This Is It - Jacko's residency at the 02 in London might never have happened but this docu that uses rehearsal footage shows you just how good it would've been. MJ looks like a man at the top of his game, only making the pic all the more poignant. 4 stars.
An Education - Coming-of-age Brit flick about a 60s teenage girl faced with a choice of university or marriage to an exciting older man. A great performance from lead Carey Mulligan although the darker elements of the story could've been played up to more. It's a bit too nice. 3 stars.
9 - Post-apocalyptic animation about a group of top secret robots who are the only survivors of a vicious war. They may be tiny but it's up to them to get the world back on track. It's beautifully dark and expertly made but fails to pack a real emo punch. 3 stars.
Dead Man Running - more Danny Dyer geezer fun, so cockerney you half expect to see Dick Van Dyke dancing around the rooftops with a load of chimney sweeps. The story of a guy scrabbling around for 100K to pay back a loan shark (a terrible 50 Cent) is ropey but it's frothy enough to get by. 2 stars.
Fantastic Mr Fox - George Clooney voices the furry wonder in this loose adaptation of Roald Dahl's kiddy classic. The American voices and boho style might wind up purists but once you get into it, this tale of animals vs humans is bloomin' full of nerdy brilliance. 4 stars.
Saw 6 - forget the plot (the writers have) and wallow in the ludicrously entertaining torture scenes which remain as good as ever. Caution - contains extremely bad acting. 3 stars.
Cirque Du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant - cashing in on the vamp trend, this colourful story of two mates turned into rival bloodsuckers has a great, freakshow feel to it but never gets off the ground with the drama. 2 stars.
Couples Retreat - deadweight 'comedy' about 4 couples heading to a New Age paradise island for romance therapy. Lazy gags from star/producer/co-writer Vince Vaughn, with only Jason Bateman occasionally saving things as his neurotic bezzy mate. Shame. 2 stars.
Triangle - mess-with-your-head psychological thriller starring Melissa George as a single mum picked up by a creepy ocean liner when her yachting trip goes horribly wrong. It's a simple premise but weird-as-hell plot twists place this firmly in the Donnie Darko camp of movie making. 4 stars.
The Imaginarium Of Dr Parnassus - legend Terry Gilliam directs Heath Ledger's last movie, a messy story of a travelling wizard paying the price of immortality. It's not Heath who makes the impact - nor cameos from Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell or Jude Law - but Lily Cole as the Dr's in-danger daughter. But the film's just too untamed to really work out why the hell you should care. 3 stars.
Shane Meadows may have made a hit movie a couple of years ago - the awesome This Is England - but he's still true to his roots.
As a boy he knocked out hundreds of home movies, made with his mates, that were packed with homespun, lo-fi charm. Nothing flash - just loveable short films.
Well, he's still doing it with his latest, except now even his mucking about gets a cinema release.
Le Donk And Scor-Zay-Zee tells the quick tale of a roadie and his new rapping protege, looking for a launching pad for their talents. Can the 'Article Monkeys' help them? Paddy Considine stars in this small bundle of brilliance.
Up - Disney/Pixar's latest is a weepy classic about OAP Carl and his dream of adventuring to far off lands. Which he does by...er...tying loads of balloons to his house and floating off. Very funny, very exciting and VERY heartwarming. Get ready to blub. 5 stars.
Love Happens - Jennifer Ansiton stars in this rom-com that's neither very 'rom' or 'com' but does feature Jen in a variety of kooky outfits and boho hairdos. If that's enough for you, I'm not gonna argue. But the plot about a florist falling for a life coach in Seattle makes Marley & Me seem like a The Shawshank Redemption. 2 stars.
Zombieland - hilarious comedy horror about a ragtag group of survivors fighting zombies across America. Jesse Eisenberg stars as nerdy Columbus but it's Woody Harrelson's redneck warrior called Tallahassee who steals the show with his no-nonsense one-liners and huge array of weaponry. Snappy, gory and blimmin' funny; really smart stuff with a genius cameo from a Hollywood 'A' lister. 5 stars.
