Benefited by a witty script that keeps things playful, Focus is as slick a conman flick as any.

As a movie, Chappie is slightly bonkers (Jackman in cargo shorts, humans babying a robot, Copley’s voice intonations for his character, etc), but delightfully so.

It is quite a challenge to keep a film that only involves three men, a raft and the open ocean (apart from a short prologue in their airplane) engaging and involving but to his credit, Falk manages to do so, and the three actors deliver solid performances while getting completely under the sun-blistered skin of the downed pilots’ characters. Definitely an inspirational tale.

Bulletproof brollies that fire bullets, dart spewing wristwatches and cigarette lighter grenades aside, there’s a smooth balance of good humo u r, butt-kicking action and originality too. Kingsman: The Secret Service is a breath of fresh air in the spy movie genre.

While the ending seems a bit hurried and underwhelming, it is Witherspoon who shines throughout. She is extremely convincing in this stripped-down role, whose character she appears to have completely and convincingly absorbed.

Some might feel that the depiction of jazz here is too harsh. But then again, Fletcher’s approach is about mastering the underpinning forms and structures before a player explores improvisational methods. The taut editing (Tom Cross) is outstanding and Simmons outdoes himself. When the thumping tom-toms, trombones and tympani fall silent, what you are also left with is a career-topping performance (thus far, at least!) from Miles Teller.

Timothy Spall’s depiction of Turner is in a word, earthy. The rotund artist’s vocabulary is frequently punctuated by a string of porcine grunts and growls, all delivered by this scowling, jowly and not very jolly man.

he Jupiter-Caine love story angle falls flat but it is Redmayne’s deliciously evil, ruthless Balem who you actually want to see more of. Thankfully though, there is enough originality in here to please hardcore sci-fi fans.

Foxcatcher is aided by a powerful script (Max Frye and Dan Futterman) and is based on a true story. The tale is no doubt an unsettling one… and yet, you’ll not want to miss a second.

The seamless blending of animation with live action is the most striking point in the film. Apart from gently delivering the message about the importance of belonging, the jaunty film score also keeps things moving along rather nicely. Fun family viewing.