MACBETH (15, 113 mins)

Director: Justin Kurzel

3 stars

There's almost as much Game of Thrones as Shakespeare in this bleak and brutal adaptation of the tragic tale of the Thane of Glamis and his descent into madness.

It begins with a thumping battle in fog and mud as Macbeth (Michael Fassbender) leads his army during the bloody civil war that ravages the highlands in scenes that also owe quite a bit to 300.

It's a prelude to the visual triumph that follows in a film that seems significantly more interested in its imagery than in what its characters are saying.

Reasonably competent accents abound from the almost entirely non-Scottish leads, even if it's not always possible to work out what they're talking about.

This stuff is difficult enough as it is, but by going down the gritty reality route there's often no consideration given if dialogue is drowned out by a passing gale. A cast of world class mumblers (that means you, Sean Harris) doesn't help much either.

A refresher on the play beforehand may go a long way towards better following proceedings as Macbeth murders Duncan (David Thewlis) after receiving a witches’ prophecy that he is to be king, spurred on by the ambitious Lady Macbeth (Marion Cotillard).

As he thrusts his dagger into Duncan and the music pounds, it's energising cinema.

This is a film that comes alive in death, a savage dance of blood and fire that frequently achieves transcendence, only to be pulled back by the impenetrability of its audio presentation.

It’s often best just enjoy to the madness which permeates the whole world of the film. Macbeth is a guy who has squirrels juggling knives inside his head, a child-murdering psycho driven to unspeakable acts by his quest for power.

This is well represented and portrayed with real potency by Fassbender, while Cotillard is equally stunning, her face and eyes haunted by grief and despair.

But, as throughout, the visuals take over as sets, scenery, costumes, the wind beaten faces and a fog machine working overtime all contribute. Enjoy the display, even if there are times when it all might as well be in Hungarian.

See it if you liked: Coriolanus, Hamlet, Braveheart

THE INTERN (12A, 121 mins)

Director: Nancy Meyers

3 stars

The threat of Robert De Niro in a comedy is enough to strike terror into the hearts of your average cinemagoer given some of the old tat he's sullied himself in in recent years.

He's really no gift to the genre and while that doesn't necessarily change with The Intern, it's still one of his better comic turns in what's actually a very likeable film.

Probably because it isn't played broadly for laughs he doesn't have to mug, preferring a relaxed and amiable approach instead as Ben, a 70-year-old widower who is running out of ways to keep himself busy in retirement.

He applies to be an intern at an online fashion company run by Jules (Anne Hathaway), a start-up that’s in danger of getting too big too soon.

It's a film that speaks well to both seniors still contributing, in an Exotic Marigold Hotel kind of way, while also saying something about the lack of prospects for 20-somethings, seeming to understand both worlds with equal empathy.

It gets the hopeless-with-technology jokes out of the way early, and with his many years in business Ben quickly proves himself to be very capable.

Jules' investors want to bring in an experienced CEO to help run things, something she is resistant to, and herein lies what may or may not be the problem with a film like this - it’s one that's clearly well intentioned when it comes to the role of women in business, yet can’t quite commit to having Jules being able to overcome her problems without the help of a man.

It begins to spend as much time outside the workplace as in, delving into personal lives, while there’s the addition of Rene Russo as the in-house masseuse; she and Ben take a shine to each other, which again isn’t overplayed. The downside is that it's about 20 minutes too long as a result.

Still, De Niro and Hathaway have a good dynamic, fitting well into their respective roles and they grow together with warmth. Don’t expect huge laughs, but then again it’s not playing to the cheap seats for them, sometimes letting itself down when it does.

There’s nothing groundbreaking at work here but it offers enough incidental pleasures to maybe start to forgive De Niro for some of his comedy crimes.

See it if you liked: About Schmidt, The Devil Wears Prada, The Internship