Miss Sloane (2016)

Despite its portrayal of a very unconvincing relationship with a male escort and dialogue that drops a touch too readily and smartly, 'Miss Sloane', about a ruthless lobbyist hired to campaign changes to US gun laws in the face of fierce gun lobby opposition, needs to be celebrated for being a ripping political thriller driven by a female lead performance and one that doesn't call into question the main character's sex...except perhaps for the prissy title.

★★★★☆

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The Martian (2015)

"MacGyver In Space" is about a lone astronaut stranded on Mars but Ridley Scott puts an orchestra up there to accompany Matt Damon's two-and-a-bit hours of natty problem solving so that there is never a quiet, contemplative moment and the solutions to the astronaut's fictional troubles (burning this, exploding that, rerouting something else) are merely shrug-inducing, making this scifi about as fun as watching someone do a maths test.

★★☆☆☆

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