In Snitch, Johnson plays construction company owner, John Matthews, whose estranged son, Jason (Ravi Gavron), has been arrested for intent to distribute narcotics. A minimum ten-year sentence for narcotics distribution can be lessened for those who snitch on drug world connections, but Jason has been set up and he doesn’t feel comfortable setting anyone up for the sake of his own freedom.

Desperate to ensure his son’s release, John seeks the help of district attorney, Joanne Keeghan (Susan Sarandon), and proposes to go undercover to expose a major drug cartel in exchange for his son’s release. However, this involves implicating an ex-con, Daniel (Jon Bernthal), whose life is just getting back on track with a new job at John’s construction company. It is a risky move which will place them and potentially their families right in the centre of a bloody drugs war.

Snitch has been marketed as an action-packed thrill ride but viewers might be surprised at the relative sparseness of explosions and corpses. Apparently based on true events, director Ric Roman Waugh and  co-writer Justin Haythe (Revolutionary Road) provide a serious-minded screenplay with enough legal and character detail to distinguish this from your average shoot ‘em up cop procedural.

They have squarely pointed the finger at the exorbitant penalties for first time drug offences, which in some cases are said to outlast rape or murder sentences. We see the results of prison brutality on Jason’s face in glimpses and the disproportionate toll a stupid mistake can make on a naive young kid but this message inevitably gets a bit lost with the undercover operation taking centre stage.

Johnson does eventually become the Action Man promised by the poster, but his performance mostly is considered, emotive and probably the best of his career. Bernthal is solid in support while Barry Pepper and Michael Kenneth Williams are impressive as cop and drug lord respectively. And then there is Susan Sarandon who once again plays Susan Sarandon. But what can I say; she does it well.

This isn’t the adrenaline-fuelled blockbuster people might expect from The Rock but that bit more investment in characters over bullets makes this a satisfying and tense ride. I just wish they’d get rid of that bloody shaky camera.

Snitch is in Australian cinemas from May 16 through Hoyts Distribution Australia

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The premise is simple: Jordan (Halle Berry) is a veteran 911 call operator who has suffered emotionally on the job after a call she was on lead to the kidnapping and brutal murder of a young girl. Now she is on training detailing until a newbie struggles with a 911 call from a distressed Casey (Abigail Breslin) who is in the trunk of a mans car. Jordan jumps on the line and, determined not to fail this time, does all she can to help Casey help herself. A word of warning for anyone who might find themselves in a shopping centre car park alone; have two phones on you and make sure the hidden one is not a disposable. The drama of the film comes from the law enforcement teams inability to locate the car due to a lack of GPS response from Casey’s phone.

This film elicited physical reactions in my chest that I haven’t experienced since I saw The Hunger Games  for the first time having not read any of the books. My heart was thumping despite myself, for director Brad Anderson has masterfully woven a situation not only plausible, but also a little close to home in light of the recent, senseless, random murder of Jill Meagher on our very city streets.

The Call pulls out all the stops from creepy killer taglines “it’s already done”, to we-got-him-wait-no-we-don’t moments galore. My only beef with this film is the unrealistic, almost grindhouse conclusion to the film, conjuring memories of the final moments of Death Proof rather than the neatly wrapped up outings of Andersons previous work such as The Machinist.

A good night out for an adrenalin seeking movie-goer, but by no means a genre changing turn.

The Call is in Australian cinemas from 16 May through Roadshow Films.

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The main narrative opens with Pilar (Teresa Madruga), a quiet, compassionate woman living next door to Aurora (Laura Soveral), an elderly woman whose memory is beginning to deteriorate, and her housemaid, Santa (Isabel Muñoz Cardoso). Aurora is often confused, with a penchant for gambling and paranoia, and Pilar is genuinely concerned for her welfare. This first chapter is meandering and languid, and whilst the insights provided into these characters’ lives are touching and resonant, the slow pacing suppresses a clear sense of direction from emerging. Consequently, the themes of isolation and loneliness which characterize this first chapter are prevented from being fully-realised and powerful underlying currents, and instead they become lost in the lethargy.

An encounter with Ventura (Henrique Espírito Santo), Aurora’s former lover, allows the film to segue into its second chapter, in which Ventura narrates and reminisces about their love affair in a Portuguese colony in Africa. Young, married Aurora (Ana Moreira) embarks on an affair with young Ventura (Carloto Cotta), and despite knowing their relationship is doomed, they persist in their secrecy, with dire consequences. In addition to being filmed in black-and-white, this section is also largely devoid of direct spoken dialogue between characters. The cinematography is beautifully shot, and an atmosphere of nostalgia is successful invoked.

However, despite having a narrower focus than the first chapter, this section does not fully recover from the film’s slow start. The lengthy unfolding of their relationship seems to dilute their longing and passion, counteracting a momentum from building towards the film’s climax.

Ultimately, Tabu’s slow start establishes a slow pacing which undermines its other elements, and makes the film less engaging in the process.

Tabu is in Australian cinemas from 16 May through Palace Films.

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Skunk lives in a court in North England with her father Archie (Tim Roth), brother Jed (Bill Milner) and the family’s Polish au pair Kasia (Zana Marjanovic). Her mother left a while back and while this impacted Skunk significantly, the close bond she shares with Archie keeps her bright and bubbly. Mike (Cillian Murphy), Kasia’s on again, off again boyfriend and Skunk’s English teacher is never far away, his presence one of the most powerful in the film.

The relationships of her neighbours are extremely volatile, mainly due to the Oswald family; father Bob (Rory Kinnear) and his three obnoxious teenage girls who are spoilt rotten and constantly overprotected since the death of their mother. The Buckley family, especially their handicapped son Rick, (Robert Emms) are constantly taunted by the Oswald girls, leading to the senseless attack previously mentioned.

To give away the plot would be a great disservice to the film and the emotions it evokes, as Broken simply flies by with viewers transfixed to the events shown before them. Adapting the Daniel Clay novel, first time director Rufus Norris deals with extremely raw and confronting material. The non-linear script with intense flashback sequences ensures the audience are kept on their feet for the film’s entirety.

Innocent but very wise, perky yet vulnerable, Laurence absolutely steals the show, her enchanting performance leaving a lasting impact. Charismatic and with great comic timing she provides constant entertainment throughout what is otherwise a fairly grim tale. This is only her first performance however there is no doubt that audiences will be seeing a lot more of her charm in the future.

Dysfunctionality is the main factor tying these families together, showing every action comes with a consequence. Here there are many questions, but not a lot of answers. What is broken can be repaired, but won’t ever be quite the same.

Broken is in Australian cinemas from 16 May through Curious Distribution.

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Alice Eve also joins the cast as scientist Dr. Carol Marcus, reminding the audience that no matter how far discussions on feminism and the female gaze in cinema go, there will still always be room for at least one flagrant voyeuristic shot of a female scantily clad in underwear for no real apparent reason.

With a name like Into Darkness, one may be expecting more elements of evil and anarchy. Don’t get me wrong, there is plenty of rampant destruction aboard the latest Star Trek vehicle, but darkness does not seem to be the proper definition. The words “Into Darkness” could really be replaced by the words “sacrificial” and “loyalty”.

The crux of the second film sees the team fighting against the threat of destruction by a supposed evil villain (Cumberbatch). Much more synopsising could be occur here, but let’s face it, we all know that the good guys will face a threat against their livelihoods and for all of which they stand, only to fight back with discernably stronger morals and impressive machinery that explodes gunpowder and lasers across the screen for many a sequence.

And yes, Abrams uses these scenes of explosions and destruction to impress, pushing visual and computer generated effects to the best of their technology. The 3D even looks good (of which this reviewer is usually highly critical of), but unlike films like Life of Pi and Avatar, Into Darkness would not lose much quality if seen in 2D.

While scenes of mass destruction are powerful in nature, it is the smaller violent scenes of punching that are quite brutal, exacerbated by the exaggerated sound effects. Several heads receive the focused attention of direct punching to the skull, prompting a strong knee-jerk response. Other elements prompted similar responses, including Michael Giacchino’s highly emotive score (which was simultaneously enjoyable and completely over-the-top) and Karl Urban’s terrible one-liners (thankfully highlighted and chastised by Kirk).

The distinct flaw in this film relates back to the character played by Cumberbatch (though not in his very engaging performance). With the reminded presence of darkness, Cumberbatch’s character falls short of being truly dark and evil. The anarchy he inflicts upon society and against Starfleet is simply a matter of vengeance. The character has a loyalty to his former co-workers that is echoed through the relationships of Starfleet in an apparent Shakespearian subplot usage.

Indeed both the heroes and the villains seem to be all about morals, with a focus on loyalty to their cause, where several sequences highlight the martyr-like sacrifices made for their respective missions. Cumberbatch’s character is really at a clear disadvantage, as we come into the film familiar with Starfleet’s backstory. We are not shown the other story from its own perspective. Perhaps this is just highlighting that there are always two sides to a story, but it would have been much more interesting to see at least a couple of scenes from Cumberbach’s point of view. Of course, there is still plenty to enjoy within the latest adventure of the Star Trek saga, and hopefully Abrams will continue this trend of interesting blockbuster cinema.

Star Trek: Into Darkness is in Australian cinemas from 9 May through Paramount Pictures.

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