Trance (15, 101 mins)

Director: Danny Boyle

With Danny Boyle elevated practically to sainthood - rejected knighthood notwithstanding - following the triumph of the Olympics opening ceremony, it was always going to be of interest just what his next movie project would bring.

It's also worth remembering though, in the midst of all that rightful praise that came hot on the heels of Oscar glory for Slumdog Millionaire, that he's perfectly capable of churning out the odd duffer, as demonstrated by The Beach and A Life Less Ordinary.

Trance proves an interesting beast, a sleek and precise thriller that entertains for the most part, but frustrates in its need to manoeuvre the plot all over the place before it reaches its destination. It's the sort of film in which it's immediately evident there will be tricks at play, but the manner in which these unfold proves somewhat unsatisfying.

Our way in to the convoluted goings-on is through Simon (James McAvoy), who works at a top London auction house. The theft of a Goya by Vincent Cassel and his crew leaves Simon badly injured, but it quickly transpires that he was in on it all along. The problem is the bang on the head that Cassel gave him means Simon can't remember where he's stashed the painting, prompting him to visit a psychiatrist (Rosario Dawson) for hypnotherapy to try to recover his memory.

The sharp screenplay is economic, keeping flab to a minimum, and it's certainly not guilty of over-explaining, which can leave the audience in the curious position of not really knowing what they want.

It's a film directed with imagination and verve, visually audacious but not needlessly frenetic, favouring imagery over mad editing. The soundtrack is sensational and it looks sublime, but while what is on screen is always arresting and sonically pleasing, the plot labours in a midsection where allegiances switch and the grip that has been carefully exerted begins to slacken.

There's an awful lot of noodling around before we really get down to it. Working both in its favour and as something of a distraction is the fact that there are no clear-cut sides, and no immediate sense of who the good guys and who the bad guys are.

All of which leaves Trance as an aesthetic and technical triumph, but also a cold and occasionally troublesome piece of storytelling.

 

G.I. Joe: Retaliation (12A, 110 mins)

Director: Jon M. Chu

With more coherent action, a lot less dullness and the addition of a couple of star names to the cast, this dumb but passably entertaining sequel to 2009's G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra is certainly miles better than a woeful first instalment that was largely gibberish. That's not to say the plot here isn't nonsensical, because it is, some foolishness about Cobra, the baddies, having created a doppelganger of the president (Jonathan Pryce), then threatening the world with a new super-weapon while a betrayal leads the Joes, the goodies, on a revenge mission. The arrival of Bruce Willis and Dwayne Johnson to the elite military team that is the Joes is a welcome one, and they punch and blow stuff up real good. There's also more Channing Tatum to be had than was originally planned, with reshoots delaying this sequel's release by nine months to cash in on him being one of the most popular stars of the past year, and he and Johnson share a nice dynamic. Some nifty gizmos and action sequences that are cool in ways that the core target audience of 12 year old boys will find pleasing are the movie's bread and butter, but it's whenever anyone has to open their mouths that it all starts to go wrong, with some truly honking dialogue. But the central sequence, a sensational ninja-tastic chase and swordfight on the side of a mountain, is good enough almost to make this a recommended watch.

 

Good Vibrations (15, 103 mins)

Directors: Lisa Barros D'Sa, Glenn Leyburn

The true story of how record shop owner Terri Hooley did his bit to bridge the religious divide in 1970s Belfast is brought to the screen in charming, easy-going style. With no one interested in his DJ sets, Hooley (Richard Dormer) opens a store, but sales are dismal until he realises what the kids want is punk rock, and with his help several punk greats get their breakthrough. It's not the most dynamic or surprising movie in the world, and suffers like most biopics in being just a lot of bits and pieces shuffling around looking for a whole, but it's earthy and comical and fun while it goes. Dormer is wonderful and the power of the music remains undimmed, and if Hooley never made a penny, at least he brought people together.

 

In the House (15, 105 mins)

Director: Francois Ozon

Teacher Germain (Fabrice Luchini) despairs of the poor standard of his class, and leaps on the opportunity to tutor one of his pupils, Claude (Ernst Umhauer), who shows promise in the stories he's writing. The problem is he's basing them on the family life of a classmate, and this original and witty premise blossoms as Germain becomes increasingly obsessed with hearing Claude's tales, while the boy becomes ever more intrusive and voyeuristic. Penetrating and intimate, it builds in Hitchcockian style as lines between fiction and reality blur and danger increases, and is very matter of fact in that way the French do so well. The power of story to drive and feed us is at its heart, and it's buoyed by first rate performances from Luchini and Umhauer, and Kristin Scott Thomas as Germain's long-suffering wife.