Sunshine on Leith (PG, 100 mins)

Sunshine on Leith (PG, 100 mins)

Director: Dexter Fletcher

4 stars

Banish all thoughts of the horrors of Mamma Mia from your mind when it comes to Sunshine on Leith, even if the idea of karaoke renditions of popular hits fills you with dread. This jukebox musical based on the stage show built around the songs of The Proclaimers may follow a similar template to that ABBA catastrophe, but in terms of the quality of its construction, and the sheer entertainment it provides, the end result is in a different league.

It wastes no time getting its cards on the table, letting the audience know exactly what sort of movie they're in for. As a group of soldiers sit inside an armoured vehicle somewhere in the Middle East, they suddenly burst into song, pondering that this may well be their final day in the powerful Sky Takes the Soul. The effect is stunning, especially as moments later a roadside bomb detonates.

Back in Edinburgh after their tour of duty, we meet the soldiers properly: Davy (George MacKay) and Ally (Kevin Guthrie), who are looking to get on with their lives. We follow them through a three-pronged romantic narrative, as Davy starts dating a nurse (Antonia Thomas) while Ally resumes his acquaintance with Davy's sister Liz (Freya Mavor). Davy's parents (Peter Mullan and Jane Horrocks) meanwhile, have hit a speed-bump in their own marriage after 25 years.

The story itself is rudimentarily constructed, with scenes and developments that would be forgivable on stage coming across as stilted and underwritten on screen. But that's not what matters here, not by any stretch. This is a film with nothing on its mind except to make you laugh, cry, sing and dance, and it achieves that with room to spare.

There's no denying that a couple of the numbers are little more than filler, and Bob Fosse will hardly be spinning in his grave at the thought of being outdone by the staging. But director Dexter Fletcher gets the important stuff right, and that mostly involves characters we care about giving it laldy for our entertainment. Oh, and Edinburgh (and occasionally Glasgow) looks amazing too.

It's big, bold and completely sincere. Sure, it hits its emotional beats with a sledgehammer, but that hammer finds its way to the bullseye almost every time, and the results are joyous. Everyone gets in on the chanting, and obviously some will be better than others but again, that's not too important.

You might not think Mullan could be much of a singer, but his rendition of Oh Jean at his and Horrocks' anniversary party is a knockout. In fact the pair share probably the two best scenes in the film, the second of which will have you reaching for the hankies as Horrocks delivers the poignant title song.

Granted, if you'd cross the street to avoid the music of The Proclaimers, it's likely to be a long haul. But sign up to what Sunshine on Leith is selling, and it will surely take you on your way from misery to happiness.

See it if you liked: Mamma Mia, Rock of Ages, Hairspray

Thanks for Sharing (15, 112 mins)

Director: Stuart Blumberg

4 stars

Sex addiction is approached as a disease as damaging as alcoholism in this spiky comedy drama starring Mark Ruffalo as Adam, trying to stay "sober", with Tim Robbins as his sponsor on an addiction programme.

Things start to look up for Adam when he meets Phoebe (Gwyneth Paltrow), though he neglects to tell her about his situation as they embark on a sweet and funny relationship. Addiction is the thing, not the manifestation of it, with a lot of the movie taking place at meetings that are raw and emotional, yet candidly funny.

Fine characterisation is the key, and everyone has their problems among these flawed, real people. At its centre, Ruffalo and Paltrow share a rare chemistry together, and they're reason alone to check this out.

See it if you liked: Choke, Shame, The Kids Are All Right

Emperor (12A, 105 mins)

Director: Peter Webber

3 stars

It's 1945, and in the aftermath of the bombing of Hiroshima, Emperor Hirohito is still worshipped by the Japanese people. The allied forces overseeing the delicate transition to peace task Matthew Fox's general with finding evidence as to whether the Emperor ordered the attack on Pearl Harbor, something that could throw the peace process into upheaval if he's found guilty.

Even though we know going in that Hirohito obviously didn't hang, this is still fairly engaging stuff, handsomely mounted and well-intentioned, if a little stodgy. Flashbacks to wartime and Fox's romance with a Japanese woman create a subplot that distracts slightly from the main thrust, and there's a lot of walking down corridors and expositional conversations given in the form of orders barked by Tommy Lee Jones' General MacArthur.

But as a history lesson and critique on colonialism and the price of occupation that draws parallels to modern day conflicts, Emperor is hard to fault.

See it if you liked: The Good German, Flags of Our Fathers, The Sun

How I Live Now (15, 101 mins)

Director: Kevin Macdonald

4 stars

Apocalypse movies are generally all the more frightening for being set in our own recognisable world, and this chilly drama from Scottish director Kevin Macdonald uses everyday ordinariness to eerie and itchy effect.

It begins like any other young adult drama though, as mopey American teenager Daisy (Saoirse Ronan) arrives in England to spend the summer with her mother's relatives in their shambolic country pile. But Macdonald has been setting an off-kilter tone from the start, with soldiers everywhere and news reports suggesting a country that seems to be on the brink of World War III.

Ronan once again confirms her impressive range with a feisty performance, while there's an additional vibe of Ian McEwan in the shape of Daisy's growing feelings for her cousin Edmond (George MacKay AGAIN, English this time and much better for it). The aftermath of nuclear attacks on London, many miles away, takes the second half in dark directions, and the results are sorrowful and affecting.

See it if you liked: Children of Men, The Cement Garden, Lore

For Those in Peril (18, 92 mins)

Director: Paul Wright

3 stars

The aftermath of a tragedy in a small fishing town is explored in this gloomy Scottish drama that's told with a real visual panache that recalls Lynne Ramsay in its best moments.

Five of the six men on board died, leaving only Aaron (George MacKay again, doing a Scottish accent that's marginally better than his Sunshine on Leith effort) alive and the townsfolk reacting badly to him, treating him as a Jonah.

Aaron has convinced himself that his older brother might still be alive, and this makes for haunting scenes and a powerful evocation of fraternal bonds, with the fear and rage and uncertainty conveyed in a fine central performance from MacKay. The focus turns more and more to Aaron's breakdown as it progresses, with the film losing its potency as a result and there's a growing feeling that while there just isn't enough here to sustain a feature, it would have made a terrific short film.