A Walk Among the Tombstones (15, 114 mins)

A Walk Among the Tombstones (15, 114 mins)

Director: Scott Frank

4 stars

Anyone expecting more of the kind of escapades that have become Liam Neeson's bread and butter in the last few years may find themselves surprised, though hopefully not disappointed by his latest.

Instead of the marauding action man we've become accustomed to, he's a thinker and puzzle solver here. But though it may not be personal, that doesn't mean he's not going to get deeply involved.

Neeson is Matt Scudder, a one-time New York cop turned private investigator, and the protagonist of several books by crime writer Lawrence Block.

Jeff Bridges played Scudder in 8 Million Ways to Die back in the 80s, but that's the only time the character has been brought to the screen until now.

We first meet Scudder in a prologue that shows us how, in his cop days, he was a big fan of shooting first and asking questions later.

But now it's the late 90s and Scudder is asked by Dan Stevens to find the men who killed his wife; they're some very nasty types, which takes him into a murky world of serial killers and drug traffickers.

There's a lot of talking, but it's all done in the course of actual detective work, which you don't see a lot of these days.

We see Scudder do a lot of walking and observing, and talking rather than punching his way through the film. He's more likely to take a beating than give one, and even talks his way out of a fight at one point.

It's not brisk, but it's lean, able to get to the point with a minimum of fuss thanks to economic writing that does its very best to avoid cliché.

So though Scudder is a recovering alcoholic with a dark past, it doesn't make a big thing of it.

There's a emptiness and a brooding menace to the way it's filmed that really makes it feel less like the 90s and more like the 70s, which when it comes to this sort of film can only be a good thing.

It's the sort of thing Robert Mitchum and Sidney Lumet would have gone to town on back then.

But though the likes of Marlowe is referenced frequently by Scudder and the young associate who he takes under his wing, this isn't Elliot Gould we're talking about here, it's Liam Neeson.

We learn almost nothing of his personal life and see him do nothing but work the case, which results in a steady build of tension with the possible assurance that he's going to do something violent and exciting at some point.

But that's secondary to the rock solid detective plot, and it's been a while since we've seen a good sturdy mystery thriller such as this.

See it if you liked: 8 Million Ways to Die, Cold in July, Taken

Magic in the Moonlight (12A, 98 mins)

Director: Woody Allen

3 stars

In Woody Allen's latest, Colin Firth is a celebrated magician in 1920s Berlin who is asked to come to France to debunk a supposed mystic (Emma Stone).

She's been holding apparently very convincing séances for wealthy families, as Allen poses the question about the lies we tell ourselves to get by and runs with it.

It's reason and rationality versus the spiritual, the heart versus intellect, and though not really played for laughs there's a sheen of cynical wit.

Firth does good sarcasm and Stone is a sparky delight, and their constant back and forth is the main draw here, even if the age gap in their potential romance is hard to reconcile.

It can be somewhat static in its staging and its certainly lightweight Woody, but this is a pleasing fizz nonetheless.

See it if you liked: You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger, The Prestige, Midnight in Paris

Wish I Was Here (15, 107 mins)

Director: Zach Braff

3 stars

Zach Braff writes, directs and stars in this slight indie drama as a husband and father approaching a bit of a crisis point in his life.

His father (Mandy Patinkin) used to pay the school fees for his and his wife's (Kate Hudson) children, but his terminal illness means Braff has to decide whether to continue as a struggling actor or do more to support his family.

There's good intent and purpose behind it, even if some scenes and multiple subplots get away from Braff in terms of execution.

In covering ground about doing the best we can and muddling through, it often brings to mind Parenthood, though without the more obvious comedy stylings.

But low wattage smiles pepper it, as moments of truth get mixed in with moments of over-egged whimsy.

It can also be quite moving in parts, and while there's undeniably a certain amount of self-indulgence, it's nowhere near as smug as you might have expected.

See it if you liked: Garden State, A Serious Man, Liberal Arts

20,000 Days on Earth (15, 97 mins)

Directors: Jane Pollard, Iain Forsyth

3 stars

There's much to enjoy and much to lose patience with in this highly stylised documentary biography of Australian singer Nick Cave, following his day as he writes, records and meets up with various people.

At its simplest, he's there to record a new album, but it's dressed up with such rich flair that it almost looks like a drama in places.

There's some straightforward interview stuff, done through a therapy session, and this is where the most insight and poetry is to be gleaned, rather than Cave's own voice-over that tends towards the precious.

But it rambles on for a while after that, losing focus as it searches for a meaningful end point.