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  Certificate: 15 Running time: 115 minutes  Starring: Olivia Colman, Michael Ward, Toby Jones, Colin Firth, Tom Brooke, Tanya Moodie, Hannah Onslow, Crystal Clarke Directed by: Sam Mendes The story: Against the backdrop of an old cinema on the South coast of England in the 1980’s, an unlikely romance begins. The verdict: An explosion of colours against an inky black sky. Two characters silhouetted as they gaze skyward in awe and wonder at the spectacle of fireworks above them. Slowly their eyes meet and something passes between them - whatever problems face them, and in spite of all their differences, they have found something beautiful.  The latest offering from Sam Mendes has received mixed reviews and a fair amount of criticism. Whilst Empire of Light may not rank amongst the very best the director has to offer, I found so much to love about it. For a start, it’s shot beautifully. Of course with Roger Deakins behind the camera, that’s no surprise. But gosh - ther...

  Certificate: 15 Running time: 102 minutes Starring: Allison Williams, Violet McGraw, Jenna Davis, Amie Donald, Jen Van Epps, Brian Jordan Alvarez, Ronny Chieng Directed by: Gerard Johnstone The story: When a talented roboticist uses AI to design the latest new toy, she has no idea just how advanced her invention will become. The verdict: In recent months, I have purposely avoided watching as many film trailers as I used to. I love to be surprised by films and we’re all well aware of ‘trailer syndrome’ - an affliction in which trailers pretty much lay out the entire film in the trailer, making audiences feel like they’ve already seen the film and ruining reveals etc. The one place where I haven’t avoided trailers is of course the cinema itself and indeed I saw M3GAN’s trailer on a previous cinema outing.  The reason I mention the above is because M3GAN is a film in which the trailer pretty much lays out the film. M3GAN does exactly what it says on the tin and not a lot more...

  Certificate: 15 Running time: 126 minutes  Starring: Tom Hanks, Mariana Treviño, Rachel Keller, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Truman Hanks Directed by: Marc Forster  The story: Grumpy Otto Anderson is set in his ways and doesn’t like to get too involved with people - people are idiots. When a new family moves into his neighbourhood, Otto meets his match in Marisol and the unlikeliest of friendships begins.  The verdict: There are two magic words which will immediately want to make me go and see any film, and those two magic words are Tom Hanks. No matter the project, Hanks’ involvement always piques my interest and A Man Called Otto was no different. It seems almost pointless to say but Hanks was brilliant and it was good fun to watch him as such a bad tempered character. The supporting cast was also great and I particularly liked Mariana Treviño as Marisol. A Man Called Otto is the second adaptation of the novel A Man Called Ove and a remake of the Swedish film of the s...