BICYCLE THIEVES (U)

ONE of the key works of the Italian post-war neo-realist movement is this 1949 allegorical tale of a young father desperate for work, who finally gets a job as a billposter, only to have his bicycle stolen. Showing at Clwyd Theatr Cymru in Mold on May 14 only.

STAR RATING: ****

CHERI (15)

SET in the heaving bosom of pre-First World War Paris, Stephen Frears' costume romp draws obvious comparisons with Dangerous Liaisons, reuniting the British director with screenwriter, adapting the novels by Colette and starring Michelle Pfeiffer as a retired courtesan who begins a passionate affair with a teenage boy

STAR RATING: ***

THE CLASS (15)

FRANCOIS Begaudeau stars in this film adaptation of his book about his early experiences as a teacher in a tough Parisian school dealing with a mixture of lively, often difficult teenagers of varying religion, race and attitude. Winner of the Palme D’Or at Cannes 2008. Showing at Clwyd Theatr Cymru in Mold from Tuesday-Wednesday.

STAR RATING: ***

CORALINE (PG)

THERE'S no place like home in Coraline, the first ever stop-motion animated feature created in stereoscopic 3D. Adapted from Neil Gaiman's best-selling novel by writer-director Henry Selick (The Nightmare Before Christmas), this colourful, yet thematically dark fairytale has echoes of The Wizard Of Oz and Alice In Wonderland as an 11-year-old girl confronts the evil that threatens her fractured family.

STAR RATING: ***

DOUBT (15)

JOHN Patrick Shanley’s tale is set against the backdrop of 1964 New York, a time of vibrant social change. Father Flyn (Philip Seymour Hoffman), a lively, charismatic priest in an old fashioned Bronx school, is desperately trying to modernise school life but the imperious and strict principal (Meryl Streep) is determined to stand in his way. Showing at Clwyd Theatr Cymru in Mold from Friday-Monday.

STAR RATING: ***

GHOSTS OF GIRLFRIENDS PAST (12A)

INSPIRED loosely by Dickens' A Christmas Carol, Mark Waters' romantic comedy concerns an incorrigible womaniser (Matthew McConaughey) who considers changing his ways, thanks to the intervention of three spiritual guides.

STAR RATING: **

GOMORRAH (15)

MATTEO Garone’s adaptation of Roberto Saviano’s best-selling expose of crime and corruption in Naples that recently led to the author having to go into hiding from the local Mafia. Showing at Clwyd Theatr Cymru in Mold on May 21 only.

STAR RATING: ***

HANNAH MONTANA – THE MOVIE (U)

THE Disney Channel's phenomenally popular Hannah Montana comes to the big screen in the perky pop princess’ first dramatic feature, searching for love in this sentimental rites of passage drama, interspersed with thigh-slapping musical sequences.

STAR RATING: **

IS ANYBODY THERE? (12A)

TWO beautifully judged performances from British actors more than 50 years apart distinguish John Crowley's surprisingly tender coming of age story, set in the fashion black spot of 1987. A sleepy British seaside town, starved of colour, provides a suitably drab home for bookish type Edward (Bill Milner), who lives in the Lark Hall retirement home run by his parents. The boy's solitude is interrupted with the arrival of grieving widower Clarence (Michael Caine), a retired magician who doesn't suffer children gladly.

STAR RATING: ***

MONSTERS VS ALIENS (PG)

OUT of this world computer animated adventure packed with dazzling visuals, wild and wacky characters and some genuinely funny moments. Apart from a bride to be growing to 49 feet tall, there isn’t a lot of story to it beyond what is explained in the title but this is one children’s family no fun-loving adult will object to.

STAR RATING: ***

OBSERVE & REPORT (15)

YOU wait years for a film about the comical misadventures of a deluded shopping centre security guard, then two come along almost at the same time. A little over a month after Kevin James' tomfoolery as Paul Blart: Mall Cop, writer-director Jody Hill traverses similar territory in his eagerly-awaited follow-up to the low budget mockumentary, The Foot Fist Way. The similarities end there because Observe And Report is most definitely not a frothy romp. Humour here is very dark, so black in fact that it ceases to be funny and makes us squirm in our seats. The film certainly shows a different side to leading man Seth Rogen who portray a creepy and sinister anti-hero.

STAR TREK (12A)

THE 40-year-old franchise is given a kick start and sent back into warp drive by Lost creator JJ Abrams who has directed the best reviewed Star Trek movie ever. Purists will have problems with new faces in the iconic roles of Kirk and Spock but on its own merits, this is quality science fiction which injects some welcome vitality into a previously tired concept.

STAR RATING: ***

X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE (12A)

HUGH Jackman sharpens his retractable, adamantium claws in this spin-off from the X-Men films, expanding the back story of one of the franchise's most popular and enigmatic characters.

Inevitably, the film doesn’t settle for just having one superhero so we also get to see Sabretooth, The Blob and Deadpool.

STAR RATING: ***