If this was a great review it would end with a nice snappy finish: “something something, enough said.” Bam. What a review! you’d cry, reeling from such a splendid piece of prose. Instead I imagine it’ll just peter away to nothing and we’ll all go and have a nice cup of tea, which is due,…

The on-going saga that is the Marvin Gaye biopic.

Killing Them Softly is a strange cocktail of unusually thoughtful gangsters, stylized violence and unsubtle political satire. If you can get past the wanky title, viewers may be pleasantly surprised by its thoughtful approach to grizzly topics but it is by no means the film it has been marketed to be. Think The New World with more guns.

Chopper director to tackle Mob drama starring Brad Pitt, Javier Bardem and Casey Affleck. What’s not to like?

The British talent for satire is brilliantly displayed in In the Loop. This film spin-off from the BBC series The Thick of It chronicles the life and times of several US and UK government figureheads in the days before the invasion of Iraq. The cracking script and brilliant cast keep the laughs coming hard and fast, while director Armando Iannucci’s hand-held camera techniques create an almost uncomfortably close-to-the-bone sense of realism. If you missed this film at the cinema, it’s well worth grabbing on DVD for the best laughs you’ve had in ages and one-liners you’ll be repeating for weeks.

Denzel Washington crashes onto DVD with the remake of the 1974 Taking of Pelham 123, also starring John Travolta in another of his couldn’t-care-less villain roles. What happened, John? You used to be cool, and you ain’t gonna get another gig like Pulp Fiction anytime soon. Sort it out. And lose some weight.

If ‘kidult’ films are the latest trend in Hollywood, Where the Wild Things Are would be at a Kate Moss level of cool, as the hype surrounding it demonstrates. But this is one movie that lives up to its press – the sumptuous visuals, amazing costumes and edgy soundtrack create an amazing and unique cinematic experience. There’s not as much in it for the kids as some parents might like, but the lack of family-friendly formulaic storytelling is also what makes it great.