Glenn Close

An A-list cast goes a long way to making this goofy ensemble comedy a lot of fun to watch. Even if it never quite deals with the bigger issues it raises, the sassy dialogue, twisty plot and full-on performances are so lively that the audience is kept on its toes, at least until it becomes obvious where it's heading. And with a wide variety of themes, something is bound to resonate.

As the extended Wilde family gathers for a wedding, it's clear that none of them are very good at relationships. The bride is matriarch Eve (Glenn Close), a movie star who has fallen in love with sparky novelist Harold (Patrick Stewart). Her three sons are all on hand: smiley musician Rory (Jack Davenport), hopeless romantic Jimmy (Noah Emmerich) and womanising bachelor Ethan (Peter Facinelli). Also around are their actor father Laurence (John Malkovich), as well as Rory's popstar ex-wife Priscilla (Minnie Driver). Their 16-year-old daughter Mackenzie (Grace Van Patton) is documenting the weekend on video, just waiting for the usual family disaster.

Writer-director Damian Harris avoids the obvious black humour that's rife in this situation, instead playing the movie as a warm-hearted American comedy blended with elements of a bed-hopping French farce. Yes, all kinds antics are going on, fuelled by alcohol and Ethan's notorious magic mushroom chocolates. Jealousies are also flaring up, drawing lines between hugely popular stars and struggling artists.

Continue reading: The Wilde Wedding Review

Like a 10-years-later follow-up to 28 Days Later, this small British thriller takes a refreshingly original approach to the zombie genre. The most engaging difference is the fact that the central character is infected with a brain-eating virus, so the question has to be whether it's all bad. This introspective approach gives the movie a strong kick, and it looks great despite a small budget. So the film is involving and gripping even if, ultimately, there isn't much to it beyond a cool central idea.

The film opens with a school in an underground encampment, where soldiers guard children who are as heavily restrained as Hannibal Lecter. Their teacher Helen (Gemma Arterton) is friendly and open, as opposed to the sceptical Sergeant Parks (Paddy Considine). Dr Caldwell (Glenn Close) casually experiments on these youngsters to learn more about the virus, arguing that they're no longer human. But Helen has her doubts, especially with her super-smart pupil Melanie (Sennia Nanua). When the compound is overrun by "hungries", it's Melanie who helps Helen, Caldwell, Parks and guard Kieran (Fisayo Akinade) escape. And as they travel across a wasteland into London, they begin to wonder if there's any hope left for humanity as they knew it.

Director Colm McCarthy and writer Mike Carey keep these five survivors at the centre of the film, giving us people we can identify with as things get increasingly desperate. At each juncture, they make yet another grim discovery about this virus, forcing them to revamp their plan. This means that the film has a series of escalating set-pieces that are cleverly designed and very nicely shot and edited to build suspense and sometimes horror. It's also rare for a movie to take such an thoughtful approach to this genre, but then its three lead characters are strong, interesting women.

Continue reading: The Girl With All The Gifts Review

Based on the iconic strategy game, this fantasy battle epic will appeal mainly to either the gamers themselves or audiences that love wildly detailed fantasy worlds. Everyone else will probably feel a bit lost when faced with the stream of confusing names, spells and magical phenomena that fill every scene. It looks terrific, and is directed with plenty of energy and personality. But it feels both overcrowded and superficial.

With their home world Draenor dying, the orcs need to travel through a portal to the human realm Azeroth to find more life force to steal. One orc chieftan, Durotan (Toby Kebbell), is having doubts about this murderous plan, and thinks peace with humans might be a better option. His rival chief Blackhand (Clancy Brown) and the cackling orc shaman Gul-dan (Daniel Wu) disagree, and set a massacre in motion. Preparing for the attack, human King Llane (Dominic Cooper) turns for help to his top knight Lothar (Travis Fimmel), sorcerer Medivh (Ben Foster) and apprentice wizard Khadgar (Ben Schnetzer). Then they meet outcast half-caste Garona (Paula Patton), and she offers another way to take on the invaders.

For the uninitiated, the elaborate mythology is so detailed that it blurs together into something rather incomprehensible. Director Duncan Jones doesn't have time to explain everything, so he charges ahead and just lets the dialogue overflow with references that may or may not be needed to work out what's happening. The film leaps from one strikingly staged battle to another, all cleverly designed to mix digital animation with gothic costumes. It looks pretty amazing in 3D, but the only characters who emerge with any depth are Durotan and Garona, nicely played by Kebbell and Patton under mounds of effects, makeup, fur and teeth.

Continue reading: Warcraft Review

By refusing to follow the usual formula, filmmaker James Gunn has made Marvel's best-yet movie, a summer action-adventure that provides more cinematic fun than the rest of the year's blockbusters rolled into one. It's shamelessly entertaining, keeping the focus on sparky characters even as the action spirals into exhilarating set-pieces around them. And the best thing is that the film isn't actually about the big plot: it's about a group of people who should hate each other but instead come together as a team.

In a pre-logo sequence set in 1988 America, a young boy is kidnapped by aliens. Some 25 years later, Peter (Chris Pratt) has become an ace thief who roams the galaxy in search of cash. Curious and charming, he can get himself out of most scrapes, but when he collects a mysterious orb for a client he ends up as the target of two bounty hunters, the raccoon-like Rocket and tree-like Groot (voiced by Bradley Cooper and Vin Diesel). And the villainously destructive Ronan (Lee Pace) sends his best fighter Gamora (Zoe Saldana) to get the orb for his own nefarious plan. Rounded up and thrown into prison, Peter, Gamora, Rocket and Groot stage a daring escape with the help of literal-minded muscleman Drax (Dave Bautista), then must work together to deal with this troublesome orb. So they contact Peter's mentor/nemesis Yondu (Michael Rooker) before taking on Ronan and his second-best fighter, Gamora's half-cyborg sister Nebula (Karen Gillan).

Gunn gives the film a look and tone unlike anything in the Marvel universe, with colourful ships, sassy humour and freewheeling action that propels the story and deepens the character at the same time. It also makes the most of the well-worn 1980s mixtape Peter uses as his own personal soundtrack. It's the kind of riotously thrill ride that makes us hold on for dear life, loving every twist and turn. And since it's so tightly focused on the characters, the action plot involving the orb merely adds texture around the edges. As do terrific actors like Glenn Close and John C. Reilly in small but pivotal roles.

Continue reading: Guardians Of The Galaxy Review