THE A-TEAM (12A)

NOTHING is impossible in this all guns blazing adventure for Colonel John ‘Hannibal’ Smith (Liam Neeson), Lieutenant Templeton ‘Face’ Peck (Bradley Cooper), Captain ‘Howlin’ Mad’ Murdoch (Sharlto Copley) and Sergeant Bosco ‘B.A.’ Baracus (Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson). Framed for the murder of their good friend, General Morrison (Gerald McRaney), the enterprising soldiers break out of military prison and hijack a plane, which is subsequently shot down by military gunships. Jessica Biel’s plucky heroine, newly demoted army Lieutenant Charissa Sosa, isn’t kidding when she observes, “They are the best... and they specialise in the ridiculous.”

STAR RATING: ***

THE GHOST (15)

ROMAN Polanski returns with this adaptation of a political thriller by Robert Harris. A ghost writer (Ewan McGregor) picks up the memoirs of the British Prime Minister (Pierce Brosnan) after the sudden death of his predecessor. As controversy blows up around the PM’s shady dealings with the CIA, the writer starts to uncover what appear to be clues left for him to find. Showing at Clwyd Theatr Cymru in Mold from Friday-Monday.

STAR RATING: ***

INCEPTION (12A)

BRILLIANT thief Dom Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his team are able to infiltrate the minds of powerful men and women, stealing valuable secrets from their subconscious during the dream state. However the tables are turned when businessman Saito (Ken Watanabe) approaches Cobb with a proposition: to plant a single idea in the mind of rival Robert Fischer Jr (Cillian Murphy) before he inherits the company from his terminally ill father, Maurice (Pete Postlethwaite). Dom gets together his team of specialists to carry out the plan but conceals a terrible secret from them: that the projection of his self-destructive late wife, Mal (Marion Cotillard), could escape his dreams and sabotage the entire mission.

STAR RATING: ****

JOHN RABE (15)

FLORIAN Gallenberger’s film is based on the true story of a German businessman working for Siemens in 1930s China who saved thousands of Chinese people during the Japanese massacre of Nanking. Showing at Clwyd Theatr Cymru in Mold from Tuesday-Wednesday.

STAR RATING: ***

LE JOUR SE LEVE (PG)

ONE of the great films to come out of French cinema, this 1939 classic is a poetic examination of a tortured lover. Jean Gabin plays a French factory worker who, having shot a man, ponders the preceding events while waiting for the arrival of the police. Showing at Clwyd Theatr Cymru in Mold on Thursday only.

STAR RATING: ****

THE KARATE KID (PG)

WILL Smith’s diminutive 11-year-old son Jaden takes the lead role of Dre Parker, who begrudgingly leaves Detroit to follow his mother Sherry (Taraji P Henson) to Beijing for her work. The young man struggles to adjust to his new surroundings but pretty classmate Mei Ying (Wenwen Han) helps with the cultural differences, sparking potential romance. Unfortunately, class bully Cheng (Zhenwei Wang) is rather fond of Mei too and he humiliates Dre in front of the other students. After reclusive maintenance man Mr Han (Jackie Chan) saves Dre from a beating at the hands of Cheng and his buddies, the American youngster is forced to take part in an open karate tournament. So training begins in earnest, sowing the seeds of a touching friendship between the boy and his emotionally scarred mentor.

STAR RATING: ****

SHREK FOREVER AFTER (U)

SHREK (voiced by Mike Myers) is suffering mid-life angst with mewling kids and his beautiful and pungent wife, Fiona (Cameron Diaz). In his hour of desperation, Shrek meets the conniving Rumpelstiltskin (Walt Dohrn), who offers a tantalising deal: he will gift Shrek one whole day as a scary ogre, just like in the past, if the father agrees to sign away one day of his childhood. Shrek agrees to the Faustian pact, blind to Rumpelstiltskin’s devious plan: to erase the day that Shrek was born and thereby alter the future. Shrek must join forces with Donkey (Eddie Murphy) and Puss In Boots (Antonio Banderas) to break the pact before the sands in Rumpelstiltskin’s oversized hourglass run out.

STAR RATING: ***

TOY STORY 3 (U)

ANDY (voiced by John Morris) is preparing to leave for college. He has packed up his belongings, setting aside Woody (Tom Hanks) for life on campus, while the other toys are bound for the attic but Andy’s mother mistakenly donates the toys to Sunnyside day care centre. Lots-o’-Huggin’ Bear (Ned Beatty) convinces Buzz (Tim Allen), Jessie the cowgirl (Joan Cusack) and the gang that they will be happy when they arrive at their new home. But after saying goodbye to his friends Woody meets a stuffed hedgehog called Mr Pricklepants (Timothy Dalton) who reveals the truth about the centre. Woody must put into action an elaborate escape plan to return his friends to Andy’s attic.

STAR RATING: ****

THE TWILIGHT SAGA: ECLIPSE (12A)

GRADUATION approaches for Bella (Kristen Stewart) and the teenager must choose between Edward (Robert Pattinson), the vampire who won her heart, and Jacob (Taylor Lautner), the best friend who has snuck into her affections. Rejection for one young man could potentially ignite the ancient rivalry between the lycans and the bloodsuckers. Meanwhile, Victoria (Bryce Dallas Howard) returns to kill Bella in revenge for Edward’s slaying of her lover. The avenger brings with her a new race of vampires with phenomenal strength, led by local boy Riley (Xavier Samuel).

STAR RATING: ****