NEW RELEASES
A Most Violent Year: This measured character study questions whether it is possible for a person to stick to the higher moral ground and never compromise while chasing the American Dream. **** TS
Accidental Love: Don’t be fooled by the fact that Jessica Biel, Jake Gyllenhaal and James Marsden feature in this rom-com. It wallows in ridiculousness to the point where you feel tortured witnessing a young woman’s misadventures as she attempts to get a health care bill passed. * DT
Cavalleria Rusticana: New York’s Met Opera replaces here their long-standing Franco Zeffirelli production of Cavalleria Rusticana and the story within a story, Ruggiero Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci, with fascinating staging and an avoidance of cliché. **** PB
Hot Pursuit: Reese Witherspoon and Sofia Vergara try to replicate the success of The Heat. (Not reviewed)
Infinitely Polar Bear: Opposite Zoe Saldana, Mark Ruffalo plays a bipolar father trying to care for two children while his wife goes away to school. *** HR
Stone Cold Jane Austen: A fake documentary about a band who claim to be the best Afrikaans rockers ever, if only Fokofpolisiekar hadn’t stolen their moves. Jon Savage hams it up while Rob van Vuuren plays it straight in this ode to Belville rock. *** TS
The Forger: John Travolta and Christopher Plummer try to inject some characterisation into this half-baked heist movie which is short on drama and thrill. ** TS
The Last Five Years: Based on the off-Broadway musical, this one uses mainly music to tell the story of a five-year relationship from two opposite ends, literally. Anna Kendrick creates a sympathetic lead female. *** WP
Tomorrowland: ‘What’s so amazing, that keeps us stargazing’ is not a question that will be answered by this hot mess of a theme park ride full of stuff blowing up and cool robots, but very little actual story. Looks amazing while going nowhere fast. *** TS
ON CIRCUIT
Avengers: Age of Ultron: Joss Whedon’s stamp is all over this comic book sequel with witty one-liners, frenetic action and an underlying sense of dread as the superheroes unleash a supervillain on the world. **** TS
Child 44: Tom Hardy and Noomi Rapace’s strong performances are gripping, but the labyrinth storyline of this character study set in 50s Russia takes a long time to get done. *** TS
Cinderella: Kenneth Branagh gives the Disney fairytale a lush real-life makeover, even if it does drag at times. *** WP
Enemy: Jake Gyllenhaal plays two very different characters in a tense, menacing thriller which doesn’t go anywhere, but still freaks you out as it meanders along. *** TS
Far From the Madding Crowd: Tom Hardy’s book is turned into a film which explains the main character in a way the source material never made clear. Beautifully filmed and well acted. **** TS
French Toast: Afrikaans rom-com that hits all the clichés we associate with Paris being the city of love. Beautifully shot, but the storyline is muddled. ** TS
Furious 7: This latest sequel is a sentimental last hurrah for Paul Walker, filled with fast cars and impossible stunts. *** TS
Get Hard: Will Ferrell and Kevin Hart are wasted on tired and offensive gags instead of allowed to take advantage of the comedy’s potential to break boundaries. ** WP
Home: Issues around friendship, compassion, family and loyalty are relayed in the light-hearted and funny story of Oh and Tip and their adventure into friendship. *** LN
Inherent Vice: Frustrating to anyone looking for a coherent plotline, this 70s crime drama will appeal to fans of director Paul Thomas Anderson and the original novel by Thomas Pynchon. *** TS
Little Chaos: Alan Rickman directs an understated Kate Winslet and a restrained Matthias Schoonaerts in a period drama about who designed the garden around the Versailles Palace in what was then the Paris countryside. *** TS
Mad Max: Fury Road: This bonkers, adrenaline-fuelled drive through an eerily beautiful dystopian desert is crammed full of impossible stunts and violence and welcome female power. **** TS
Paul Blart Mall Cop 2: This unnecessary sequel makes the original look like an unheralded classic. What happens in Vegas, should have just stayed there. * HR
Pitch Perfect 2: Elizabeth Banks directs a perfectly pitched sequel with more Fat Amy Jokes, lots of music and a bit of a lesson about growing up and facing the world. **** TS
Run All Night: Liam Neeson is in great form, but the plot is convoluted and everyone is dialling in their performances. *** HR
Serial (Bad) Weddings: French comedy about the problems a white Catholic couple have with their daughters’ choice to marry non-white non-Catholic men. (Not reviewed)
The Book of Life: Brightly animated children’s film which introduces the idea that death is but a journey, using Mexican folklore and history with heavy emphasis on Santa Muerte art. *** TS
The Duff: Not your typical high school comedy. Funny enough to keep you entertained; but with heart, charm and a sense of maturity in its storyline. *** LN
Yellowbird: This animated cliché won’t fly with anyone over the age of six. ** HR
You’re Not You: As a classical pianist with Lou Gehrig’s Disease, Hilary Swank delivers an emotionally and physically committed performance that significantly elevates the sometimes mawkish material. *** HR