X-Men: Days of Future Past

The world of the present sees a dark place for mutants. Robot Sentinels roam the planet rooting the holder of the mutant genes out and sending them to meet their maker. Any humans harboring them are dispatched too. This situation has brought Professor Xavier and Magneto together as they struggle to hold off the robot enemies. The solution that is forced upon them is to send Wolverine back in time to try and fix the root of the problem. Time travel is treated differently here as it is more like sending someones memory back in time. And it kind of makes sense. The past sees a very different Professor and Magneto with Beast in tow. Jeniffer Lawerence takes on the role of Mystique and kicks some ass. A fun watch in what arguably could be the best film of the X-Men series.

Rating: * * +

The Piano

Ada (Holly Hunter)and her daughter Flora (Anna Paquin), arrives on the shores of New Zealand as part of an arranged marriage to Alisdair (Sam Neill) who is a wealthy land owner. Ada's most treasured possession after her daughter is her piano which she plays with great passion defying the silence she lives in. The language of music that she speaks and her body soon has a local Maori native, Baines (Harvey Keitel) lusting after her. And who said one needs words to fall in love...

Rating: * * +

The Squid and the Whale

A story of divorce and its aftermath set in New York. Bernard Berkman (Jeff Daniels) is an unmitigated asshole writer on the decline. His wife Joan (Laura Linney) who has issues of her own decides to finally leave him. The splinters of their separation hit their two teenage sons with unnerving accuracy. The boys (Owen Kline, Jesse Eisenberg) struggle to grapple with their shattered world. They act out but their cries are muted when compared to the parents. Brilliant performance all round that leave you wondering if they were acting or if a hidden camera was lurking in a disintegrated household.

Rating: * * +