Think Like A Man (12A)
Rating; ***
Another battle of the sexes rom com, with four couples embodying a range of stereotypes who turn to a self-help book for relationship advice. It’s more appealing than the similarly themed What To Expect When You’re Expecting, but it’s hard to believe that any of the successful drop-dead gorgeous women involved need to consult a manual to keep a man. And at almost two hours, the film overestimates the appeal of its limited laughs. Someone needs to think like an editor.
Selected release from Friday
Chernobyl Diaries (15)
Rating; **
Brad Parker’s low-budget horror is set in the abandoned site of the famous nuclear reactor disaster. Six young people decide to take a tour and spend a promising half hour setting up the creepiness until darkness falls. When they return to their van, the engine dies and they are stranded for the night in a wasteland where not everything has been wiped out by radiation. A shameless repackaging of boilerplate horror clichés, the fallout here is boredom.
On general release from Friday
Lay The Favourite (15)
Rating; **
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Hide AdStephen Frears steers a gambling farce set in Las Vegas. Bruce Willis, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Rebecca Hall and Vince Vaughn should add up to a winning hand, but the strained comedy is shrill and smart-alecky, and the details of the betting subplot close to impenetrable. The result is a busted flush.
On general release from Friday
A Thousand Kisses Deep (15)
Rating; **
Jodie Whittaker stars in a time-travelling melodrama as a woman who revisits key moments in her life to undo a disastrous relationship with a caddish musician (Dougray Scott). Not a bad idea, but written by two Russians with the fluency of a Babelfish translation.
On general release