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Crash! Flash! Bang! Baz Luhrmann is back. Those seeking subtlety or nuance should look elsewhere.

Baz is all about big visual wow moments, full of anachronism and loud noise. Having inhaled music halls and epics at an early age, he thinks “understatement” is a bad, bad word.

So much of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel is a cautionary tale, warning about the excesses of the American Dream and urging the reader to question emotions.

This movie version of Gatsby works because of Luhrmann’s vision as well as due to his clever casting of Leonardo DiCaprio as Jay Gatsby. If you find Leo’s boy/man simper a tad annoying in a 38-year-old, you’ll be pleasantly surprised by how well it works for his character here.

Leo owns this role and convinces you, even at the most difficult moments. The quality of boyish optimism shines through his acting.

Carey Mulligan seems too young for Daisy Buchanan, but this deep young actress channels the right shallow vibe in the key scenes.

Tobey Maguire’s Nick Carraway character – the poor young writer who is cousin to Daisy and neighbour to Gatsby – keeps the emotional balance well-defined. Why Nick’s summer romance has been lost in Baz World is inexplicable, unless it’s to keep the focus on Daisy and Gatsby.

Joel Edgerton, Isla Fisher and Amitabh Bachchan stand out amoung the rest of the cast

Gatsby is all about big parties, enormous emotions and massive houses. As always with Baz, the costumes and sets are lavish and perfect.

Curiously, this was filmed in Australia. Long Island and New York in 1922 feel very realistically drawn, despite this fact.

The entertainers, fireworks, cars and locations all are just beautiful. Music emphasises key scenes, despite being modern rather than in period.

Little details in glassware and teapots all rivet the viewer’s attention.

The 3D did little for me, other than make the movie look physically dark. A few times, I flipped the glasses off and lost only a bit of background detail. One exception was some astonishing 3D snow, which drifted through the screen in an appealing way.

Stratford East Picturehouse was packed and the audience stayed quiet and attentive throughout. It doesn’t sag in the middle, even though it’s 142 minutes long.

Go see it expecting Baz rather than F. Scott. Then, you’ll be pleased by how many of Fitzgerald’s ideas are here. Fitzgerald died feeling the novel was a failure, since it didn’t get popular until after World War 2.

Luhrmann’s film is Fitzgerald-lite, but much impresses and it’s all very enjoyable.

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“Mud” features two kiddie stars who engage your emotions from the start and keep you caring about them. Just for once, the children never annoy the viewer.

Director and writer Jeff Nichols fulfils the promise of his films “Take Shelter” and “Shotgun Stories” in this southern-fried thriller. It is as much about the mystique of the Mississippi River as it is about rural poverty and crime in Arkansas.

Nichols grew up here and you will never see such beautifully-filmed and loving shots of boats and the river. There are scenes of shimmering light that just take your breath away.

The plot is a very special and intricate tale that makes you root for a bad guy.

At the heart of this is a career-defining bravura performance by Matthew McConaughey. Brilliant in “The Paperboy” and “Magic Mike”, he manages to make his name about four syllables long, as if it’s Muuuuuuudd.

Mud is on the run. Two young boys (the utterly excellent Tye Sheridan and Jacob Lofland) agree to help him escape, along with his true love Juniper. Reese Witherspoon looks lovely and is convincing, but she isn’t here for very long.

With echoes of Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer, young Ellis and Neckbone (Sheridan and Lofland) are drawn into Mud’s world and stories. Sam Shepard is superb as Mud’s old friend who warns the boys to be careful.

Nichols’ regular Michael Shannon is Galen, Neckbone’s uncle, with very nicely-written lines and music.

Parents and parental figures like Galen live marginal lives along the river.

Sarah Paulson, Ray McKinnon and Joe Don Baker have moments of anguish that are very real.

Superstitions, hopefulness, damaged expectations and the mythology of the Mississippi all play roles in this extraordinary thriller that will stay with me for a long time.

Superb camera work, a punchy script and excellent acting lift the 130 minutes to a high level. Yes, it lingers a little and slows down a few times, but it will rivet you.

See it. It’s beautiful and original. It may make you wish you could have another childhood, on the Mississippi.

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“All Stars” is the best Brit film aimed at young teenagers in a long time. Yes, comparisons are begged with “Street Dance”, but this stands by itself, alongside such great shows as “Press Gang” and has similar balancing of activity and back stories.

A youth club is under threat from a local council that wants extra car parking space. There’s an appeal, but that’s lost.

Will our heroes save the day? And are they terrific dancers?

Actually, there’s only one amazing dancer and actor here among the young folks in the hero crew and that’s Akai Osei-Mansfield, who is a big star of the future.

There’s a nice nod to “Footloose” in how Akai’s character Jaden is banned from dancing. The fantasy sequence while Jaden is meant to be answering exam questions is visually original and stylish.

Theo Stevenson plays Ethan, with a rather touching history that will have resonance for many young and old people.

Among the adults helping and hindering are Ashley Jensen, who has a lovely turn as the youth club leader. John Barrowman, Hugh Dennis and Mark Heap are among the many adult celebrities who have their moments.

Of the kids, there’s the entrepreneur, the dancer, the posh kids, the fat one and the martial arts gal who all band together to form a street dancing crew.

It’s good to see strong female characters although – of course – they aren’t the stars.

And there’s Kieran Lai as the leader of the opposing crew who, frankly, can all dance better than the others, apart from Akai. Kieran is terrific.

In the end, it’s a feelgood fantasy that mangles London’s geography and shows off lots of great moves. The 3D is pretty, but adds little.

Ben Gregor directs and has a real feeling for the real emotions of teenagers.

This film deserves to do well on DVD and on TV. I saw it at Stratford Picturehouse and thoroughly enjoyed a very pleasant movie aimed at the very young.

Still, sly digs at local government, cuts to services for kids and harsh comments on the ambitions of parents will all keep the teens and pre-teens amused. And I will watch it again, when it’s shown on TV. This will be a guilty pleasure for those who love dance and are young or just young at heart.

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Pedro Almodovar’s latest movie is enormous fun and unlike anything else he has done.

It should have been aimed at the fans of “Airplane” and Woody Allen’s best comedies. Instead, expectations of depth and strangeness seem to have clouded the reception of this absolutely hilarious comedy.

I laughed and laughed until I nearly fell off my seat. Most of the Stratford Picturehouse crowd seemed puzzled.

You get about five minutes of giggles from Antonio Banderas and Penelope Cruz before they vanish from the screen. Then, we are up in the air on a plane from Madrid to Mexico that circles Toledo – Spain not Ohio – because the landing gear isn’t working and therefore, all aboard are doomed. Or, can the crew save the day?

If you enjoy great character acting and wild drug and gay humour, you’ll love this. Drugging the passengers and the flight crew getting drunk? A psychic who bases her readings on feeling the private parts of the pilot and co-pilot? This is bawdy Chaucer territory and offers great delights to those who appreciate very coarse humour.

Cecilia Roth and Guillermo Toledo are the funniest in the ensemble, but the pilot and co-pilot and the three main crew stewards are all great. How the title gets to “I’m So Excited” from the Spanish “The Amorous Passengers” is beyond me, but that song is featured. Maybe “Airplane Lovers” might have lured in more crowds?

If you’ve missed 90 minutes of delicious amusement, do grab the DVD when it comes out. Almodovar is always weird, but this time I left the cinema with a big smile on my face.

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Here we boldly go again. Just four years after JJ Abrams breathed new life into the old “Star Trek” franchise, “Darkness” offers an utterly thrilling rollercoaster ride.

Extraordinary 3D hurtles you forward from the first scenes, with bits of volcano ash appearing to trickle through the screen and two of our heroes running away from an alien but rather Avatar-looking race as they dash to escape back to the Starship Enterprise.

Bits of London and San Francisco get blown up. James Tiberius Kirk is played by Chris Pine who is more like William Shatner with each scene, even though the two look different from each other.

Zachary Quinto also reprises his turn as Mr Spock. Both the leads charm us with their bromance.

Our villain is Benedict Cumberbatch as John Harrison, a Starfleet expert gone rogue. The Enterprise chases him back to dangerous Klingon territory. Twists and turns take you through references to Mudd, tribbles, familiar lines and objects.

Hollywood Rule 1 states that evil lurks whenever a character is a Brit. So you know Harrison is a really bad guy as soon as he opens his mouth and that cute accent comes out.

Best of all is the revamped Enterprise, the scene of much of the action and looking just gorgeous. Glossy corridors, Scotty’s engine room and the medical bays are all souped up but keep their original flavour. Older fans will be thrilled and new fans will adore it all.

Lots of big and little spaceships, planets and a futuristic earth make the 132 minutes zap by. Just for once, a recent movie justifies its length.

Writers Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman are joined by “Prometheus” and “Lost” writer Damon Lindelof so you get some symbols and philosophy, but that won’t trouble you. The fourth writing credit goes to Gene Roddenberry, Star Trek’s daddy.

Pine and Quinto are perfect and the supporting cast lifts the movie up a notch. Zoe Saldana’s Uhura, Simon Pegg’s Scotty, Karl Urban’s Bones,  Anton Yelchin’s Chekov and John Cho’s Sulu are all wonderful.

Alice Eve plays a scientific officer – British but not evil – and wears black underwear very prettily. Teenage boys will want a poster of that scene.

Peter Weller (not British) play’s Alice’s dad, Admiral Marcus and Bruce Greenwood is a believable Christopher Pyke, Kirk’s mentor.

Stratford East Picturehouse was packed with very happy viewers of all generations. There were lots of “oohs”, “aahs” and groans as the story unfolded.

Like with Star Wars, sequels and prequels can be confusing so this is either the 12th or the 2nd Star Trek franchise film, depending on where you start counting from.

Yes, much of the story will seem familiar, if you have seen all the movies. That’s reassuring, rather than annoying.

J.J Abrams keeps everything moving forward very quickly and this keeps the pace fast, although you lose track of a few minor characters along the way.

All in all, it’s a terrific pleasure and my inner Trekkie can hardly wait to see it again and again. Watch it on a big screen, in 3D. Truly, it’s awesome.

You’ll want it to live long and prosper.

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My reviews of Birdemic 2 and Alter Egos are up on Cinetalk:

http://cinetalk.co.uk/

There will be more reviews there, very soon. I am bleary-eyed from zombies, post-apocalypse types, aliens and superb fantasy.

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This deep and funny romcom with a twist has warmth, great locations and superb style. Danish Director Susanne Bier made the excellent 2010 film “Haevnen” (known as either The Revenge or In A Better World, in English) which won the Best Foreign Language Oscar in 2011 and was a moving story of difficult family relationships.

“Love” is in Danish, with English subtitles and some English-language sections, but it’s very easy to follow the story.

Pierce Brosnan plays Philip who is living in Copenhagen and is very grumpy about that fact. He meets Ida (the fabulous Trine Dyrholm) who is a hairdresser recovering from cancer. The Danish title translates as “The Bald Hairdresser”.

Philip’s son is about to marry Ida’s daughter, in Italy. Ida has just discovered her husband, Leif (the hilarious Kim Bodnia) is having an affair with a young colleague.

Off we all go to Sorrento and the most lovely parts of Italy. The film keeps its focus on the parents, but there’s still a lot of joy in the way the nuanced relationship is shown between the young and engaged couple.

The gloriously-named Paprika Steen puts in a memorable screen bitch performance.

Yes, it’s all feelgood joy rather than the searing meaning of “Haevnen”. But the plots about cancer, infidelity and sexual identity make it all rise to a higher level.

I enjoyed it a  lot more than my male companion did at the special ShowFilmFirst performance. Maybe there’s more here for girls than there is for boys.

It’s a very beautiful treat of a film with sensational performances from Brosnan and Dyrholm, who see to be having as much fun in making this as I did watching it.

It’s on at several Picturehouse cinemas and other cinemas. Do see it if you love a romcom with muscle and bite.

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“Iron Man 3″ fizzes with spectacular effects, a very funny and snappy script and superb performances.

Robert Downey Jr puts in a genuinely excellent turn as Tony Stark, aka Iron Man.

Terrorists are threatening the world so Iron Man has to save it, one more time. Does he succeed? If so, at what cost?

Based on a set of Marvel Comics Iron Man stories from 2005-6, the plot hangs together nicely. It features the Extremis strand, edited and reassembled.

Don Cheadle’s role as Iron Patriot is a hoot and enhances the story and the emotion here.

Gwyneth Paltrow and Rebecca Hall both look very pretty and have personalities, but they are traditional girls, with just a smidgen of modern attitude thrown in. Yes, they stand by their men.

Ben Kingsley steals every scene he’s in and Guy Pearce – who channels the young Val Kilmer in quite a distinct and physical performance – both enhance the film greatly.

Kingsley’s villain, Mandarin, mixes up Osama Bin Laden, Fu Manchu and ageing rock star dude, all in one gleeful and bravura performance.

Ty Simpkins as cute kid Harley has a fabulous future as a child star who isn’t annoying.

Stan Lee’s cameo is here too, as the host of a beauty pageant. Feminist readers, look away during this bit.

The stunts, explosions and weapons are all very superior as is the layered 3D. The 3D comes into its own during the big set pieces, but serves to only make the movie look physically dark during the (few) slower bits. If Bruce Willis were here, he would take out those pesky helicopters.

Shane Black brings the engaging style he added to the first two “Lethal Weapon” films and directs this crisply and with style.

Yes, the various ideas of “does the suit wear the man or vice versa” are flirted with. But this is an action movie, with a tiny bit of philosophy that won’t trouble your sleep. It’s just the most enormous fun and really worth seeing, even if you’ve skipped the first two “Iron Man” movies.

Stratford East Picturehouse was packed with very happy people. You can tell they are happy, because the phones are off and they are quiet.

Stay right through the credits and see the very last bit of the film. Really, it’s worth sitting through all those lists of people and locations.

If Iron Man sequels go on being this good, I look forward to “Iron Man 42″. In many ways, “3″ tops “Avengers Assemble” as the definitive Marvel movie.

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“Promised Land” deserves to be successful. It’s a film with an important environmental message that is never dull or worthy.

There are excellent documentaries about fracking and its methods of extracting oil from the ground. “Gasland” is great, but it lacks the superb entertainment value of “Promised Land”.

For Matt Damon, it’s clearly a labour of love and he puts in a great performance that is pitch perfect. Frances McDormand is terrific as his partner in working for an oil company, buying up the rights to fracking on farms in a small town.

Beautifully filmed with Gus Van Sant’s usual elegiac view of the countryside, the amazing Hal Holbrook puts in a loveable and intelligent performance as the opposition to the company plans for the recession-hit town of desperate farmers.

John Krasinski and Rosemarie DeWitt give superb performances and get all the best lines.

The script pulls you in and is warm, humourous and effective. It’s co-written by Damon and Krasinski.

Linus Sandgren’s cinematography makes the rural Pennsylvania setting a character in its own right. And the music is very effective and creates a super sense of mood and place.

Yes, the tone sometimes shifts to the wrong side of sentimental. But that romantic vision of small-town America is affectionate and I appreciated the great big heartfelt emotions at the centre of this tale.

I genuinely didn’t see the big twists coming. To me, they seemed logical, in retrospect.

“Promised Land” will probably do better on DVD than it will at the cinema. Stratford East Picturehouse wasn’t very full and I am told the film has had small audiences in other venues. It’s a moving and gripping story and you really should see it. Intelligent debate about issues and corporate methods is rare in movies and this is a charming and beautiful tale.

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When you want old and familiar themes, it’s good to know that Morgan Freeman is available to say the usual lines. Here are the rules for action movies, as seen in “Olympus Has Fallen”:

1) If America is attacked by Koreans/Russians/Terrorists/Aliens, you MUST have Morgan Freeman available to be President of the USA.  Freeman MUST be on standby for this at all times. In a pinch, check the availability of Nelson Mandela.

2) Bruce Willis is the inside man who saves the free(ish) world. If Bruce is making Die Hard 98.6, send for Colin Farrell or Robert Downey, Junior. (Oh, we could only get Gerard Butler. Okay. He’s pretty hot right now. Will he wear a white vest? No? Pity…)

3) Lovers of classic Greek mythology, look away now. There is nothing to see. “Olympus” is the White House, the American President’s house. No Zeus here. Sorry.

4) Invaders are usually invited in through the front door. Memo to US Presidents: please check your guest lists more carefully).

5) The hero, Mike Banning (Hi, Gerard) MUST be deeply traumatised by an event in his past. He must sneer at the idea of therapy. He should have a beautiful and long-suffering wife, who sighs a lot.

6) It is perfectly okay to waste the considerable talents of Radha Mitchell, Melissa Leo, Ashley Judd and Angela Bassett, so long as you pay them enough.

7) Ditto Aaron Eckhart. (Can he grimace and look on in mute rage through the icky bits? Terrific!)

8) No writers are to be harmed or indeed taxed with working too hard during the making of this film.

9) Antoine Fuqua’s directing expertise is to be used on big explosions, slow deaths, guns and computers. He made enough films with real plots. “Olympus” will toy with plot, then forget about it.

10) You MUST have a really cute President’s kid. At least one of his parents should have died horribly. Finley Jacobsen? Cute as many buttons.

11) Bad guys have planned to take over the White House very carefully. Having done so, they will walk around by themselves, or in twos so that Gerard can pick them off easily.

12) At least one helicopter must be blown up. Two is better.

13) Although Gerard is in the White House, his advice to the outside “experts” is to be ignored, resulting in many deaths.

14) Casual stereotyping of Our Enemies is perfectly acceptable.  Rick Yune and Dylan McDermott know what we expect of them.

15) How much CGI is needed to blow up a whole lot of iconic buildings? Great. We will have extra dollops of that.

And yet, I absolutely adored the two hours I spent watching this movie and so did everyone else at the Stratford East Picturehouse. Yes, it’s the old and familiar formula. But it’s done so very well! And it’s nice to park your brain at the entrance to the cinema and pick it up again on the way out. This is mindless good fun and beautifully put together. When it comes on TV, I will watch it again and again.