It's an unlikely story: avant-garde cellist sees the light in a disco glitterball at New York gay club The Gallery and decides disco is the ultimate modern format for exploring minimalist composition. In the mid-'70s, Russell—conservatory-trained, a scholar of Eastern music forms, steeped in the ideas of Steve Reich and Terry Riley—was blown away by the engulfing quality of music transmitted over a massive club sound system and literally entranced by disco's use of repetition.

Haunting, well-judged biopic of Plath and Hughes

Directed by Peter Jackson Starring Elijah Wood, Viggo Mortensen Opened December 17, Cert 12A, 201 mins Now war is declared and battle come down. Armies are mustered, siege weapons unveiled and war elephants saddled. The forces of good line up for a mighty ruck, the outcome of which will dictate the fate of mankind. Hold the line chaps, and watch out for those elephants. The final part of Peter Jackson's Tolkien trilogy is already assured a record-breaking box office haul.

Disappointing supernatural tearjerker

John Grisham adaptation asks searching questions

Van Sant's stark, poetic recreation of Columbine

Spinal Tap are back. Sort of

Harrowing doc about the Cambodian atrocities

Minghella's Civil War saga aims high

True story of controversial Australian murder trial