THE ADJUSTMENT BUREAU (12A, 106 mins) Sci-Fi/Action/Romance. Screening on Sony Movies on Friday November 27 at 9pm
ADAPTED from Philip K Dick’s 1954 short story, writer-director George Nolfi’s fast-paced thriller ponders the ripple effect when one man attempts to defy the future that has been apparently mapped out for him.
It’s smartly scripted and slickly directed, anchored by a compelling performance from Matt Damon. He plays ambitious New York politician David Norris, who has overcome tragedy in his personal life to lead the charge for the US Senate and The White House.
On the eve of an important speech, David meets gifted dancer Elise Sellas (Emily Blunt) and discovers he is not the master of his own destiny.
THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM (12A, 115 mins) Action/Thriller. Screening on ITV4 on Thursday November 26 at 10pm and streaming on Amazon Prime Video and Netflix
Almost five years since his lifeless, bullet-riddled body was hauled out of the Mediterranean by a passing fishing boat, secret agent Jason Bourne (Matt Damon) finally learns the harrowing truth about his past in The Bourne Ultimatum.
The third episode of the edge-of-seat spy caper is every bit as fiercely intelligent and breathlessly thrilling as its predecessors.
Director Paul Greengrass is back at the helm, delivering spectacular action sequences, nerve-racking chases and a tangled web of political intrigue that extends from the icy streets of Moscow to Paris, Madrid, London, Tangier and New York.
The stellar cast reprises pivotal roles, led by Damon, whose robust portrayal of the assassin without a name continues to be the template for Daniel Craig’s reinvention of a mean, lean, no-nonsense James Bond.
FINAL DESTINATION (15, 93 mins) Horror/Thriller/Action/Romance. Screening on ITV4 on Monday November 23 at 11.15pm and streaming on Amazon Prime Video
MARKING the directorial debut of X-Files screenwriter James Wong, Final Destination is a smartly written, ironic thrill-ride which holds viewers in a vice-like grip and refuses to let go.
The set-up is pure Mulder and Scully: a high school student (Devon Sawa) has a terrifying premonition that his flight will suffer a catastrophic failure shortly after take-off.
He disembarks with angry classmates in tow, only to be stalked by the angel of death which was supposed to have taken their lives in mid-air.
The explosion on Flight 180 is a jaw-dropper but is merely a taster of the bag of tricks up Wong’s directorial sleeve.
FINDING NEVERLAND (PG, 101 mins) Drama/Romance. Screening on Five Star on Saturday November 21 at 1pm
ADAPTED from Allan Knee’s stage play The Man Who Was Peter Pan, director Marc Forster’s magical evocation of turn-of-the-century London draws inspiration from Scottish writer JM Barrie’s real-life friendship with the Llewelyn Davies family.
David Magee’s elegant screenplay is complemented by sumptuous production design and an expertly matched ensemble cast.
Johnny Depp forgoes his more eccentric, show-stealing performances in favour of a quietly intense portrayal of tortured genius.
Kate Winslet is radiant as a mother desperate to protect her brood from the harsh realities of life and the recreation of the very first staging of Peter Pan is thrilling.
PATTI CAKE$ (15, 105 mins) Drama/Musical. Screening on Channel 4 on Friday November 27 at 12midnight
INSPIRED by writer-director Geremy Jasper’s efforts to break into the New York music scene, Patti Cake$ is a crowd-pleasing underdog story, which wears its heart on its sleeve.
The film’s unlikely heroine – an overweight New Jersey 20-something (Danielle Macdonald) with a talent for immortalising her day-to-day existence in snappy verse – is a diamond in the rough.
Jasper penned the songs and he gifts melodic dialogue to a small yet perfectly aligned cast.
SELMA (12A, 128 mins) Drama/Romance. Streaming on Netflix
MORE than 50 years after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr, director Ava DuVernay honours the memory of the leader of the US civil rights movement with an impassioned biopic.
Lingering doubts remain about the film's historical accuracy of it's emotional wallop is beyond question.
MLK had a dream and through the lens of DuVernay’s film, we are minded that we must all continue to chase it.
SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE (PG, 117 mins) Animation/Action/Adventure. Streaming on Netflix
BOB Persichetti, Peter Ramsey and Rodney Rothman’s Oscar-winning computer-animated adventure introduces a menagerie of gifted spider-folks, who tick myriad racial, socio-economic and anthropomorphic boxes.
Laughs come thick and fast courtesy of a self-referential script that gleefully pokes fun at itself.
Vocal performances relish the script’s irreverent humour and jocularity is balanced with tender moments of anguished soul-searching.
SUNSHINE ON LEITH (PG, 100 mins) Musical/Drama/Comedy/Romance. Screening on Film4 on Sunday November 22 at 12.35pm
IN 2007, playwright Stephen Greenhorn drew inspiration from the songbook of identical twins Charlie and Craig Reid, aka The Proclaimers, for the critically acclaimed stage musical Sunshine On Leith.
Actor-turned-director Dexter Fletcher harks back to his early role as Baby Face in Alan Parker’s Bugsy Malone to harness the exuberance of the theatre production on the small screen.
A soap opera narrative is underscored with slickly executed song and dance sequences, including a beer-soaked rendition of Let’s Get Married in a bar. The Reid twins enjoy a cameo too.
WHIPLASH (15, 106 mins) Drama/Romance. Streaming on Amazon Prime Video
INSPIRED by writer-director Damien Chazelle’s experiences in a fiercely competitive high school jazz band, Whiplash is an electrifying tale of a 19-year-old drummer’s bruising battle of wits with his monstrous college tutor.
Miles Teller’s a bravura performance is complemented by JK Simmons’ Oscar-winning portrayal of the foul-mouthed, bullying conductor, who makes impossible demands for metronomic and percussive perfection.
ZOMBIELAND (15, 84 mins) Comedy/Horror/Adventure/Romance. Streaming on Amazon Prime Video and Netflix
STRIKING an irreverent tone that echoes Shaun Of The Dead, Zombieland is a hilarious jaunt through a futuristic America ravaged by a contagion that has metamorphosed all but the lucky few into flesh-chomping predators.
The rules for survival are explained in the film’s tongue-in-cheek opening section.
Maintain cardio fitness because you’ll spend a lot of time running away from predators because as the film’s laconic hero explains, “when the virus first struck, the first ones to go were the fatties”.
Jesse Eisenberg’s droll scaredy-cat is a wonderful comic foil for Woody Harrelson’s goofball avenger. Splatter and entrails drip off the camera lens at regular intervals.
