Steve Jobs (2015)

Biopics often feel like narrative-free highlight reels but Danny Boyle's cleverly constructed one about the co-founder and CEO of Apple tells a fascinating story with great heart, humour, emotion, and is full of character, about the flawed genius, his vision for Apple, his family and key professional relationships.

★★★★★

CINECAL: ONE SENTENCE REVIEW

Carol (2015)

Patricia Highsmith fans will be more interested than most in this inoffensive, rather pretty but pretty boring drama about two women in New York who embark on a romance at a time when such things were frowned upon.

★★☆☆☆

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Mr Holmes (2015)

The themes of memory, fact and fiction are explored in this movie that elaborates on the Sherlock Holmes canon, imagining the great detective at 90-odd years of age vexed by an unsolved case, but the movie's three distinct story threads are each so frustratingly thin - and in one important area, so unconvincing - that the impact of the interesting loftier themes is lessened.

★★☆☆☆

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Locke (2013)

A gripping character study of a man making a trip in his car that will rock his life on multiple fronts - how he handles the fallout from his decision to make that trip, in phone conversations with his wife, son and work colleagues, makes for a thrilling 84-minute car ride!

★★★★☆

 CINECAL: ONE SENTENCE REVIEWS

Carrie (1976)

The original 1976 film version of Stephen King's Carrie is a not especially enjoyable American gothic horror story about an alienated student bullied into the sort of destructive behaviour that these days happens in American high schools with guns, not telekinesis.

★★☆☆☆

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Maleficent (2014)

Once upon a time, enormous hit Wicked told a backstory that sympathetically explained the wickedness of its fairytale anti-heroine, and perhaps that is what Maleficent, a boring fairytale not quite aimed at children and not quite aimed at adults, hoped to do too...but doesn't....The End.

★★☆☆☆

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Bernie (2011)

Jack Black is hugely charismatic as real life convicted murderer, Bernie, but the movie, despite the inclusion of interviews with the townsfolk involved in the true events, feels like it has failed to turn over some obvious other stones.

★★★☆☆

CINECAL: ONE SENTENCE REVIEWS

Arrietty (2010)

This Japanese animation is perfect entertainment for kids, especially those familiar with "The Borrowers" books upon which it is based, and adults won't mind the narrative pacing problems which make it seem the entire story (think 60s TV series "Land of the Giants" for kids) happens over about twenty minutes.

★★☆☆☆

CINECAL: ONE SENTENCE REVIEWS

Hanna (2011)

A girl is raised by Eric Bana to be an assassin but ham-fisted fairytale themes dog the girl at every turn of her story, making what could have been a Euro-cool spy thriller a strange farce.

★☆☆☆☆

CINECAL: ONE SENTENCE REVIEWS

Donnie Darko (2001)

Mesmerising high school drama about how completely messed up a kid can become trying to deal with the inauthentic characters and lives and world around him.

★★★★★

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