Compelling crime drama: Devil’s Knot

Director: Atom Egoyan
Cast: Reese Witherspoon, Colin Firth, Stephen Moyer, Alessandro Nivola, Dane DeHaan, Mireille Enos
Duration: 114 mins
Rating: M

The New Daily says: Based on the true story of three young men wrongly convicted of the murder of three boys in Arkansas, Devil’s Knot is dark and gripping look at justice, parenthood and truth. Witherspoon is wonderfully complex as the mother of a murdered boy who begins to question the investigation and Firth is stoic as a principled investigator for the defence.

Crowd-pleasing action: Hercules

Director: Brett Ratner
Cast: Dwayne Johnson, John Hurt, Ian McShane, Stephen Peacocke, Irina Shayk
Duration: 98 mins
Rating: M

Giles Hardie says: Hercules is exactly what it promises on the box and more. Firstly it delivers the action, the swords and sandals swashbuckling fun, that we have grown to expect from a Herculean, Ancient Greecian, Spartan and frankly Dwayne Johnson flick.

Then it delivers added twists: fleshed out characters; humour; genuine twists; and some strong female characters who remember to keep their clothes on for the entire film.

Thoughtful drama with heart: Still Life

Director: Uberto Pasolini
Cast: Eddie Marsan, Joanne Froggatt, Andrew Buchan
Duration: 92 mins
Rating: M

Stephen A Russell from The Lowdownunder says: When it comes to the publicity campaign, promoting a quietly reflective film about a local council pen-pusher who arranges funerals and attempts to find the next of kin for those unfortunate souls who die alone might seem a particularly hard sell, but from the outset there’s a luminescent heart to writer/director Uberto Pasolini’s affecting examination of the human spirit.