daredevil rescue mission to the Bergen castle where they play matchmakers to Prince Gristle Jr and scullery maid Bridget (Zooey Deschanel).

Rating: Three stars

I, DANIEL BLAKE (15)

Daniel Blake, a 59-year-old joiner has to spend 35 hours a week applying for jobs that he can't take because of his medical condition, and this search for employment propels him into an online world that is completely alien to a man who has worked with his hands his entire life. "I hear this all the time, 'We're digital by default'," he rages. "Well, I'm pencil by default!" Daniel (Dave Johns) has recently suffered a heart attack and his doctor has signed him off work until he recovers. Following an assessment by telephone, a letter from the Department for Work and Pensions arrives in the post, which reveals he is not entitled to sickness benefit. In order to qualify for jobseeker's allowance, he has to agree to spend his week pointlessly looking for employment or attending a CV workshop, while clashing with officious staff, who adhere rigidly to the rules. When Daniel attempts to fill in the jobseeker's form online at his local library with the assistance of people sitting on the other computers, he fails to complete the screens within his allocated slot. "Sorry mate, your time's up!" a young men tells him, those words laced with hidden meaning given Daniel's recent scare. During one foray in search of compassion, Daniel meets feisty single mother Katie (Hayley Squires) and her two young children, Dylan (Dylan McKiernan) and Daisy (Briana Shann), who have been moved hundreds of miles from London into rundown council accommodation in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Despite his woes, Daniel becomes a fatherly figure to Katie, completing simple DIY tasks to ensure her accommodation is tolerable. Cruel fate sinks its talons into both Daniel and Katie, and they are forced to make terrible choices to keep their heads above water.

Rating: Three stars

JACK REACHER: NEVER GO BACK (12A)

Jack Reacher (Tom Cruise) is living off the grid, embracing a nomadic lifestyle that allows him to move between low-rent motels as he brings down men and women in uniform who abuse their position. En route to a face-to-face meeting with his successor, Major Susan Turner (Cobie Smulders), Reacher discovers that she has been accused of espionage. When associates of Turner are slain before they can testify, Reacher realises that he has stumbled upon a wider conspiracy involving overseas shipments of weaponry. Against the odds, Reacher springs Turner from her high-security holding cell so they can expose corruption within the Army ranks, which could implicate retired General Harkness (Robert Knepper). However, a tenacious assassin called The Hunter (Patrick Heusinger) is on their trail, flanked by violent henchmen, who will stop at nothing to silence witnesses. In the midst of this taut game of cats and mice, Jack faces claims that a smart-talking teenager called Samantha (Danika Yarosh) is his daughter from a previous relationship. Bullets ricochet, Jack communicates with his bloodied fists and must somehow keep Samantha out of The Hunter's gun sights. Jack Reacher: Never Go Back simmers pleasantly thanks to the on-screen chemistry between Cruise and Smulders, the latter rolling up her sleeves to inflict bruises in the accomplished action set pieces.

Rating: Three stars

OUIJA: ORIGIN OF EVIL (15)

Alice Zander (Elizabeth Reaser) is a charlatan fortune teller, who conducts choreographed seances with her daughters, 15-year-old Paulina (Annalise Basso) and introspective nine-year-old Doris (Lulu Wilson). The children perform various special effects - candles blowing out, a shrouded spectre hovering behind a curtain - to give the impression of spirits communicating with the living. One night, Paulina sneaks out to party with friends including older boy Mikey (Parker Mack) and they terrify one another by playing Ouija. "It's really cool!" the girl tells her mother and they introduce the board game and heart-shaped planchette to their act. Little Doris is desperate to make a connection to her late father, Roger (Michael Weaver). "Just because you can't hear him, doesn't mean he isn't there," Alice soothes her daughter. Unperturbed, Doris uses Ouija to speak to Roger. A malevolent spirit gains control of Doris and begins to wreak havoc on the Zander household. As the girl's behaviour becomes increasingly violent, Alice and Paulina abandon their cheap tricks and dive into the spirit realm to save Doris, aided by a local priest (Henry Thomas). Ouija: Origin Of Evil is pedestrian, but Flanagan and his design team evoke the period with elan, replete with TV news coverage of the race to land on the moon.

Rating: Three stars

KEEPING UP WITH THE JONESES (12A)

Jeff Gaffney (Zach Galifianakis) works in human resources at a company, which produces microchips and components for aerospace and military contracts. His wife Karen (Isla Fisher) is an interior designer and they enjoy a simple life in a leafy cul-de-sac, where they exchange pleasantries with other residents including Jeff's work colleague Dan (Matt Walsh) and his wife, Meg (Maribeth Monroe). Out of the blue, travel writer Tim Jones (Jon Hamm) and food blogger wife Natalie (Gal Gadot) move in across the street, paying cash for their home without viewing the property. "Who would buy a house without seeing it first?" wonders Karen, who becomes convinced that the seemingly perfect Joneses are hiding something. The Gaffneys clumsily infiltrate their neighbour's home and discover that Tim and Natalie are government spies with gadgets galore and a licence to kill. Unwittingly, Jeff and Karen become embroiled in global espionage, testing the strength of their humdrum marriage as they pursue a criminal mastermind known as the Scorpion (Patton Oswalt). Keeping Up With The Joneses wheezes and puffs through various set pieces, including a bullet-riddled car chase and a frenetic shoot-out, without any obvious punchlines or pay-offs.

Rating: Two stars

AMERICAN HONEY (15)

Eighteen-year-old Star (Lane) has been left to care for two young siblings, while her mother implodes on drugs. The children scour dumpsters for discarded food still fit for consumption and at night, Star endures the groping hands of her abusive stepfather. During a sortie to a supermarket, Star encounters a group of fun-loving teenagers led by Jake (Shia LaBeouf), who claims to be the manager of a door-to-door magazine subscription business. "You can make 300 dollars a day if you're good," Jake assures Star. Initially, she isn't convinced by his bluster and haphazard attire, which he jokingly describes as "a little Donald Trumpish". Determined to escape the degradation of home, Star hits the road with Jake and the other kids, including misfit Pagan (Arielle Holmes) and blonde prankster Corey (McCaul Lombardi). As they arrive at a motel, Star encounters the business' iron-fisted boss, Krystal (Riley Keough), who only retains youngsters that sell subscriptions by peddling fake sob stories. Failure won't be tolerated.

Rating: Four stars

INFERNO (12A)

Inferno opens with crazed scientist Bertrand Zobrist (Ben Foster) taking a backwards dive from a bell tower in Florence, thereby escaping the clutches of security forces led by Christoph Bruder (Omar Sy). Soon after, Harvard University professor Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks) wakes in a hospital in the same city with a gunshot wound to the head and a fractured memory. Kind medic Dr Sienna Brooks (Felicity Jones) tends to him and when bullets fly in the corridors, she helps Langdon escape to her nearby apartment. A thumbprint-encoded vial in Langdon's pocket reveals the first clue of a globe-trotting treasure hunt involving Dante's Inferno and a plague engineered by Zobrist to solve the overpopulation crisis in one bold stroke. Working against them is Harry Sims (Irrfan Khan), head of a shadowy consortium, which billionaire Zobrist engaged to protect his interests. Sims despatches a gun-toting assassin called Vayentha (Ana Ularu), who is dressed as a Carabinieri, to prevent the professor from unravelling the mystery: "Eliminate Langdon. Fail and you will be held accountable!" Meanwhile, old flame Elizabeth Sinskey (Sidse Babett Knudsen), head of the World Health Organisation, is also on the fugitives' trail... Inferno goes through the motions as Langdon and Sienna uncover hidden messages in artworks and artefacts in their attempt to avert mankind's darkest hour.

Rating: Three stars

STORKS (U)

Hunter (voiced by Kelsey Grammer), current CEO of this global empire, prepares to hand over the reins to his nervous protege, Junior (Andy Samberg). The only fly in the ointment is 18-year-old Tulip (Katie Crown), the last baby out of the machine, who couldn't be flown to her parents because of an accident with her tracking beacon. She has grown up in the company of her feathered foster family and now wreaks havoc at Cornerstone with her contraptions. "The only thing you need to do to be named boss on Monday is liberate the orphan Tulip," booms Hunter. Junior's efforts to eject Tulip coincide with the arrival of a letter from 10-year-old Nate Gardner (Anton Starkman), who pleads for a baby brother to remind his workaholic parents (Ty Burrell, Jennifer Aniston) of their priorities. An adorable baby christened Diamond Destiny emerges from the machine and Junior and Tulip embark on a madcap quest to deliver the gurgling infant. Junior's jealous rival for the CEO position, a pigeon called Toady (Stephen Kramer Glickman), gives chase, determined to thwart them. Storks is gently amusing rather than laugh-out-loud hilarious, including several surreal flourishes involving a pack of gymnastic wolves led by Alpha (Keegan-Michael Key) and Beta (Jordan Peele).

Rating: Three stars

THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN (15)

Rachel Watson (Emily Blunt) has self-imploded following an acrimonious divorce from her cheating husband, Tom (Justin Theroux). When she wakes from her drunken stupors, Rachel has alarming gaps in her memory and, on one occasion, she is covered in bruises and blood. As a result of her intoxication, Rachel loses her job at a PR firm, which she conceals from her roommate Cathy (Laura Prepon) by taking her usual train each morning and sitting in the park with a bottle of spirits. The journey takes her past her old house where Tom is now happily settled with his mistress Anna (Rebecca Ferguson) and their baby. The tracks also pass by the residence of neighbours Scott (Luke Evans) and Megan Hipwell (Haley Bennett), and Rachel fantasizes about the couple's seemingly perfect relationship. One morning, Rachel stares bleary-eyed out of the train window and glimpses Megan in a clinch with another man. Megan subsequently vanishes and Detective Sergeant Riley (Allison Janney) becomes interested in Rachel's hazy recollection, especially since the drunkard has no alibi for the hours leading up to Megan's disappearance. Perhaps psychiatrist Dr Kamal Abdic (Edgar Ramirez) can help Rachel to unlock her subconscious. She will soon realise that some memories are best forgotten. The Girl On The Train is a smart psychological potboiler anchored by a strong performance from Blunt as a self-destructive woman, who is figuratively going off the rails in her darkest hour.

Rating: Three stars

WAR ON EVERYONE (15)

Officer Terry Monroe (Alexander Skarsgard) and his partner Bob Bolano (Michael Pena) protect their own interests with a flash of their police badges. "Like I always say, 'If it ain't broke, break it'," grins Terry before they embark on one destructive rampage. Lieutenant Gerry Stanton (Paul Reiser) issues his men with a final warning before they head out on surveillance and learn that Lord James Mangan (Theo James) and his sidekick Birdwell (Caleb Landry Jones) are plotting a bank robbery. Terry and Bob glean more details from informant Reggie (Malcolm Barrett) and allow the heist to take place with the intention of pocketing the ill-gotten profits themselves. However, Lord Mangan is no pushover and he threatens Terry's girlfriend Jackie (Tessa Thompson) and Bob's wife Delores (Stephanie Sigman). Emboldened by booze or a line of cocaine, Terry and Bob prepare to do their duties to maintain a semblance of order on the streets of Albuquerque. War On Everyone is a rumbustious and politically incorrect romp that is disappointingly light on substance.

Rating: Three stars

MISS PEREGRINE'S HOME FOR PECULIAR CHILDREN (12A)

Jacob Portman (Asa Butterfield) has always been close to his grandfather Abe (Terence Stamp). When the old man perishes in mysterious circumstances, the grief-stricken teenager turns to psychiatrist Dr Golan (Allison Janney) to come to terms with his loss. She approves a visit to Cairnholm island off the coast of Wales - population 93 - where Abe claimed he spent his formative years in a home for gifted children. Accompanied by his birdwatcher father Franklin (Chris O'Dowd), Jacob makes the long journey and visits the derelict home alone, searching for some tenuous connection to his grandfather. Amongst the rubble, Jacob encounters a girl called Emma Bloom (Ella Purnell), who wears lead shoes to stop her floating away. She helps him to enter a magical time loop set to September 3, 1943, which is controlled by Miss Alma LeFay Peregrine (Green), headmistress of the school. Other students include pyrokinetic teenager Olive (Lauren McCrostie), prophetic dreamer Horace (Hayden Keeler-Stone), invisible boy Millard (Cameron King) and the masked twins (Thomas Odwell, Joseph Odwell). Miss Peregrine and her charges are being hunted by gnarly, undead creatures called Hollows, led by the menacing Mr Barron (Samuel L Jackson). Jacob promises Emma that he will return to the home the following day to help the outcasts evade a grim fate. Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children is an entertaining and briskly paced adventure with some lip-smacking macabre touches.

Rating: Three stars

DEEPWATER HORIZON (12A)

Engineer Mike Williams (Mark Wahlberg) kisses his beautiful wife Felicia (Kate Hudson) goodbye before he boards a helicopter to the BP-owned and operated drilling platform Deepwater Horizon located approximately 40 miles off the coast of Louisiana. Other passengers include installation manager Jimmy Harrell (Kurt Russell) and third mate Andrea Fleytas (Gina Rodriguez). "This is the well from hell, girl," a co-worker tells Andrea, half joking. Once they land, Jimmy becomes concerned that BP officials, including well site leader Donald Vidrine (John Malkovich), have not carried out sufficient checks to ensure the drill is operating safely. Jimmy orders a test, which brings back concerning yet inconclusive results and reluctantly he gives the go ahead to continue drilling. Crew members including Jason Anderson (Ethan Suplee) and Caleb Holloway (Dylan O'Brien) attempt to make up for lost time, but a massive blowout tears through the 121-metre long rig. Survivors of the initial blast race against time to lower lifeboats into the water before flames engulf the entire structure. Deepwater Horizon captures the chaos of that fateful day, and the courage of men and women who risked their lives to save friends and coworkers from the rig's twisted metal.

Rating: Three stars

THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN (12A)

The year is 1879 and the scars of the American Civil War are yet to heal. The God-fearing folk of Rose Creek seek solace in church, but the spiritual peace is shattered by the arrival of greedy industrialist Bartholomew Bogue (Peter Sarsgaard) and his goons, who intend to drive families out of their homes. "Twenty dollars for each parcel of land," Bogue tells the enraged congregation, shooting dead several dissenters, including faithful husband Matthew Cullen (Matt Bomer). Grieving widow Emma Cullen (Haley Bennett) and her friend Teddy (Luke Grimes) canter to neighbouring Amador City to enlist the services of bounty hunter Sam Chisolm (Denzel Washington) to kill Bogue. "You don't need a bounty hunter, you need an army," scoffs Chisolm, who has crossed paths with the industrialist before. Moved by Emma's tearful plight, the gunslinger corrals six men of dubious character to wage war in Rose Creek: compulsive gambler Josh Farraday (Chris Pratt), sharp shooter Goodnight Robicheaux (Ethan Hawke), assassin Billy Rocks (Byung-hun Lee), tracker Jack Horne (Vincent D'Onofrio), Mexican outlaw Vasquez (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo) and Comanche warrior Red Harvest (Martin Sensmeier). The scene is set for a rootin' tootin' showdown between the rival factions. The Magnificent Seven rests comfortably on the shoulders of Washington and his co-stars.

Rating: Three stars

THE GIRL WITH ALL THE GIFTS (15)

An aggressive fungal infection has reduced the majority of the population to carnivorous predators known as "hungries". The contagion is spread through bodily fluids and victims are inactive unless they scent living prey, which inflames their appetite for flesh. At a heavily protected military base in rural England, Dr Caroline Caldwell (Glenn Close) oversees experiments on a group of infected children, who have miraculously retained their mental acuity. Her goal is to synthesize a vaccine from their brain matter and spinal fluid before the fungus becomes airborne. Schoolteacher Helen Justineau (Gemma Arterton) is one of the on-site staff, and she grows especially fond of a 10-year-old subject called Melanie (Sennia Nanua). "She likes me best," the girl teases Sergeant Eddie Parks (Paddy Considine), whose overwhelmed troops cull the rampaging hordes that swarm around the facility. When the security of the base is fatally compromised, Sergeant Parks escorts Dr Caldwell, Helen and Melanie off-site with fellow soldiers, Kieran (Fisayo Akinade) and Dillon (Anthony Welsh). They trundle across rugged terrain in search of refuge from the slaughter, gun sights scanning the horizon for potential danger. "Our mission statement now is to keep ourselves off the menu," growls Perks. The Girl With All The Gifts shuffles through a series of claustrophobic set pieces, slowly whittling down the cast with bullets or bites.

Rating: Three stars

BRIDGET JONES'S BABY (15)

Director Sharon Maguire, who helmed Bridget Jones's Diary, and her clucky trio of screenwriters, which includes co-star Emma Thompson, are in a celebratory mood. They bookmark the heroine's trials and vacillations with nostalgic flashbacks to earlier films reminding us of Bridget's infuriating obsessions and her fitful romantic dalliances with Colin Firth and Hugh Grant's paramours. "I'm trying not to think I'm past my sexual sell-by date," laments Bridget, as she careens at high speed towards her 43rd birthday without a wedding ring on her finger. She works as a producer at Hard News alongside old boss Richard Finch (Neil Pearson) and newscaster pal Miranda (Sarah Solemani), who suggests a hedonistic girls-only weekend at a music festival. The gal pals descend on a muddy field, which Miranda pithily describes as "Sodom and Gomorrah... with tofu". A late-night blunder into the wrong yurt leads to a spontaneous coupling with a handsome American love guru called Jack Quant (Patrick Dempsey). A few days later, Bridget is powerless to resist the silky charms of old flame Mark Darcy (Firth), who is separating from his wife. A pregnancy test at work confirms that Bridget is about to gain weight. If only she knew who was the father...

Rating: Four stars

BLAIR WITCH (15)

For more than 20 years, James Donahue (James Allen McCune) has been haunted by the disappearance of his sister Heather, whose chilling final moments were documented in footage from October 1994 that became The Blair Witch Project. James is convinced she is alive and his suspicions seem to be confirmed by shaky handheld footage posted on a video sharing website by username Darknet 666. "If there's any chance I can find out what happened to her, I need to try," James tells his girlfriend Lisa (Callie Hernandez), who is making a documentary for a class project. She packs recording devices and a drone and heads to Burkittsville with James and their good friends, Peter (Brandon Scott) and Ashley (Corbin Reid), in order to rendezvous with Darknet 666 aka oddball Lane (Wes Robinson) and his girlfriend Talia (Valorie Curry). The couple believe wholeheartedly in the legend of the Blair Witch and forcibly persuade James and his pals to let them join the expedition. Ignoring a sign which reads, "No entry after nightfall", the group treks into the woods with flashlights and camping gear.

Rating: Three stars

HUNT FOR THE WILDERPEOPLE (12A)

Thirteen-year-old tearaway Ricky (Dennison) is "a bad egg" according to deranged social services worker Paula (Rachel House), who reels off a litany of offences including stealing, arson and graffiti. "That's just the stuff we know about," she adds menacingly. Paula and her police officer sidekick Andy (Oscar Kightley) place Ricky with clucky farm wife Bella (Rima Te Wiata) and her grumpy husband Hector (Neill). "You're a big fella!" grins Bella, surveying Ricky up close. "Who ate the guy who ate all the pies, eh?" Her politically incorrect version of maternal pride melts Ricky's stony facade and he settles into a cosy bedroom, which has books, an Indian lamp and "a nice sharp knife to kill monsters in the night." A tragic twist of fate threatens to send Ricky to the nearest juvenile detention centre. So Hector heads into the bush with his young ward and their trusty dogs, Zag and Tupac. Their disappearance sparks a nationwide man hunt led by Paula, who has never lost a child in her care.

Rating: Four stars

CAPTAIN FANTASTIC (15)

Ben Cash (Viggo Mortensen) and his wife Leslie (Trin Miller) raise their six-strong brood in relative isolation so the children won't be tainted by capitalism or organised religion. The youngsters - Bodevan (George MacKay), Kielyr (Samantha Isler), Vespyr (Annalise Basso), Rellian (Nicholas Hamilton), Zaja (Shree Crooks) and Nai (Charlie Shotwell) - learn to live off the land and fire their imaginations by reading classics like The Brothers Karamazov and Middlemarch. Alas, Leslie has bipolar disorder and she eventually takes her own life while undergoing treatment at a hospital. Ben wants to take the children to the funeral, but Leslie's father Jack (Frank Langella) forbids him from attending. "Grandpa can't oppress us," argues Zaja and the family boards their ramshackle bus, christened Steve, and heads to New Mexico to give Leslie the Buddhist cremation she requested in her will. En route, the Cash clan experiences eye-opening encounters with Ben's sister Harper (Kathryn Hahn) and her husband Dave (Steve Zahn). Captain Fantastic lives up the superlative of its title, compelling us to care deeply about the wounded characters as they search for peace and unity in a world of bitter conflict.

Rating: Four stars

KUBO AND THE TWO STRINGS (PG)

In the latest stop-motion animated fantasy from Laika Entertainment, creators of Coraline and The Boxtrolls, we meet Kubo (voiced by Art Parkinson), who lives in a cave with his mother Sariatu (Charlize Theron), a sorceress whose powers have been drained protecting her son from his evil grandfather, Raiden (Ralph Fiennes). "You must always stay hidden from the night sky," Sariatu warns Kubo before he sets off for a nearby village to entertain locals with tall tales, which he brings to life using origami animals and a three-stringed shamisen. During one of these expeditions, Kubo stays out after sundown in the hope of contacting the spirit of his father, a valiant warrior called Hanzo. Under the cover of night, Kubo's evil aunts (Rooney Mara) materialise and launch a devastating attack. When the boy regains consciousness, his mother is gone. In her place is Monkey, who has been magically brought to life from a wooden charm that Kubo used to carry around in his pocket. "Do you ever say anything encouraging?" Kubo asks his primate protector as they embark on a noble quest to locate three magical items: the Sword Unbreakable, the Breastplate Impenetrable and the Helmet Invulnerable. "I encourage you not to die," tersely responds Monkey, who reluctantly joins forces with a forgetful samurai called Beetle (Matthew McConaughey) to protect Kubo from harm. Kubo And The Two Strings is a joyous conflation of old and new.

Rating: Four stars

DON'T BREATHE (15)

Rocky (Jane Levy) intends to move to California with her little sister Diddy (Emma Bercovici) to escape their spiteful mother (Katia Bokor). To finance the relocation, Rocky robs valuables from homes with her boyfriend Money (Daniel Zovatto) and pal Alex (Dylan Minnette), whose father runs a security firm that has spare keys to the targeted properties. The trio learn about a blind Army veteran called Norman Nordstrom (Stephen Lang), who lives in the neighbourhood and apparently has 300,000 US dollars in a safe in his ramshackle home - an out-of-court settlement for the death of his daughter. "Above 10K's major larceny if we get caught!" Alex nervously reminds his greedy accomplices. "We won't get caught," Rocky assures him. The thieves gain access and leave a homemade chloroform bomb in Norman's bedroom, which should temporarily incapacitate the owner. Rocky, Money and Alex learn to their cost that Norman isn't helpless. He locks the exits, cuts the electricity to the lights and prepares to hunt his terrified prey in the dark using his heightened sense of hearing and smell. Don't Breathe is a masterful exercise in nerve-jangling simplicity.

Rating: Four stars

DAVID BRENT: LIFE ON THE ROAD (15)

It has been 12 years since David Brent (Ricky Gervais) awkwardly ruled the roost at the Slough branch of Wernham Hogg Paper Company. He's now a travelling salesman at Lavichem, peddling sanitary products with gusto and irritating his work colleagues including office bully Jezza (Andrew Brooke) and HR manager Miriam (Rebecca Gethings). Brent does have a few supporters, including Pauline from accounts (Jo Hartley), who has a crush on him, and receptionist Karen (Mandeep Dhillon). "Most people don't get him, but I do," beams fellow salesman Nigel (Tom Bennett). Brent takes unpaid leave from his unedifying day-to-day grind to pursue his dream of music stardom as lead singer of his unsigned band. "The ghost of Alexander O'Neal visited me one night and said, 'You have got what it takes'," explains Brent, who plunders his savings to hire a despairing road manager (Tom Basden) and a quartet of talented sessions musicians, including his nephew Stu (Stuart Wilkinson) on guitar. A rapper called Dom Johnson (Ben Bailey Smith aka Doc Brown) joins Foregone Conclusion to bolster the band's yoof appeal as the mutinous and motley crew embarks on a tour of venues close to the Lavichem office. David Brent: Life On The Road is peppered with uproarious one-liners and moments of skin-crawling brilliance that confirm Gervais as a master of unflattering observation.

Rating: Four stars

NINE LIVES (PG)

Business tycoon Tom Brand (Kevin Spacey) is poised to open the tallest skyscraper in the northern hemisphere - a monolith of glass and steel dwarfed only by his overinflated ego. Tom's unerring dedication to his job drives a wedge between the mogul and his family: long-suffering wife Lara (Jennifer Garner), son David (Robbie Amell), who works alongside his old man, and young daughter Rebecca (Malina Weissman). For Rebecca's birthday present, Tom begrudgingly agrees to buy a cat and he hurries into Purrkins Pet Shop run by the enigmatic Felix Perkins (Walken). On his way home with a scrawny Siberian named My Fuzzypants, Tom is involved in an accident and his consciousness is magically transferred into the cat. Perkins reveals that Tom has a few days to reconcile with his family in his four-legged form or he must remain as a cat for the rest of his nine lives. "If this is what it takes to become human, I will become the best cat that ever lived," vows the businessman as he rebuilds bridges with his loved ones and faces a boardroom coup orchestrated by his ambitious underling (Mark Consuelos). Nine Lives is a supernatural yarn in the vein of Freaky Friday and Big, without the charm or emotional wallop of those enduring family favourites.

Rating: Two stars

PETE'S DRAGON (PG)

A little boy called Pete (Levi Alexander) is orphaned in a road accident and left to fend for himself in the forest that buffers the community of Millhaven. The helpless and tearful child is rescued from a pack of hungry wolves by a green dragon, which the boy names Elliott after a character in his picture book. For six years, Pete (now played by Oakes Fegley) and Elliott grow up side-by-side beneath the forest's lush canopy until a logging operation led by lumber mill owner Jack Meacham (Wes Bentley) and his brother Gavin (Karl Urban) disturbs the peace. Jack's wife Grace (Bryce Dallas Howard), who is a forest ranger, discovers Pete living wild and spirits him back to civilisation. The orphan bonds with her daughter Natalie (Oona Laurence) and father (Robert Redford), who claims to have seen a dragon many years ago. However, the ranger cannot believe in the existence of mythical beasts, even when Pete draws a crayon picture of his best friend. Pete's Dragon casts a heady spell by combining solid, old-fashioned storytelling with dazzling visuals.

Rating: Four stars

MIKE AND DAVE NEED WEDDING DATES (15)

Jeanie Stangle (Sugar Lyn Beard) is concerned that her impending nuptials to sweetheart Eric (Sam Richardson) will be ruined by the drunken antics of her knucklehead brothers, Mike (Adam DeVine) and Dave (Zac Efron). So their parents (Stephen Root, Stephanie Faracy) insist the boys attend the wedding in Hawaii with respectable girls on their arms. Mike and Dave advertise for dates and their plea leads to an awkward television appearance on The Wendy Williams Show. Party girls Tatiana (Aubrey Plaza) and Alice (Anna Kendrick) see the appeal and put on their best airs and graces to impress the Stangles. Mike and Dave are fooled by the ruse and Tatiana and Alice are whisked away to paradise for Jeanie's big day, where the girls gradually reveal their true selves. Meanwhile, Mike's attempts to woo Tatiana are thwarted by rival overtures from his bisexual cousin, Terry (Alice Wetterlund). Mike And Dave Need Wedding Dates delights in the misfortunes of the eponymous brothers, and Efron and DeVine gleefully humiliate themselves for cheap giggles.

Rating: Three stars

FINDING DORY (U)

Dory (Ellen DeGeneres) is the next-shell neighbour of Marlin (Albert Brooks) and his young son, Nemo (Hayden Rolence) on the Great Barrier Reef. During a field trip to witness the stingray migration, the loveable blue tang experiences a rush of fragmented memories of her parents Charlie (Eugene Levy) and Jenny (Diane Keaton). "I miss 'em", Dory tells Marlin and the plucky fish embark on an epic quest to California to reunite the forgetful daughter with her loved ones. Initially, the travellers ride strong currents with sea turtle Crush (Andrew Stanton) and his bodacious brethren, but when they eventually arrive at the Marine Life Institute, Dory is separated from her pals. She languishes in quarantine with a grouchy septopus called Hank (Ed O'Neill), who possesses remarkable powers of camouflage. Meanwhile, Marlin and Nemo abide by Dory's mantra - "Just keeping swimming" - and enlist help from wise-cracking sea lions Fluke (Idris Elba) and Rudder (Dominic West), near-sighted whale shark Destiny (Kaitlin Olson) and a beluga whale called Bailey (Ty Burrell), who has lost his echo location as the result of a concussion. Finding Dory is the emotional and comical equal of its predecessor, dazzling the senses with stunningly realistic visuals and Thomas Newman's buoyant orchestral score.

Rating: Four stars

JASON BOURNE (12A)

Jason Bourne (Matt Damon) believes he knows how the US government moulded him into a trained killer as part of Operation Treadstone. He is living off the grid on the Greek-Albanian border and posing as a bare-knuckle brawler. Far away in Iceland, former contact Nicky Parsons (Julia Stiles) illegally accesses the CIA mainframe to download confidential files about Bourne's former life as David Webb. She discovers a shocking secret and resolves to share the data with the elusive operative. "We've just been hacked. Could be worse than Snowden," agent Craig Jeffers (Ato Essandoh) informs his boss, CIA Director Robert Dewey (Tommy Lee Jones), once the breach is detected. Ambitious protegee Heather Lee (Alicia Vikander) plants malware that allows her to covertly track Nicky's movements. "I will deliver Parsons, the files and - if he's out there - I will give you Bourne too," Heather promises Dewey. She dispatches a hit man, codename Asset (Vincent Cassel), to neutralise the targets. Meanwhile, Dewey locks horns with technology guru Aaron Kalloor (Riz Ahmed) about invasions of privacy which allow the US government to spy on citizens. Jason Bourne is a deceptive slow burn for the opening half hour, but once the script lights the fuse on manifold deceptions, there's little time to breathe between plot revelations and bloodthirsty retribution.

Rating: Four stars

THE BFG (PG)

The heroine is a precocious orphan called Sophie (Ruby Barnhill), who is snatched from her bed at the witching hour by a hooded 24-feet tall figure. The behemoth spirits the girl over verdant valleys and crashing seas to the rolling landscapes of Giant Country. "No such place!" Sophie defiantly informs her host, who introduces himself as the Big Friendly Giant (Mark Rylance). The BFG wouldn't normally kidnap a chiddler, but he explains that he was fearful Sophie might cause a great rumpledumpus by yodelling the news that she had seen a giant. A tender and deeply touching friendship is forged between Sophie and her kind-hearted abductor, who exists on a diet of disgusterous snozzcumbers and is bullied by filthsome fellow giants including Fleshlumpeater (Jemaine Clement), Bloodbottler (Bill Hader), Maidmasher (Olafur Darri Olafsson) and Manhugger (Adam Godley). In order to rid Giant Country of these man-gobblers, Sophie hatches a hare-brained scheme to visit The Queen (Penelope Wilton) at Buckingham Palace. The BFG joins her on this madcap quest, and his presence smacks the gobs of the assembled staff including The Queen's dutiful maid Mary (Rebecca Hall) and head butler Mr Tibbs (Rafe Spall). Directed with verve by Spielberg, The BFG is a visually arresting ride that gently tugs heartstrings in between rollicking set pieces.

Rating: Four stars

ICE AGE: COLLISION COURSE (U)

The film opens with Scrat inadvertently propelling a giant space rock towards the third rock from the sun. Back on terra firma, Manny the woolly mammoth (Ray Romano) has forgotten about his wedding anniversary and pretends fireworks in the sky - actually meteorite chunks entering the atmosphere - are a surprise for his wife Ellie (Queen Latifah). Wonderment turns to terror as molten missiles careen into the earth. "Manny's love is killing us!" screams one of the critters as everyone gallop into caves, cowering together for shelter. Once the deluge subsides, Manny and his pals Diego the sabre-toothed tiger (Denis Leary) and Sid the sloth (John Leguizamo) emerge to survey the devastation. One-eyed daredevil weasel Buck (Simon Pegg) discovers ancient runes that confirm a giant meteorite is heading for the planet. The animals, including Diego's tigress sweetheart Shira (Jennifer Lopez), Sid's 80-year-old grandmother (Wanda Sykes), Manny's spunky daughter Peaches (Keke Palmer) and her laidback boyfriend Julian (Adam DeVine), embark on a madcap quest to avert disaster. Meanwhile, a family of carnivorous flying dinosaurs, comprising father Gavin (Nick Offerman) and children Gertie (Stephanie Beatriz) and Roger (Max Greenfield), tracks the exodus from the air. Ice Age: Collision Course relies on old tensions between friends and family members to provide the fifth film with a burp of dramatic momentum that quickly dissipates.

Rating: Three stars

THE SECRET LIFE OF PETS (U)

Katie (voiced by Ellie Kemper) lives in her Manhattan apartment with a mischievous terrier named Max (Louis CK). "Our love is stronger than words or shoes," explains Max, referring to his penchant for chewing his owner's footwear when he was a puppy in training. He is good friends with other domesticated animals and birds including a pampered Eskimo dog named Gidget (Jenny Slate), who is head over fluffy tail in love with Max, and a sardonic house cat named Chloe (Lake Bell), who nurtures a healthy disdain for anything that doesn't enrich her selfish existence. "Dog people do weird, inexplicable things," she purrs, "like they get dogs instead of cats." Max's bond with Katie is threatened when his owner brings home a lolloping mongrel named Duke (Eric Stonestreet), who she has saved from the pound. Intense rivalry spills out onto the city streets where Max and Duke fall foul of a sphynx cat called Ozone (Steve Coogan) and are mistaken for strays by animal control officers. The snarling enemies are rescued by a maniacal white rabbit named Snowball (Kevin Hart), who pressgangs them into service in his army of unwanted animals, who live in the sewers. The Secret Life Of Pets is the brainchild of the makers of Despicable Me and Minions, and retains a similar visual style and family-friendly sense of humour.

Rating: Three stars

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FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM (12A)

Zealots called the Second Salemers, led by Mary Lou Barebone (Samantha Morton) and her adopted son Credence (Ezra Miller), preach hell and damnation in 1926 New York, following a reign of terror perpetrated by dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald (Johnny Depp). Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) arrives in the Big Apple at the height of this paranoia, carrying an enchanted suitcase with hidden pocket-dimensions full of endangered critters. A No-Maj called Jacob Kowalski (Dan Fogler) accidentally picks up Newt's luggage and releases otherworldly species in breach of the Statute of Secrecy. Beasties go on the rampage and Newt attempts to recapture them aided by Jacob, a former Auror called Porpentina Goldstein (Katherine Waterston) and her mind-reading sister, Queenie (Alison Sudol). Percival Graves (Colin Farrell), Director of Magical Security, is convinced that Newt's illegally imported creatures are responsible for a brutal attack. He declares war on the fugitives in a city where dark forces are gathering. As origin stories go, Fantastic Beasts... is a crowd-pleasing doozy.

Rating: Four stars

YOUR NAME (12A)

Mitsuha (voiced by Mone Kamishiraishi) is a schoolgirl, who lives in the mountain town of Itomori with her grandmother Hitoha (Etsuko Ichihara) and younger sister, Yotsuha (Kanon Tani). The girls' father is mayor Toshiki (Masaki Terasoma) and they honour the gods by performing religious ceremonies in flowing robes at the family's Shinto temple, which cruel classmates watch with pitying sneers. Yotsuha ignores the taunts, but Mitsuha's teenage pride is bruised with each insult. Mitsuha yearns to escape her backwater life for the thrum of the city. She gets her wish when she is magically transported into the gangly frame of Tokyo schoolboy Taki (Ryunosuke Kamiki), who works part-time as a waiter and has a crush on fellow server Ms Okudera (Masami Nagasawa). Taki is simultaneously transported into Mitsuha's body and relies on her friends Tessie (Ryo Narita) and Sayaka (Aoi Yuki) to blend in. In their gender-swapped guises, the teenagers experience each other's worlds through inquisitive eyes. As Mitsuha and Taki criss-cross back and forth, seemingly never destined to meet, they leave notes on each other's mobile phones to keep track of their out-of-body exploits. Adapted from Shinkai's novel, Your Name is an engrossing, heartfelt and dreamlike yarn that leaves a small lump in the throat.

Rating: Four stars

ARRIVAL (12A)

Like Close Encounters Of The Third Kind, Arrival philosophises and digests before it considers locking and loading a weapon. Twelve giant obloid spacecraft enter Earth's atmosphere and descend over seemingly random locations including Devon, the Black Sea and a lush meadow in Montana. US Army Colonel Weber (Forest Whitaker) leads the American response and he recruits emotionally scarred linguistics expert Dr Louise Banks (Amy Adams) to decipher a coded language used by the visitors. Banishing painful memories of her young daughter's death, Louise aligns with military scientist Ian Donnelly (Jeremy Renner) to unravel the conundrum, while the CIA, led by Agent Halpern (Michael Stuhlbarg), considers the terrifying possibility that we are in the calm before an intergalactic storm. As nations grow nervous, especially General Shang (Tzi Ma), chairman of the People's Liberation Army in China, Louise and Ian take potentially lethal leaps of faith to better understand the aliens' intentions. Meanwhile, Captain Marks (Mark O'Brien) and other subordinates under Weber's command debate a blunt show of force against the tentacled extra-terrestrials. Anchored by Adams' mesmerizing performance, Arrival is an extremely stylish tale of grief and self-sacrifice that uncoils beautifully for two hours.

Rating: Four stars

AMERICAN PASTORAL (15)

Director Ewan McGregor employs the framing device of a 40-year high school reunion, where author Nathan Zuckerman (David Strathairn) wanders familiar corridors and meets his old friend, Jerry Levov (Rupert Evans). They reminisce and Jerry reveals that he has just buried his star athlete older brother, Seymour (McGregor again). Apparently, Seymour's turbulent relationship with his daughter was at the heart of his decline. In flashback, we see Jewish American businessman Seymour assume control of the Newark Maid Glove factory established by his father (Peter Riegert) and marry an Irish-Catholic girl called Dawn (Connelly), who once proudly held the title of Miss New Jersey. Seymour and Dawn raise a stuttering daughter called Merry (Dakota Fanning) on their farm in Old Rimrock, where they are largely cocooned from a rapidly changing world. As shocking images of Vietnam flicker on the TV screen, Merry discovers her voice and lashes out. A shocking act of violence at Rimrock post office changes the Levovs' cosy existence forever. American Pastoral is a stagnant adaptation of Philip Roth's book, which intercuts archive news footage of Martin Luther King and the moon landing to provide a historical backdrop to the family's turmoil.

Rating: Two stars

NOCTURNAL ANIMALS (15)

Los Angeles gallery owner Susan Morrow (Amy Adams) stages provocative exhibitions, which elicit coos of appreciation from her pals Alessia (Andrea Riseborough) and Carlos (Michael Sheen), but are - by her own admission - emotionally numb. That's also a succinct description for her marriage to philandering businessman Hutton (Armie Hammer), whose financial woes impact the gallery's future. Out of the blue, Susan receives a manuscript from her first husband, Edward (Jake Gyllenhaal), whose sweet nature and humble Texan origins jarred with her monstrous mother, Anne (Laura Linney). Susan and Edward haven't spoken in 19 years, so his communication is both intriguing and unsettling. With Hutton away on business, Susan devours the pages of Edward's manuscript and in her mind's eye, she imagines Tony Hastings (Gyllenhaal again), his wife Laura (Isla Fisher) and teenage daughter India (Ellie Bamber) taking a late night drive. On an empty stretch of desert highway, the family is terrorized by Ray Marcus (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and his buddies. Laura and India are abducted and local detective Bobby Andes (Michael Shannon) supports Tony as the husband discovers the women's horrifying fate. Nocturnal Animals serves up a dish of revenge with measured restraint, bolstered by powerhouse performances from Adams and Gyllenhaal.

Rating: Four stars

THE LIGHT BETWEEN OCEANS (12A)

The film's set shortly after World War One and follows Tom Sherbourne (Michael Fassbender), a man seeking a peaceful existence after his horrific experiences on the front line. He puts himself forward for the role of lighthouse keeper on the uninhabited Janus Rock off the west coast of Australia. Though he intends to live a life of solitude, he can't help but fall for the vibrant Isabel Graysmark (Alicia Vikander), a young woman who lives in the harbour town. They marry and for a while lead an idyllic existence on the beautifully stark island. Tom manages to slowly shake the horror of his past, along with his moustache, and Isabel blooms. But as time passes, they're delivered devastating blows to any hope of having a family of their own. One day, a rowing boat washes ashore. Inside they find a dead man and a crying baby. Isabel, desperate and broken, pleads with Tom to raise the girl as their own. Despite his reservations, he relents and the trio flourish miles from inquisitive locals. But on one of their visits to the mainland, Tom discovers a local woman, Hannah (Rachel Weisz) who's grieving a husband and child lost at sea. He contacts Hannah anonymously; a decision that sets into a motion a chain of events with devastating and long-lasting consequences. The film looks marvellous, as do Fassbender and Vikander as they look wistfully out to the vast ocean. But while they individually put in captivating performances, there's an element of passion lacking, which is surprising given the pair fell in love for real during the shoot.

Rating: Three stars

THE ACCOUNTANT (15)

Christian Wolff (Ben Affleck) meticulously investigates embezzlement, insider trading and other financial irregularities in criminal enterprises. He works alone and is ruthless in his pursuit of wrongdoing. The Treasury Department, led by soon-to-retire financial crimes director, Raymond King (JK Simmons), is determined to expose Wolff as the shadowy figure called The Accountant. King blackmails ambitious analyst Marybeth Medina (Cynthia Addai-Robinson) into following the evidence trail and confirming Wolff's involvement. She has one month to deliver results or face criminal charges for a serious lapse of judgement in her past. Meanwhile, Wolff is hired by Lamar Blackburn (John Lithgow), long-serving CEO of Living Robotics, to verify the findings of a perky in-house accountant, Dana Cummings (Anna Kendrick), who alleges more than 60 million dollars of company funds have gone astray. Wolff's forensic examination of 15 years' of data coincides with a series of suspicious deaths orchestrated by a bruising hit man (Jon Bernthal). The Accountant is a slick, engrossing romp that uses the lead character's developmental disability as a hook for cheap yet satisfying thrills.

Rating: Three stars

A STREET CAT NAMED BOB (12A)

James (Luke Treadaway) sleeps rough like his friend Baz (Darren Evans) and earns a few precious coins each day by playing his guitar. Every week he visits support worker Val (Joanne Froggatt), who oversees the methadone programme that is the first step towards defeating his heroin addiction. Val manages to secure James a flat to aid his recovery and the busker quickly makes two new friends: a free-spirited neighbour called Belle (Ruta Gedmintas), who knows only too well the devastation wrought by drugs, and a stray cat, which he christens Bob. Bob's presence at impromptu busking gigs inspires generosity from normally resistant passersby and James' confidence grows that he can turn his life around by selling copies of the Big Issue as well as performing, and rebuild bridges with his estranged father Nigel (Anthony Head). However, Val is deeply concerned that James might be anchoring his entire recovery to an animal, who could slink away just as quickly as he arrived. A Street Cat Named Bob offsets the adorable central relationship with sobering scenes of drug abuse. Treadaway slept rough for the role and he captures the desperation and weary resignation of a man who believes that life has turned its back on him. Bob the cat is a natural on camera and looks natty in colourful knitted scarves.

Rating: Three stars

DOCTOR STRANGE (12A)

Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) is a brilliant and arrogant neurosurgeon, with a minimalist Manhattan apartment and an off-limits romance with fellow medic, Christine Palmer (Rachel McAdams). Years of meticulous study are jeopardised when Strange foolishly takes a telephone call in his speeding silver Lamborghini. Medical colleagues save his life, but not his career, surgically refashioning his trembling hands with 11 metal pins. Cast adrift from the world of science, Strange heads to Kathmandu in search of spiritual enlightenment in the company of an enigmatic Celtic shaman called The Ancient One (Tilda Swinton), who harnesses energy to shape reality. Two of her Masters, Karl Mordo (Chiwetel Ejiofor) and Wong (Benedict Wong), take Strange under their wing and spearhead his training so he can travel long distances with a swish of his hand. As his confidence grows, Strange learns about a former Master, Kaecilius (Mads Mikkelsen), who strayed from the path of righteousness and uses his powers for evil. When Kaecilius threatens Strange's old life, including the beautiful Christine, the medic puts his training into practice to save everything he holds dear. Aside from the trippy effects, which left me wishing I could turn back time like the title character and pre-medicate, Doctor Strange is a satisfying opening salvo. Cumberbatch digs deep beneath the bruised skin of his character's overinflated ego, verbalizing the inner turmoil of a self-anointed god, who learns that he is flawed and not entirely the master of his own destiny.

Rating: Four stars

QUEEN OF KATWE (PG)

Queen Of Katwe unfolds largely in chronological order, meeting 10-year-old Phiona Mutesi (Madina Nalwanga) in the bustle of Kampala's streets in 2007, where she sells maize with her brother Brian (Martin Kabanza). They return home with money to keep a roof over the heads of their single mother Nakku Harriet (Lupita Nyong'o), older sister Night (Taryn 'Kay' Kyaze) and younger brother Richard (Ivan Jacobo). By chance, Phiona and Brian meet engineer Robert Katende (David Oyelowo), who is spearheading a missionary program, which supplies porridge to local children as they learn to play chess. Phiona demonstrates natural aptitude for the game and gradually outmanoeuvres her fellow "pioneers" including Ivan (Ronald Ssemaganda), Benjamin (Ethan Nazario Lubega) and Gloria (Nikita Waligwa). With help from his schoolteacher wife Sara (Esther Tebandeke), Robert mentors Phiona and inspires the girl to compete at the World Chess Olympiad in Russia. "Sometimes the place you are used to is not the place you belong," he tells his protegee.

Rating: Four stars

TROLLS (U)

Once a year on the Trollstice, a race of disgruntled ogres called Bergens unlock their inner joy by feasting on shiny trolls. King Gristle Sr (voiced by John Cleese) and his drooling head Chef (Christine Baranski) lead the festivities but the Bergens' reverie is cut short when the trolls, led by benevolent King Peppy (Jeffrey Tambor), escape to a new home. "I never got to eat a troll. What's going to make me happy now?" snivels young Prince Gristle Jr (Christopher Mintz-Plasse). "Nothing," replies the king tersely. Twenty years after the great escape, Princess Poppy (Anna Kendrick) has succeeded as ruler of the trolls, who sing, dance, enjoy group hugs and feverishly glue felt and paper into their scrapbooks. Everyone except for eternal pessimist Branch (Justin Timberlake), who lives in a Bergen-proof subterranean bunker crammed with 10 years of rations. When the Bergen Chef discovers the new troll village and captures several of Poppy's friends, including zen master Creek (Russell Brand) and Biggie (James Corden), the princess pleads with Branch for assistance. "Why don't you try scrapbooking them to freedom?" he responds meanly. Overcoming their initial differences, Poppy and Branch embark on a daredevil rescue mission to the Bergen castle where they play matchmakers to Prince Gristle Jr and scullery maid Bridget (Zooey Deschanel).

Rating: Three stars

I, DANIEL BLAKE (15)

Daniel Blake, a 59-year-old joiner has to spend 35 hours a week applying for jobs that he can't take because of his medical condition, and this search for employment propels him into an online world that is completely alien to a man who has worked with his hands his entire life. "I hear this all the time, 'We're digital by default'," he rages. "Well, I'm pencil by default!" Daniel (Dave Johns) has recently suffered a heart attack and his doctor has signed him off work until he recovers. Following an assessment by telephone, a letter from the Department for Work and Pensions arrives in the post, which reveals he is not entitled to sickness benefit. In order to qualify for jobseeker's allowance, he has to agree to spend his week pointlessly looking for employment or attending a CV workshop, while clashing with officious staff, who adhere rigidly to the rules. When Daniel attempts to fill in the jobseeker's form online at his local library with the assistance of people sitting on the other computers, he fails to complete the screens within his allocated slot. "Sorry mate, your time's up!" a young men tells him, those words laced with hidden meaning given Daniel's recent scare. During one foray in search of compassion, Daniel meets feisty single mother Katie (Hayley Squires) and her two young children, Dylan (Dylan McKiernan) and Daisy (Briana Shann), who have been moved hundreds of miles from London into rundown council accommodation in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Despite his woes, Daniel becomes a fatherly figure to Katie, completing simple DIY tasks to ensure her accommodation is tolerable. Cruel fate sinks its talons into both Daniel and Katie, and they are forced to make terrible choices to keep their heads above water.

Rating: Three stars

JACK REACHER: NEVER GO BACK (12A)

Jack Reacher (Tom Cruise) is living off the grid, embracing a nomadic lifestyle that allows him to move between low-rent motels as he brings down men and women in uniform who abuse their position. En route to a face-to-face meeting with his successor, Major Susan Turner (Cobie Smulders), Reacher discovers that she has been accused of espionage. When associates of Turner are slain before they can testify, Reacher realises that he has stumbled upon a wider conspiracy involving overseas shipments of weaponry. Against the odds, Reacher springs Turner from her high-security holding cell so they can expose corruption within the Army ranks, which could implicate retired General Harkness (Robert Knepper). However, a tenacious assassin called The Hunter (Patrick Heusinger) is on their trail, flanked by violent henchmen, who will stop at nothing to silence witnesses. In the midst of this taut game of cats and mice, Jack faces claims that a smart-talking teenager called Samantha (Danika Yarosh) is his daughter from a previous relationship. Bullets ricochet, Jack communicates with his bloodied fists and must somehow keep Samantha out of The Hunter's gun sights. Jack Reacher: Never Go Back simmers pleasantly thanks to the on-screen chemistry between Cruise and Smulders, the latter rolling up her sleeves to inflict bruises in the accomplished action set pieces.

Rating: Three stars

OUIJA: ORIGIN OF EVIL (15)

Alice Zander (Elizabeth Reaser) is a charlatan fortune teller, who conducts choreographed seances with her daughters, 15-year-old Paulina (Annalise Basso) and introspective nine-year-old Doris (Lulu Wilson). The children perform various special effects - candles blowing out, a shrouded spectre hovering behind a curtain - to give the impression of spirits communicating with the living. One night, Paulina sneaks out to party with friends including older boy Mikey (Parker Mack) and they terrify one another by playing Ouija. "It's really cool!" the girl tells her mother and they introduce the board game and heart-shaped planchette to their act. Little Doris is desperate to make a connection to her late father, Roger (Michael Weaver). "Just because you can't hear him, doesn't mean he isn't there," Alice soothes her daughter. Unperturbed, Doris uses Ouija to speak to Roger. A malevolent spirit gains control of Doris and begins to wreak havoc on the Zander household. As the girl's behaviour becomes increasingly violent, Alice and Paulina abandon their cheap tricks and dive into the spirit realm to save Doris, aided by a local priest (Henry Thomas). Ouija: Origin Of Evil is pedestrian, but Flanagan and his design team evoke the period with elan, replete with TV news coverage of the race to land on the moon.

Rating: Three stars

KEEPING UP WITH THE JONESES (12A)

Jeff Gaffney (Zach Galifianakis) works in human resources at a company, which produces microchips and components for aerospace and military contracts. His wife Karen (Isla Fisher) is an interior designer and they enjoy a simple life in a leafy cul-de-sac, where they exchange pleasantries with other residents including Jeff's work colleague Dan (Matt Walsh) and his wife, Meg (Maribeth Monroe). Out of the blue, travel writer Tim Jones (Jon Hamm) and food blogger wife Natalie (Gal Gadot) move in across the street, paying cash for their home without viewing the property. "Who would buy a house without seeing it first?" wonders Karen, who becomes convinced that the seemingly perfect Joneses are hiding something. The Gaffneys clumsily infiltrate their neighbour's home and discover that Tim and Natalie are government spies with gadgets galore and a licence to kill. Unwittingly, Jeff and Karen become embroiled in global espionage, testing the strength of their humdrum marriage as they pursue a criminal mastermind known as the Scorpion (Patton Oswalt). Keeping Up With The Joneses wheezes and puffs through various set pieces, including a bullet-riddled car chase and a frenetic shoot-out, without any obvious punchlines or pay-offs.

Rating: Two stars

AMERICAN HONEY (15)

Eighteen-year-old Star (Lane) has been left to care for two young siblings, while her mother implodes on drugs. The children scour dumpsters for discarded food still fit for consumption and at night, Star endures the groping hands of her abusive stepfather. During a sortie to a supermarket, Star encounters a group of fun-loving teenagers led by Jake (Shia LaBeouf), who claims to be the manager of a door-to-door magazine subscription business. "You can make 300 dollars a day if you're good," Jake assures Star. Initially, she isn't convinced by his bluster and haphazard attire, which he jokingly describes as "a little Donald Trumpish". Determined to escape the degradation of home, Star hits the road with Jake and the other kids, including misfit Pagan (Arielle Holmes) and blonde prankster Corey (McCaul Lombardi). As they arrive at a motel, Star encounters the business' iron-fisted boss, Krystal (Riley Keough), who only retains youngsters that sell subscriptions by peddling fake sob stories. Failure won't be tolerated.

Rating: Four stars

INFERNO (12A)

Inferno opens with crazed scientist Bertrand Zobrist (Ben Foster) taking a backwards dive from a bell tower in Florence, thereby escaping the clutches of security forces led by Christoph Bruder (Omar Sy). Soon after, Harvard University professor Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks) wakes in a hospital in the same city with a gunshot wound to the head and a fractured memory. Kind medic Dr Sienna Brooks (Felicity Jones) tends to him and when bullets fly in the corridors, she helps Langdon escape to her nearby apartment. A thumbprint-encoded vial in Langdon's pocket reveals the first clue of a globe-trotting treasure hunt involving Dante's Inferno and a plague engineered by Zobrist to solve the overpopulation crisis in one bold stroke. Working against them is Harry Sims (Irrfan Khan), head of a shadowy consortium, which billionaire Zobrist engaged to protect his interests. Sims despatches a gun-toting assassin called Vayentha (Ana Ularu), who is dressed as a Carabinieri, to prevent the professor from unravelling the mystery: "Eliminate Langdon. Fail and you will be held accountable!" Meanwhile, old flame Elizabeth Sinskey (Sidse Babett Knudsen), head of the World Health Organisation, is also on the fugitives' trail... Inferno goes through the motions as Langdon and Sienna uncover hidden messages in artworks and artefacts in their attempt to avert mankind's darkest hour.

Rating: Three stars

STORKS (U)

Hunter (voiced by Kelsey Grammer), current CEO of this global empire, prepares to hand over the reins to his nervous protege, Junior (Andy Samberg). The only fly in the ointment is 18-year-old Tulip (Katie Crown), the last baby out of the machine, who couldn't be flown to her parents because of an accident with her tracking beacon. She has grown up in the company of her feathered foster family and now wreaks havoc at Cornerstone with her contraptions. "The only thing you need to do to be named boss on Monday is liberate the orphan Tulip," booms Hunter. Junior's efforts to eject Tulip coincide with the arrival of a letter from 10-year-old Nate Gardner (Anton Starkman), who pleads for a baby brother to remind his workaholic parents (Ty Burrell, Jennifer Aniston) of their priorities. An adorable baby christened Diamond Destiny emerges from the machine and Junior and Tulip embark on a madcap quest to deliver the gurgling infant. Junior's jealous rival for the CEO position, a pigeon called Toady (Stephen Kramer Glickman), gives chase, determined to thwart them. Storks is gently amusing rather than laugh-out-loud hilarious, including several surreal flourishes involving a pack of gymnastic wolves led by Alpha (Keegan-Michael Key) and Beta (Jordan Peele).

Rating: Three stars

THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN (15)

Rachel Watson (Emily Blunt) has self-imploded following an acrimonious divorce from her cheating husband, Tom (Justin Theroux). When she wakes from her drunken stupors, Rachel has alarming gaps in her memory and, on one occasion, she is covered in bruises and blood. As a result of her intoxication, Rachel loses her job at a PR firm, which she conceals from her roommate Cathy (Laura Prepon) by taking her usual train each morning and sitting in the park with a bottle of spirits. The journey takes her past her old house where Tom is now happily settled with his mistress Anna (Rebecca Ferguson) and their baby. The tracks also pass by the residence of neighbours Scott (Luke Evans) and Megan Hipwell (Haley Bennett), and Rachel fantasizes about the couple's seemingly perfect relationship. One morning, Rachel stares bleary-eyed out of the train window and glimpses Megan in a clinch with another man. Megan subsequently vanishes and Detective Sergeant Riley (Allison Janney) becomes interested in Rachel's hazy recollection, especially since the drunkard has no alibi for the hours leading up to Megan's disappearance. Perhaps psychiatrist Dr Kamal Abdic (Edgar Ramirez) can help Rachel to unlock her subconscious. She will soon realise that some memories are best forgotten. The Girl On The Train is a smart psychological potboiler anchored by a strong performance from Blunt as a self-destructive woman, who is figuratively going off the rails in her darkest hour.

Rating: Three stars

WAR ON EVERYONE (15)

Officer Terry Monroe (Alexander Skarsgard) and his partner Bob Bolano (Michael Pena) protect their own interests with a flash of their police badges. "Like I always say, 'If it ain't broke, break it'," grins Terry before they embark on one destructive rampage. Lieutenant Gerry Stanton (Paul Reiser) issues his men with a final warning before they head out on surveillance and learn that Lord James Mangan (Theo James) and his sidekick Birdwell (Caleb Landry Jones) are plotting a bank robbery. Terry and Bob glean more details from informant Reggie (Malcolm Barrett) and allow the heist to take place with the intention of pocketing the ill-gotten profits themselves. However, Lord Mangan is no pushover and he threatens Terry's girlfriend Jackie (Tessa Thompson) and Bob's wife Delores (Stephanie Sigman). Emboldened by booze or a line of cocaine, Terry and Bob prepare to do their duties to maintain a semblance of order on the streets of Albuquerque. War On Everyone is a rumbustious and politically incorrect romp that is disappointingly light on substance.

Rating: Three stars

MISS PEREGRINE'S HOME FOR PECULIAR CHILDREN (12A)

Jacob Portman (Asa Butterfield) has always been close to his grandfather Abe (Terence Stamp). When the old man perishes in mysterious circumstances, the grief-stricken teenager turns to psychiatrist Dr Golan (Allison Janney) to come to terms with his loss. She approves a visit to Cairnholm island off the coast of Wales - population 93 - where Abe claimed he spent his formative years in a home for gifted children. Accompanied by his birdwatcher father Franklin (Chris O'Dowd), Jacob makes the long journey and visits the derelict home alone, searching for some tenuous connection to his grandfather. Amongst the rubble, Jacob encounters a girl called Emma Bloom (Ella Purnell), who wears lead shoes to stop her floating away. She helps him to enter a magical time loop set to September 3, 1943, which is controlled by Miss Alma LeFay Peregrine (Green), headmistress of the school. Other students include pyrokinetic teenager Olive (Lauren McCrostie), prophetic dreamer Horace (Hayden Keeler-Stone), invisible boy Millard (Cameron King) and the masked twins (Thomas Odwell, Joseph Odwell). Miss Peregrine and her charges are being hunted by gnarly, undead creatures called Hollows, led by the menacing Mr Barron (Samuel L Jackson). Jacob promises Emma that he will return to the home the following day to help the outcasts evade a grim fate. Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children is an entertaining and briskly paced adventure with some lip-smacking macabre touches.

Rating: Three stars

DEEPWATER HORIZON (12A)

Engineer Mike Williams (Mark Wahlberg) kisses his beautiful wife Felicia (Kate Hudson) goodbye before he boards a helicopter to the BP-owned and operated drilling platform Deepwater Horizon located approximately 40 miles off the coast of Louisiana. Other passengers include installation manager Jimmy Harrell (Kurt Russell) and third mate Andrea Fleytas (Gina Rodriguez). "This is the well from hell, girl," a co-worker tells Andrea, half joking. Once they land, Jimmy becomes concerned that BP officials, including well site leader Donald Vidrine (John Malkovich), have not carried out sufficient checks to ensure the drill is operating safely. Jimmy orders a test, which brings back concerning yet inconclusive results and reluctantly he gives the go ahead to continue drilling. Crew members including Jason Anderson (Ethan Suplee) and Caleb Holloway (Dylan O'Brien) attempt to make up for lost time, but a massive blowout tears through the 121-metre long rig. Survivors of the initial blast race against time to lower lifeboats into the water before flames engulf the entire structure. Deepwater Horizon captures the chaos of that fateful day, and the courage of men and women who risked their lives to save friends and coworkers from the rig's twisted metal.

Rating: Three stars

THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN (12A)

The year is 1879 and the scars of the American Civil War are yet to heal. The God-fearing folk of Rose Creek seek solace in church, but the spiritual peace is shattered by the arrival of greedy industrialist Bartholomew Bogue (Peter Sarsgaard) and his goons, who intend to drive families out of their homes. "Twenty dollars for each parcel of land," Bogue tells the enraged congregation, shooting dead several dissenters, including faithful husband Matthew Cullen (Matt Bomer). Grieving widow Emma Cullen (Haley Bennett) and her friend Teddy (Luke Grimes) canter to neighbouring Amador City to enlist the services of bounty hunter Sam Chisolm (Denzel Washington) to kill Bogue. "You don't need a bounty hunter, you need an army," scoffs Chisolm, who has crossed paths with the industrialist before. Moved by Emma's tearful plight, the gunslinger corrals six men of dubious character to wage war in Rose Creek: compulsive gambler Josh Farraday (Chris Pratt), sharp shooter Goodnight Robicheaux (Ethan Hawke), assassin Billy Rocks (Byung-hun Lee), tracker Jack Horne (Vincent D'Onofrio), Mexican outlaw Vasquez (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo) and Comanche warrior Red Harvest (Martin Sensmeier). The scene is set for a rootin' tootin' showdown between the rival factions. The Magnificent Seven rests comfortably on the shoulders of Washington and his co-stars.

Rating: Three stars

THE GIRL WITH ALL THE GIFTS (15)

An aggressive fungal infection has reduced the majority of the population to carnivorous predators known as "hungries". The contagion is spread through bodily fluids and victims are inactive unless they scent living prey, which inflames their appetite for flesh. At a heavily protected military base in rural England, Dr Caroline Caldwell (Glenn Close) oversees experiments on a group of infected children, who have miraculously retained their mental acuity. Her goal is to synthesize a vaccine from their brain matter and spinal fluid before the fungus becomes airborne. Schoolteacher Helen Justineau (Gemma Arterton) is one of the on-site staff, and she grows especially fond of a 10-year-old subject called Melanie (Sennia Nanua). "She likes me best," the girl teases Sergeant Eddie Parks (Paddy Considine), whose overwhelmed troops cull the rampaging hordes that swarm around the facility. When the security of the base is fatally compromised, Sergeant Parks escorts Dr Caldwell, Helen and Melanie off-site with fellow soldiers, Kieran (Fisayo Akinade) and Dillon (Anthony Welsh). They trundle across rugged terrain in search of refuge from the slaughter, gun sights scanning the horizon for potential danger. "Our mission statement now is to keep ourselves off the menu," growls Perks. The Girl With All The Gifts shuffles through a series of claustrophobic set pieces, slowly whittling down the cast with bullets or bites.

Rating: Three stars

BRIDGET JONES'S BABY (15)

Director Sharon Maguire, who helmed Bridget Jones's Diary, and her clucky trio of screenwriters, which includes co-star Emma Thompson, are in a celebratory mood. They bookmark the heroine's trials and vacillations with nostalgic flashbacks to earlier films reminding us of Bridget's infuriating obsessions and her fitful romantic dalliances with Colin Firth and Hugh Grant's paramours. "I'm trying not to think I'm past my sexual sell-by date," laments Bridget, as she careens at high speed towards her 43rd birthday without a wedding ring on her finger. She works as a producer at Hard News alongside old boss Richard Finch (Neil Pearson) and newscaster pal Miranda (Sarah Solemani), who suggests a hedonistic girls-only weekend at a music festival. The gal pals descend on a muddy field, which Miranda pithily describes as "Sodom and Gomorrah... with tofu". A late-night blunder into the wrong yurt leads to a spontaneous coupling with a handsome American love guru called Jack Quant (Patrick Dempsey). A few days later, Bridget is powerless to resist the silky charms of old flame Mark Darcy (Firth), who is separating from his wife. A pregnancy test at work confirms that Bridget is about to gain weight. If only she knew who was the father...

Rating: Four stars

BLAIR WITCH (15)

For more than 20 years, James Donahue (James Allen McCune) has been haunted by the disappearance of his sister Heather, whose chilling final moments were documented in footage from October 1994 that became The Blair Witch Project. James is convinced she is alive and his suspicions seem to be confirmed by shaky handheld footage posted on a video sharing website by username Darknet 666. "If there's any chance I can find out what happened to her, I need to try," James tells his girlfriend Lisa (Callie Hernandez), who is making a documentary for a class project. She packs recording devices and a drone and heads to Burkittsville with James and their good friends, Peter (Brandon Scott) and Ashley (Corbin Reid), in order to rendezvous with Darknet 666 aka oddball Lane (Wes Robinson) and his girlfriend Talia (Valorie Curry). The couple believe wholeheartedly in the legend of the Blair Witch and forcibly persuade James and his pals to let them join the expedition. Ignoring a sign which reads, "No entry after nightfall", the group treks into the woods with flashlights and camping gear.

Rating: Three stars

HUNT FOR THE WILDERPEOPLE (12A)

Thirteen-year-old tearaway Ricky (Dennison) is "a bad egg" according to deranged social services worker Paula (Rachel House), who reels off a litany of offences including stealing, arson and graffiti. "That's just the stuff we know about," she adds menacingly. Paula and her police officer sidekick Andy (Oscar Kightley) place Ricky with clucky farm wife Bella (Rima Te Wiata) and her grumpy husband Hector (Neill). "You're a big fella!" grins Bella, surveying Ricky up close. "Who ate the guy who ate all the pies, eh?" Her politically incorrect version of maternal pride melts Ricky's stony facade and he settles into a cosy bedroom, which has books, an Indian lamp and "a nice sharp knife to kill monsters in the night." A tragic twist of fate threatens to send Ricky to the nearest juvenile detention centre. So Hector heads into the bush with his young ward and their trusty dogs, Zag and Tupac. Their disappearance sparks a nationwide man hunt led by Paula, who has never lost a child in her care.

Rating: Four stars

CAPTAIN FANTASTIC (15)

Ben Cash (Viggo Mortensen) and his wife Leslie (Trin Miller) raise their six-strong brood in relative isolation so the children won't be tainted by capitalism or organised religion. The youngsters - Bodevan (George MacKay), Kielyr (Samantha Isler), Vespyr (Annalise Basso), Rellian (Nicholas Hamilton), Zaja (Shree Crooks) and Nai (Charlie Shotwell) - learn to live off the land and fire their imaginations by reading classics like The Brothers Karamazov and Middlemarch. Alas, Leslie has bipolar disorder and she eventually takes her own life while undergoing treatment at a hospital. Ben wants to take the children to the funeral, but Leslie's father Jack (Frank Langella) forbids him from attending. "Grandpa can't oppress us," argues Zaja and the family boards their ramshackle bus, christened Steve, and heads to New Mexico to give Leslie the Buddhist cremation she requested in her will. En route, the Cash clan experiences eye-opening encounters with Ben's sister Harper (Kathryn Hahn) and her husband Dave (Steve Zahn). Captain Fantastic lives up the superlative of its title, compelling us to care deeply about the wounded characters as they search for peace and unity in a world of bitter conflict.

Rating: Four stars

KUBO AND THE TWO STRINGS (PG)

In the latest stop-motion animated fantasy from Laika Entertainment, creators of Coraline and The Boxtrolls, we meet Kubo (voiced by Art Parkinson), who lives in a cave with his mother Sariatu (Charlize Theron), a sorceress whose powers have been drained protecting her son from his evil grandfather, Raiden (Ralph Fiennes). "You must always stay hidden from the night sky," Sariatu warns Kubo before he sets off for a nearby village to entertain locals with tall tales, which he brings to life using origami animals and a three-stringed shamisen. During one of these expeditions, Kubo stays out after sundown in the hope of contacting the spirit of his father, a valiant warrior called Hanzo. Under the cover of night, Kubo's evil aunts (Rooney Mara) materialise and launch a devastating attack. When the boy regains consciousness, his mother is gone. In her place is Monkey, who has been magically brought to life from a wooden charm that Kubo used to carry around in his pocket. "Do you ever say anything encouraging?" Kubo asks his primate protector as they embark on a noble quest to locate three magical items: the Sword Unbreakable, the Breastplate Impenetrable and the Helmet Invulnerable. "I encourage you not to die," tersely responds Monkey, who reluctantly joins forces with a forgetful samurai called Beetle (Matthew McConaughey) to protect Kubo from harm. Kubo And The Two Strings is a joyous conflation of old and new.

Rating: Four stars

DON'T BREATHE (15)

Rocky (Jane Levy) intends to move to California with her little sister Diddy (Emma Bercovici) to escape their spiteful mother (Katia Bokor). To finance the relocation, Rocky robs valuables from homes with her boyfriend Money (Daniel Zovatto) and pal Alex (Dylan Minnette), whose father runs a security firm that has spare keys to the targeted properties. The trio learn about a blind Army veteran called Norman Nordstrom (Stephen Lang), who lives in the neighbourhood and apparently has 300,000 US dollars in a safe in his ramshackle home - an out-of-court settlement for the death of his daughter. "Above 10K's major larceny if we get caught!" Alex nervously reminds his greedy accomplices. "We won't get caught," Rocky assures him. The thieves gain access and leave a homemade chloroform bomb in Norman's bedroom, which should temporarily incapacitate the owner. Rocky, Money and Alex learn to their cost that Norman isn't helpless. He locks the exits, cuts the electricity to the lights and prepares to hunt his terrified prey in the dark using his heightened sense of hearing and smell. Don't Breathe is a masterful exercise in nerve-jangling simplicity.

Rating: Four stars

DAVID BRENT: LIFE ON THE ROAD (15)

It has been 12 years since David Brent (Ricky Gervais) awkwardly ruled the roost at the Slough branch of Wernham Hogg Paper Company. He's now a travelling salesman at Lavichem, peddling sanitary products with gusto and irritating his work colleagues including office bully Jezza (Andrew Brooke) and HR manager Miriam (Rebecca Gethings). Brent does have a few supporters, including Pauline from accounts (Jo Hartley), who has a crush on him, and receptionist Karen (Mandeep Dhillon). "Most people don't get him, but I do," beams fellow salesman Nigel (Tom Bennett). Brent takes unpaid leave from his unedifying day-to-day grind to pursue his dream of music stardom as lead singer of his unsigned band. "The ghost of Alexander O'Neal visited me one night and said, 'You have got what it takes'," explains Brent, who plunders his savings to hire a despairing road manager (Tom Basden) and a quartet of talented sessions musicians, including his nephew Stu (Stuart Wilkinson) on guitar. A rapper called Dom Johnson (Ben Bailey Smith aka Doc Brown) joins Foregone Conclusion to bolster the band's yoof appeal as the mutinous and motley crew embarks on a tour of venues close to the Lavichem office. David Brent: Life On The Road is peppered with uproarious one-liners and moments of skin-crawling brilliance that confirm Gervais as a master of unflattering observation.

Rating: Four stars

NINE LIVES (PG)

Business tycoon Tom Brand (Kevin Spacey) is poised to open the tallest skyscraper in the northern hemisphere - a monolith of glass and steel dwarfed only by his overinflated ego. Tom's unerring dedication to his job drives a wedge between the mogul and his family: long-suffering wife Lara (Jennifer Garner), son David (Robbie Amell), who works alongside his old man, and young daughter Rebecca (Malina Weissman). For Rebecca's birthday present, Tom begrudgingly agrees to buy a cat and he hurries into Purrkins Pet Shop run by the enigmatic Felix Perkins (Walken). On his way home with a scrawny Siberian named My Fuzzypants, Tom is involved in an accident and his consciousness is magically transferred into the cat. Perkins reveals that Tom has a few days to reconcile with his family in his four-legged form or he must remain as a cat for the rest of his nine lives. "If this is what it takes to become human, I will become the best cat that ever lived," vows the businessman as he rebuilds bridges with his loved ones and faces a boardroom coup orchestrated by his ambitious underling (Mark Consuelos). Nine Lives is a supernatural yarn in the vein of Freaky Friday and Big, without the charm or emotional wallop of those enduring family favourites.

Rating: Two stars

PETE'S DRAGON (PG)

A little boy called Pete (Levi Alexander) is orphaned in a road accident and left to fend for himself in the forest that buffers the community of Millhaven. The helpless and tearful child is rescued from a pack of hungry wolves by a green dragon, which the boy names Elliott after a character in his picture book. For six years, Pete (now played by Oakes Fegley) and Elliott grow up side-by-side beneath the forest's lush canopy until a logging operation led by lumber mill owner Jack Meacham (Wes Bentley) and his brother Gavin (Karl Urban) disturbs the peace. Jack's wife Grace (Bryce Dallas Howard), who is a forest ranger, discovers Pete living wild and spirits him back to civilisation. The orphan bonds with her daughter Natalie (Oona Laurence) and father (Robert Redford), who claims to have seen a dragon many years ago. However, the ranger cannot believe in the existence of mythical beasts, even when Pete draws a crayon picture of his best friend. Pete's Dragon casts a heady spell by combining solid, old-fashioned storytelling with dazzling visuals.

Rating: Four stars