THE AWAKENING

You'd be forgiven for thinking that horror/thriller films all take place in the here and now and either in the US or Japan what with the slew of movies over the years...

Well writer/director Murphy making the step from small to big screen, has decided to go old school, literally!

Set in 1921, The Awakening tells of Hall's ghost debunker who wants to believe that there are such things as ghosts and the afterlife but instead comes across and exposes fraudsters out to prey upon the grieving. Starting off with a fake seance, Hall is quickly introduced as a no-nonsense, independent woman who hides a secret within her brash exterior.

Like The Orphanage and The Others, this is primarily a one woman show and a lot rests on the shoulders of its lead. Hall, who stood her ground up against Bale and Jackman in The Prestige, shows that she can move easily to centre stage and carry the weight of the film. She never lets it slip into the category of "damsel in distress" during her fall from certainty to near insanity as events unfold within the grounds of the creepy school.

As a chiller, there are some genuine jump-out-of-seat moments - the large dollhouse is an exceptional one - but the kettle is taken off of the boil far too many times during the running time. This means any tension that is built up is then thrown aside for, sometimes unnecessary, dialogue or red herrings. The nail biting atmosphere should be more continuously pushed towards the audience rather than letting them relax too many times. The beauty of the time setting means that reliable and bright torches aren't available and Hall has to rely on a genarator-run lightbulb to explore the things that go bump in the night and all those moments are then but a memory when the exploration stops and the exposition begins.

Overall, it's a solid haunted house tale that will have you tense yourself several times but will leave you feeling that there should have been more to make you feel more satisfied. It's over long epilogue means that you leave the cinema completely relieved of any nervous tension rather than the tingles from the films finale but it's still better than the modern gore-fests of late.

UK release date: 11.11.11

Certificate: 15

IN TIME

Since his debut in '97, writer/director Niccol has explored the realm of sci-fi without actually making what most people would call a "sci-fi flick."

From the genetically flawless (Gattaca) through to artificial people (S1m0ne) and reality TV gone extreme (The Truman Show), he has given, which in other hands could have been Summer Blockbusters, small, thoughtful movies that want to challenge rather than dazzle.

This latest "future ain't so bright" story from him doesn't buck the trend not one bit...

With no catch-up or back story for the audience to get their heads around, the future of non-ageing after 25 and working for time rather than money in order to stay alive, is quickly covered in the opening sequence. The most effective tool used is the role of Timberlake's mother, played by Wilde, who at first glance appears to be his girlfriend until it's mentioned it is her second time celebrating her 25th birthday. This distinctly Logan's Run-esque idea of youthful inhabitants only populating the planet has so much potential yet Niccol refuses to explore any of it. The closest he comes to this is when Timberlake meets Seyfried for the first time and is presented with the issue that he doesn't know if she is either the mother, wife or daughter of the uber-rich gent that he's just met.

Instead, he opts for a chase movie where the chase is so undramatic and pedestrian that you long for anything to happen upon the screen. Even with Murphy's Matrix rip-off (dresses like Neo but walks and talks like Agent Smith) magically prowling just one step behind our mis-understood hero, there's no urgency or worry for the fugitives on the run from the timekeepers. With no fleshing out of characterisation nor logical steps to their development, you don't end up worried enough to care about them. This tied up with dialogue so corny that even George Lucas would cringe - "you saved me the moment you walked into my life," - drives a formidable wedge between the audience and the cast with time reference puns hammering the nails into the coffin one-by-one.

Everything seems on a go-slow which baring in mind that this is all about time and how little people have of it, is the wrong pacing for the storyline. The wanted couple never seem in danger of being caught and then when the plot moves away from Logan's Run and The Island into Robin Hood and Bonnie & Clyde, you can't join them on their quest for justice for all, because, quite frankly, who could be bothered? There's just no time for In Time.

UK release date: 01.11.11

Certificate: 12A

THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN: THE SECRET OF THE UNICORN

Adventure. Spectacle. Thrills. Those were words associated with one man in particular until he seemed to grow up a little and start delivering more thoughtful faire. They still entertained none-the-less, but a restrained eye seemed to be behind the camera.

Not anymore! The 'Berg you remember is back! And with just the right film as well!

Through out its seriously packed 106 minutes, you cannot escape the idea that the people behind and infront of the camera had as much fun making it as the you and the rest of the audience are having watching it. It's like Spielberg has become a child with a new toy - and the toy is the same tech that helped Cameron bring the entire world (box office-wise at least) to the planet of Pandora in Avatar.

With it, the realisation of Herge's well-known world of the boy reporter is so authentic that, for most of the time, you forget that you're watching a motion capture movie based on the comic books and just accept it effortlessly. Infact, the only times you're reminded that it's not live action is when the stunts and set pieces take all those memorable moments of the Indiana Jones films and then pumps them full of steroids and sugar, and goes off the deep end AND the chart! If there is one criticism that can be levied at his and producer Jackson's tale is that there is hardly anytime for the audience to catch it's breath between fantastical OTT set pieces. As soon as your eyes and heart have adjusted to the escape from Captain Haddock's ship, it's straight into a flight from hell which then leads into a flashback battle upon the high seas.

The imagery and cinematography on display here are some of the most awe-inspiring that either Spielberg or Jackson have created over their careers - a handshake dissolves into the shape of a sand dune; two battling ship masts tangle together to create a fiery theme park ride amongst the pirate carnage; Snowy the dog can be tracked through a herd of cows as his head hits their udders; the front wheel and handlebars of a motorbike becomes a makeshift repelling device - all these dive across the screen at break-neck speed to be replaced by another set of smile-inducing, eye-rubbing wonders!

The humour is constant throughout with the two slightly underused Thomspon and Thomson (Pegg and Frost) detectives providing slapstick for the kids and Haddock (Serkis) the laughter for the older viewers. The touches in the back and fore ground give equal pleasure as well - you'll never wonder again how hotels earn extra stars on their ratings after the bazooka'd dam sequence...yes, the film is that crazy.Not only does the feel and excitement of Indiana Jones soak its way through the core of the film, there are nods to the likes of Jaws and of course for the true Tintin fans out there, clues and subtle hints are to be spied all over the screen, from rockets on coffee mugs to a golden crab fountain and an Inca statue.

A true crowd pleaser, this is the most fun the two big directors have had in a long time and all that is transferred onto the screen and into the hearts and minds of the viewer. So much happens you'll need a second viewing just to try and remember half of it! Go see it, by blue blisterin' barnacles!

UK release date: 26.10.11

Certificate: PG

CONTAGION

Few directors have the confidence and ability to swing between genres and budgets but one of them is Soderbergh - for every Ocean's 11 that he's delivered, he has also given us The Girlfriend Experience.

Now it's the turn of his high profile, big star-filled movie once again. Not too dissimilar from the power punch of the Clooney/Pitt starring trilogy, what we have here is another "count em on both hands" recognisable actor-fest. However, this is more of a bare bones documentary that moves away from light hearted fun and high jinks and literally punches you instead in the gut whilst slapping you in the face with statistics and consequences that will float in your mind long after the end credits have stopped rolling.

Anyone who has seen the likes of Deep Blue Sea and Executive Decision will know their type of movie and the connection they share - the fact that no one, no matter how famous they are in their own cast list, is not safe from being killed off at the drop of a hat. Contagion now joins their ranks except here, it could be the touching of a hat or a door knob that you could send packing and leaving the rest of the cast to watch nervously for coughs or dizzy spells...

With the use of a documentary style and actors playing down their "star" quality, Soderbergh manages to pull off the unthinkable and makes you care for some of these characters, so much so that you when you are confronted with their deaths you have either shock or dismay at their demise - the first is a shock and one of the others is so unexpected as you are rooting for them from the get-go that the impact is tangible. Even more so when the fact is that they cannot be buried in a body bag as the death toll has outstripped the resources available to the government.

It's the little, simple facts like that the cause the uncomfortableness to seep in whilst watching it. There's no monkey to catch to find a cure, no chase to resolve the epidemic, just simply the truth that a contagion can spread so easily and people who should help could find themselves bound by either red tape, fear or greed. All this is intensified with the aid of lingering camera shots of human contact and freeze frames to indicate the possible spread of infection - all with alarming frequency.

The cast all present solid performances with Damon billed as the everyman that helps us to relate to the epidemic that is unfolded days at a time like a poisoned advent calender whilst Law is the inside man who appears to know exactly what the government doesn't want the public to know. However, the standout performance goes to Winslet who struggles to deal with both the infected and the bureaucrats who want to control everything but are unable to in reality. Thought provoking, and unnerving this is more nail biting than all the slasher horror movies of this year put together.

UK release date: 21.10.11

Certificate: 12A

SLEEPING BEAUTY

At the end of the year, you would normally see the award-winner-wannabes released in the cinema so that they will remain close enough in the memory of the voters' minds to score a mark come award ceremony time...

Cinema from the far East - Australia and New Zealand - has always been far-reaching and challenging (Once Were Warriors, Whale Rider, Mad Max) and it would seem that things aren't about to change at all. Except for releasing the film earlier than is the norm, but then again, Sleeping Beauty is anything but normal.

The premise of Leigh's film is a simple one that has has been a well trodden path throughout cinemas history - a young girls' awakening to sexual desire through a series of events. Most films will try to exploit the sexual desire and/or tension connected with the subject matter - so much so that the genre of "coming-of-age" movie was born and has since been saturated - that the marketing campaign would put it amongst the likes of American Pie and similar. However, this is no US teen-titillation movie.

From the outset, all is very much along the lines of methodical and clinical rather than seedy and sexy. The opening salvo sees the "heroine" make her way through college tuition by undergoing quite simply gag-reflexing experiments involving tubes inserted down the throat. This gives her money towards making the nights fly by, littered with older men out for sexual encounters but not enough for her best friend "land lord" and her money-grabbing boyfriends rent demands.

It's from this point the storyline that will divide audiences rears its, quite frankly, ugly head... Some will class it as arthouse whilst others will view it as an excuse for soft porn bordering on female degradation. Browning, last seen as victim-cum-warrior Baby Doll in Sucker Punch, ends up as a drugged fetish plaything for the wealthy to do with as they please but who must abide by the one rule - no penetration. What may sound erotic in words, is definitely not when in practise. Despite their back stories and their meandering speeches, the rich men are thinly written, vile characters whilst the women in the "service" are merely props with the odd bitchy remark.

What pushes the viewer away is the feel that all that is being done upon the screen is to have it considered as indie and arthouse. Lots of stunted conversations, glances into the distance, characters with no explanation as to their connection with Brownings drifting student, or plot progression lazily tumble over each other in sequences where, literally, nothing happens for ages. It's almost is if the definition of what's cool has tried to be explained to someone who doesn't get it but has tried to emulate it anyway. Neither engaging or erotic.

UK release date: 14.10.11

Certificate: 18