I AM SAM (12)

Sean Penn in Oscar-nominated form in a touching domestic drama - see review.

DOG SOLDIERS (15)

WEREWOLF horror flick with real bite and a sick and twisted sense of humour - see review.

SLACKERS (15)

TEEN sex comedy is the description... well, there are teens and sex involved but comedy? A half-baked and slightly stale American Pie - see review.

PANIC ROOM (15)

A white-knuckle thriller finds divorcee mother Meg Altman (Jodie Foster) holed up in her New York mansion with her young daughter Sarah (Kristen Stewart), where they take refuge in the Panic Room from three criminals - Forest Whitaker, Dwight Yoakam and Jared Leto - who are searching for a fortune in bearer bonds in a safe... in the same room. Mother and daughter must play a deadly game of cat and mouse to escape alive.

SHOWTIME (12)

Two LA police officers are thrust into the public eye when they are compelled to agree to take part in a tabloid-style reality TV show. Detective Mitch Preston (Robert De Niro) is the no-nonsense veteran whose cover is blown by hot-headed patrol officer Trey Sellars (Murphy). The TV show's producer is the sexy Chase Renzi (Rene Russo). The film lacks satirical bite, but director Tom Dey mixes comedy and action with flair.

ABOUT A BOY (12)

This film adaptation of Nick Hornby's best-selling novel is a rousing success, striking a delicate balance between comedy and tragedy. Hugh Grant plays slacker Will Lightman, who decides single-parent help groups might provide dates, but his slimy scheme goes awry when he charms suicidal hippy mother Fiona (Toni Collette) and accepts the role of surrogate father to her 12-year-old son Marcus (Nicholas Hoult). Grant copes effortlessly with the humour and brings warmth to his hapless hero, while Collette is heart-breaking in her role and Hoult is terrific. Great entertainment with a big, big heart.

ROADKILL (15)

Student Lewis (Paul Walker) is persuaded by his ne'er do well brother, Fuller (Steve Zahn), to play a practical joke on a lonely trucker. Lewis pretends to be a female driver and flirts over the CB radio with a trucker nicknamed Rusty Nail, but the prank backfires when a furious Rusty vows to hunt down the siblings and Lewis' friend Venna. This fiendishly entertaining thriller is fast-paced and has plenty of hairpin twists and turns for its whole 97 nerve-shredding minutes.

THE SCORPION KING (12)

Stephen Sommers, who directed The Mummy and its sequel, hands over the directorial reins to Chuck Russell for this big-budget adventure prequel. The Scorpion King takes place 2,000 years before the events of The Mummy Returns. Evil warlord Memnon (Steven Brand) is helped to win each of his battles by a sorcerer. Mathayus - played by six-times WWF wrestling champion The Rock - is sent to assassinate Mr sorcerer but he finds she is beautiful Miss sorceress. An entertaining and lightweight romp with lots of tongue-in-cheek humour.

BEND IT LIKE BECKHAM (12)

Gurinder Chadha's feelgood comedy about a woman striving to realise her dreams on and off the soccer pitch. Jess Bhamra (Parminder Nagra) is a hard-working girl with one passion: David Beckham, but her parents (Anupam Kher and Shaheen Khan) will not accept a footballer for a daughter. Jess, however, has other ideas and is playing for Hounslow Harriers women's football team where she befriends striker Jules Paxton (Keira Knightley). Performances and a witty script are both high scorers.