Colter Stevens (Jake Gyllenhaal) is an air force pilot involved an experimental programme known as Source Code, which allows him to transport into the body of a train bombing victim eight minutes before their death. Can he discover the identity of the bomber before they strike again?

Duncan Jones’ debut Moon was one of the most startling debuts in recent cinema, taking a 1970’s sci-fi sensibility with an intensely humanistic story and a fabulous lead performance from Sam Rockwell. His sophomore effort would always come under more intense scrutiny, but rest assured Mr Bowie Jnr is far from a one trick pony.

A breathless opening establishes the time loop as Gyllenhaal effectively quantum leaps into a body he does not recognise, as clueless as the audience. Initially he thinks it is some sort of simulation until he is blown to kingdom come and his first point of contact Goodwin (Vera Farminga) reveals a far more frightening truth. The pace does not let up as Stevens races against time to achieve his mission.

As the plot develops, the motives of Stevens’ military commanders become increasingly clouded. Trapped in a capsule and with no memory of events since he was in Afghanistan, he is as much a lab monkey as Moon’s Sam Bell. Being killed over and over again can’t be any fun but there is a moral vacuum as far as his wellbeing is concerned. Gyllenhaal counteracts this by surging Stevens with humanity as he develops a relationship with a fellow passenger (Michelle Monaghan), who he is constantly told is dead and cannot be saved. It is a star performance full of pathos and humour, proving that Prince of Persia was nothing more than a blip.

Brainy blockbusters have experienced a re-birth with the likes of Inception and the Adjustment Bureau and Source Code is a welcome addition. Ideas of identity, humanity and fate : Are the train passengers expendable because they are already dead? What about the innocent person whose body Stevens has taken over? – are all floated without railroading the story or confusing the viewer with jargon.

It is happy to not take itself too seriously as it mines serious humour from the situation as Stevens re-lives  the same moments a la Groundhog Day, knowing exactly what will happen. Perhaps this is also the film’s biggest failing and also it does not work well as a thriller with the bomber about as hard to find as an X-Factor winner at a photo op. Also Farminga, Monaghan and Jeffrey Wright (as a Frankenstein like scientist) are given very little to do apart from push the plot forward.

Coming in pleasingly at under  100 minutes and including a shocking but understated twist, Source Code makes  you think without being a complete mind bender. You will come out wanting to watch it again, but maybe not every eight minutes.

Growing up in an 80’s seaside town, teenage outsider Oliver Tate (Craig Roberts) develops a burgeoning relationship with Jordana (Yasmin Paige) while trying to prevent his mother from starting an affair with an ex-lover, who is now a new age spiritual healer.

For a first and no doubt low budget effort, the film looks superb. It has a certain old filmic style to it with its Super 8 footage and elegiac feel, but it is unmistakably cinematic. Every frame shows visual panache, making a sleepy seaside town look, well wonderful. The images have a childlike glow, taking a young teenager’s view of their surroundings.
Although having a quintessentially British feel, Submarine resembles a Wes Anderson film. From the hyper real characters, to the quirky knowing voice over and a superb supporting cast, it may not be to everyone’s taste, but is certainly memorable and creates a coming of age tale without being schmaltzy.

Roberts and Paige make a hugely likeable and engaging couple. Going through all the gamut of emotions from awkward first kisses to breakup and hopefully a re-union. Roberts especially has to balance playing a pretentious so and so with maintaining the audience’s sympathies. Yes most people may have imagined the world revolved around them at that age, but imagining his life as a movie has legs, but ultimately runs out of steam.

It stays on the right side of annoying because it is very funny and is able to laugh as its own delusions of self-importance.  At one point Oliver says if this was a big Hollywood film a scene would finish with a crane shot but as its not have to make do with a zoom out ( right on cue as the camera zooms out).

Ayoade is fortunate to have assembled a stellar supporting cast. Sally Hawkins and Noah Taylor humanise Oliver’s button upped parents, while Paddy Considine has huge fun as utter buffoon Graham, with spiky haircut, tai chi and fine line in claptrap. They provide a darker edge to the story, forcing Oliver to grow up.

Submarine provides plenty of laughs and something refreshingly different from the usual fare you will see on a Friday night. Ayode is a talent to watch out for.

Young Congressman David Norris (Damon) is being groomed for high office, but after a chance meeting with a ballerina Elise (Emily Blunt), a mysterious group try to ensure that the pair never meet again.

The film has been pitched as Bourne meets Inception which proves how hard the filmmakers must have found it to identify a target audience, because apart from Matt Damon running a lot, it is nothing like either. Based on a story by Philip K Dick, the science fiction element takes a backseat to a love story with a few quasi-religious undertones thrown in. Are you keeping up? Debut director George Nolfi sometimes struggles to juggle all the elements.

For a science-fiction themed idea there are some fascinating ideas involved. The Adjustment Bureau are a team of seemingly non-denominational angelic figures who are responsible for controlling the fate of man. This removal of free will casts a moral cloud over their motives (no Clarence from It’s a Wonderful Life here). Their powers of teleportation and telekinesis look flashy on screen, but also fall foul of plot logic – they can stop time but fail to prevent Norris getting on a bus.

Much of the film relies upon the chemistry of Damon and Emily Blunt and there is a wonderful spontaneity and yet naturalness between the pair. Blunt is a force of nature, stunning but grounded in some form of reality and Damon adds his million dollar smile to Norris without stealing the limelight completely.

Nolfi makes superb use of New York’s locations with a couple of superb vistular voyages, but makes a fudge of some other scenes (a love scene looks straight of TV movie heaven) and occasionally loses sight of the story as Damon attempts to cover more mileage than Jason Bourne.

The leads and locations shine and the story is a cut above most mindless fare found in Hollywood today. So despite its flaws, go into the Adjustment Bureau without any expectations and you will probably come out smiling.

Two British comic book fans Clive and Graeme are travelling around famous UFO sites in the USA, when they encounter an alien (Seth Rogen), who has escaped from a government facility and is being pursued by a shady agent and some inept FBI men.

Pegg and Frost have been friends for years and this shows in the easy early chemistry between Clive and Graeme. However lacking Edgar Wright’s directorial flourishes, these are the film’s weakest moments as the stars and writers appear to pull their punches with only gentle mocking of the extreme Geekdom of San Diego Comic Con and a seeming effort not to offend anyone.

However Paul kicks up a gear with the arrival of the titular alien. A drinking, smoking xenomorph with a few special powers, he may be full mouthed but Rogen’s shtick makes him eminently amiable. He threatens Clive and Graeme’s Bromance and causes general mayhem wherever he goes, despite trying to travel across America incognito.

The relationships become even more complicated when the trio kidnap Kristen Wiig’s Creationist. The Saturday Night Live star has a blast as she opens up after her faith is questioned by a close encounter of the third kind.

There are a couple of glorious Star Wars references and one celebrity cameo that leads to a killer pay off line(avoid the trailer if you want this to remain a secret). Plus watch carefully for an inspired George Bush gag that hints at the writers at their best and the type of material you wished to see more of.

In the end Paul shows the weaknesses of Pegg and Frost as both writers and actors. However it is such a sweet natured story that is it is difficult to dislike. So although nowhere near hitting the heights of the previous films, there are enough laugh out loud moments to provide an enjoyable movie.

A young ballet dancer Nina Sayers (Portman)with an overbearing mother wins the coveted lead role in Swan Lake, but slowly loses her grip on reality as she tries to encapsulate the dual roles of the White and Black Swans.

After the critical success of The Wrestler, Aronofsky has been emboldened to return to the artistic grandeur of earlier works The Fountain and Pi. Likely to split audiences with its gloriously melodramatic edge, it never the less encapsulates the essence of a cinematic experience. The camera appears constantly in motion, dancing around the action as if it has grown its own pair of ballet legs. Even off the stage characters float in a manner Orson Welles would have been proud of. At the same time the body obsession and transformation is akin to the work of David Cronenberg.

The look of the film is also fascinating with primary colours hardly getting a look in the opening hour. It’s all dark grey corridors and Portman’s whiter than white innocent outfits are always opposed by another character, whether it be her instructor (Vincent Cassel), mother (Barbara Hershey) or dance rival (Mila Kunis), wearing black. Only as she starts to discover her dark side do colours start to punctuate – wearing the glorious red of her rival’s lipstick or the strobe lights of a nightclub. Mirrors also play a dominant role, creating a seemingly constant reflection of their own souls.

Portman gives an exposing performance, fully deserving of a Golden Globe as she slowly loses her grip on reality, transforming from innocent naïve waif into fully fledged woman (and literally the Black Swan within her own mind). It is a real study in loneliness with everyone important in her life seemingly jealous of her – her mother who never made it, the fallen star now too old to be a draw. Haunted by a dark doppelganger who seems to be leading her into temptation, it is a startlingly raw performance, punctuated with pulse pounding burgeoning sexuality.

It may not have been universally received by ballerinas, who have criticised Nina’s closeted life and the drink and drugs abuse. However just like his previous excursion into professional wrestling, Aronofsky exposes the utter dedication to the performance that the dancers have to go through from preparation to diet and physical dedication.

Oscar voters have got a tough job on their hands in determining which movie is better from the likes of The King’s Speech, Social Network and The Black Swan. They are so fundamentally different. However it deserves its place in the final ten. There is unlikely to be a better month of movies for the rest of the year or as diverse. Go see the film and then go see a ballet.

Climber Aron Raltson (James Franco) is hiking through an isolated Utah outspot when his arm becomes crushed against a canyon wall by a falling boulder. With food and water running out and the chance of rescue unlikely, the adrenalin junkie looks back over his life while considering the unthinkable…

Opening with shots of people, people and people crushed into small spaces, this is counterpointed with outdoorsman Raltson biking through the desolate trails of Utah. This is a film about isolation. When he stops to help guide two female walkers as he departs one says ‘I don’t thing we even figured in his day’. However five days later he’s desperate for any kind of human contact.

The film feels like a fusion of art film and student project mixed with a teaspoon of Oliver Stone at his hyperkinetic best. Boyle’s preference for digital hand-held cameras fits perfectly with the claustrophobia of the story. We are stuck right down in the hole with Ralston. From multiple split screens to dream sequences and daytime hallucinations, the visceral overload could be a complete disaster and yet it kind of works. After two days without food or much water, your brain is likely to unable to think of anything but a cooling drink.

James Franco, often regarded as a prettyboy actor, is starting to build a fine body performances and he has never been better. The film rests on his shoulders (and arm) and he brilliantly rides the gamut of emotions from arrogance to frustration, fear to acceptance. One superb scene sees a delirious Ralston interviewing himself on camera about what an idiot he was to travel out to an such an isolated spot without a phone and without telling anyone where he was going, removing any chance of a quick rescue.

However unlikeable he may be, it is difficult not to admire his primal instincts for survival. No matter how desperate things are, how many of us would cut their own arm off? And be warned, the scene is shown in literal bone crunching, nerve shredding detail. However it is gory without being gratuitous and is in fact necessary not to shy away from. Just don’t eat a big meal before going in.

It is another story, where despite knowing the end of the story, it creates a spellbindingly tense final 10 minutes as Ralston tries to reach some form of civilisation. In a story of a triumph of the human will, Boyle has created an uplifting work in his own style. Most Directors would give their own right arm (sorry) for that kind of talent.

Years after his computer genius father went missing, Sam Flynn (Garrett Hedlund) finds himself transported into The Grid, a computer generated world which is ruled over by CLU, a corrupted digital incarnation of his father, while the real Kevin (young and old Jeff Bridges) is trapped, exiled from his own world.

The plot is perfuctionary at best. In fact it takes a surprising amount of time for Sam to enter AI heaven. In a nice counterpoint to the digital world, his father’s own company has now become a money making machine ruled by emotionless bureaucrats, while Sam remains a rebellious outsider, (albeit rich and good looking). However we are just waiting for Sam to be transported into the Grid and in an opening digital salvo, the film does not disappoint.

A breathless 20 minutes of action follows with disc fighting and a re-booted Speeder chase that is exciting enough to rue that the transport is not re-visited in the film’s climax. The effects are quite simply stupendous, favoured by the fact that computer generated effects work more seamlessly in a world that is far removed from reality. Shimmering skylines and dazzling cityscapes provide a real scope and visual treat, proving how far effects have come on from the original Tron. If the original film was Pong, this is Call of Duty 4.

However cinema has yet to grasp human effects. Bridges’ digital alter ego Clu looks thirty years younger but cannot seem to speak in sync with his lips, leaving several scenes to have to cut away from a close-up. In addition once it pauses for breath, the flaws become apparent. It is mind-bendingly boring when it attempts to weave a plot together.

As for the performances, Hedlund and potential love interest Olivia Wilde barely register, being content to look good in tight fitting outfits (which to be fair they do – a treat for both male and female audience members). Jeff Bridges brings some Big Lebowski stoner qualities to the elder Flynn even at one point saying to Sam ‘Stop messing with my Zen’, but even a flashy Michael Sheen cameo can’t help a film where actors seem a low priority.

Tron legacy’s other saving grace is its soundtrack. Daft Punk’s brand of future electronica perfectly encapsulates the digital world and yet also has time to develop some emotional beats. If only the cast could have followed suit.

Photo journalist Andrew Kaulder (Scoot McNairy) agrees to escort his boss’ daughter Samantha (Whitney Able) from Latin America to the US border. But after losing their possessions they are forced to go through the Infected Zone, an area filled with alien life that crash landed on the planet from a NASA probe six years previously.

Taking a threadbare cast and film crew to Latin America, Monsters is Guerilla filmmaking at its finest, Using a non-professional supporting cast, improvised dialogue and hundreds of effects added in post production, Edwards has created a sci-fi tale with lashings of verisimilitude.

For such a meagre budget the film looks amazing. Using natural locations create a sweeping, cinematic scope. The effects are pretty seamless throughout from digitally altered road signs, warning of the Infected Zone ahead to a Great Wall of China style barricade protecting America. Although the Monsters are mainly seen in the dark, this is compensated with some superb sound design so they remain a constant shadow. In addition there is a one scene of such sumptuous beauty that it takes your breath away.

Despite the title, this is not a film about the Monsters, or an alien attack. Edwards has likened it to Afghanistan if Independence Day was 9/11.  The sight of helicopters overhead or an attack on television barely raises a glance from our two leads. With corrupt border officials, poverty stricken families with no home and deserted American border towns (an nod to Hurricane Katrina?), this is a human story. In fact, there is a strong undercurrent that the creatures only become threatening when they are themselves fired upon or because humans disrupt their migratory and mating habits.

The now married McNairy and Able provide some wonderful chemistry in that their growing friendship and love seems natural. Actually looking like real people rather than FHM and Esquire cover stars certainly helps as well as the dialogue which presents real character flaws and a series of scenes which are not simply fabricated to create a denouement a la High Concept cinema.

Don’t let anyone give too much away. The less you see and hear, the more you will enjoy one of the surprise triumphs of the year.

When an unmanned freight train goes out of a control careering towards populated areas, a veteran engineer (Washington) and a young conductor (Chris Pine) race against time to prevent a disaster.

Washington has become so good at playing the everyman that he can do this kind of reluctant hero role in his sleep. He is able to provide a moral centre combined with some true star wattage. There are not many actors left in Hollywood able to so readily mix popcorn with prestige. The film is a perfectly fine piece of inoffensive Saturday night fare. However the positive notes end there.

Director Scott is capable of many cinematic devices but originality has never been one of them. The central characters’ antagonism is immediately established with Washington’s career man threatened by Pine’s young upstart who seemingly only got the job because his uncle holds some power within the company. Will they end up working together to save the day? Err take a guess! Add an estranged wife and two daughters to the mix anxiously waiting for information and you are in cliché heaven.

The other problem with Unstoppable is other films have already done it bigger and better.  Jon Voight and Eric Roberts had visited that scenario nearly 25 years ago in Runaway Train and despite Scott’s visual fireworks, there is an essential lack of inertia. Jan De Bont put Keanu Reeves on a runaway bus in Speed and maintained the action for a whole film. Despite constant warnings of this half mile juggernaut missiling down the tracks at 70mph and some regular metal carnage, it never looks that fast, which decreases the tension hugely.

After Crimson Tide, Man on Fire, Pelham 123 and Déjà vu, it was perhaps naive to expect original from the Dez-Scott pairing, it is still a little disappointing not to see something new. However if you’re in the mood for some mindless fun, then get your tickets for Unstoppable.

With the evil Lord Voldermort’s (Ralph Fiennes) power spreading to all parts of the magical world, Harry (Daniel Radcliffe), Ron (Rupert Grint) and Hermione (Emma Watson) must go on the run to try and find the Horcruxes, which are the key to defeating He Who Must Not Be Named.

This is the first time the filmmakers have been able to cut loose in the movie Potter universe. It is no time for Muggles to make their first foray into the series. There is no story so far recap, no Dumbledore to save the day, no Hogwarts. Everything that felt safe in the previous movies has been taken away leaving our heroes stuck on a seemingly hopeless quest.

The road movie element nicely emphasises Harry, Ron and Hermione’s isolation and also allows director David Yates to give the picture a more cinematic edge with some stunning Lord of the Rings style vistula’s, However those with knowledge of the book may be yelling ‘get on with it’ as it takes an age to reach the explanation of the Deathly Hallows (in a virtuoso piece of narrative animation), which will be central to the final movie.

With the pride of British acting talent (which can now include Bill Nighy and Peter Mullan) left largely in the periphery, much of the film’s success or failure is down to three leads. Although Daniel Radcliffe still lacks a commanding screen presence, there is enough natural chemistry between him, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson to keep the central relationships believable and watchable.

There is plenty of action to entertain the younger viewers and break up the gloom from a raid on the Ministry of Magic, a chase scene through the streets with multiple Harry’s trying to escape the Death Eaters and a climatic encounter that sees the departure of a story favourite. These are all handled with aplomb with some jump shock moments that were no doubt created for the film’s 3-D transfer, which has been delayed into the new year.

Although it’s not recommended for the under eights, younger viewers, teenagers and diehard fans of the book will no doubt provide a far less cynical view on the film and good on them. However I’m still waiting for that little piece of cinema magic to enrapture me.