L.I.E.

Brian Cox delivers a towering performance as a paedophile ex-Marine in director Michael Cuesta's finely judged and exquisitely filmed drama from 2001. Co-starring screen novice Paul Franklin Dano as the teenager lured into Cox's orbit, L.I.E. refuses to make simplistic moral judgements in its exploration of this topical yet taboo subject.

Donnie Darko

A recent landmark in US indie cinema, writer/director Richard Kelly's feature debut is a mind-warping rites-of-passage tale with a striking central performance from Jake Gyllenhaal as the troubled teen trying to make sense of time travel conundrums in smalltown USA circa 1988. Exceptional.

High Society

Musical remake of The Philadelphia Story, with heiress Grace Kelly being romantically pursued on the eve of her wedding by ex-hubbie Bing Crosby and dashing reporter Frank Sinatra. If the casting somehow lacks the faultless pizzazz of the original, the score of dazzling Cole Porter tunes more than makes up for it.

The Bruck Stops Here

A 10-disc box set focusing on the modern master of dumb-but-fun action flicks

S1mOne

Another self-regarding screenplay from Andrew (The Truman Show, Gattaca) Niccol, but Al Pacino is on hand to paper over the concept's cracks. A director whose prima donna (Winona Ryder) walks out, he simulates virtual actress S1mOne ("hmm, less Streep, more Bacall"), who becomes a global superstar. Could go further, but the comedy's smart and the acting, ironically, is great.

Biker Boyz

OPENS 27 JUNE, CERT 12A, 111 MINS Put The Fast And The Furious on two wheels and you'll have this laughably po-faced tale of illegal street-racing among LA's biker fraternity. Derek Luke plays Kid, a young speed freak eager to dethrone "King of Cali" Smoke (Laurence Fishburne). To do so, he must set up his own club (the titular Biker Boyz), working his way up the racing hierarchy while keeping true to his late dad's mantra that you should "burn rubber, not your soul". Despite Reggie Rock Bythewood's flashy direction, this dopey yarn is more Vespa than Kawasaki.

Mon-Rak Transistor

Musical melodrama offers glimpse of Thai culture

Fulltime Killer

Stylish slice of sub-John Woo heroic bloodshed

Etre Et Avoir

French classroom documentary hits the mark

Basic

OPENS JUNE 20, CERT 15, 98 MINS Hated drill instructor Samuel Jackson and most of his squad disappear on a basic training mission in the jungle and disgraced DEA agent John Travolta is the only man qualified to winkle the truth out of the two remaining soldiers.
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