The Unforgivable review - Sandra Bullock gets stuck in a doom-struck rut

★★★ THE UNFORGIVABLE Sandra Bullock stuck in a doom-struck rut

Movie version of Sally Wainwright TV thriller can't live up to its potential

Based fairly closely on Sally Wainwright’s 2009 ITV series Unforgiven, The Unforgivable replaces the former’s star Suranne Jones with Sandra Bullock and has airlifted the action from Yorkshire to Seattle.

Leopards, Rose Theatre, Kingston review - a no-thrill thriller about sex and power

★★ LEOPARDS, KINGSTON When the trousers come off and the handcuffs go on, the climax is the sexual politics lecture  

When the trousers come off and the handcuffs go on, the climax is the sexual politics lecture

Is it a thriller? Is it a character study? Leopards, Alys Metcalf’s two-hander about a middle-aged white charity executive – male – and a young job applicant of mixed race – female – goes under the colours of both, but falls short of either genre.

Reminiscence review - looks great but doesn't deliver

★★ REMINISCENCE Lisa Joy's sci-fi blockbuster looks great but doesn't deliver

Lisa Joy's sci-fi blockbuster undone by cliches and feeble characterisation

Written and directed by Lisa Joy, who masterminded HBO’s Westworld TV series, Reminiscence is a grandiose sci-fi blockbuster that looks great, sounds deafening, but ultimately disappoints because it’s a genre-sampler that can’t find a distinctive voice of its own.

Nobody review - Bob Odenkirk reinvents himself as all-action dynamo

★★★★ NOBODY Bob Odenkirk reinvents himself as all-action dynamo

Blood-splattered thriller keeps it taut, tense and tight

Fans of Bob Odenkirk’s work in Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul will be delighted to see him taking centre stage in Ilya Naishuller’s thriller, but perhaps bamboozled at the spectacle of Odenkirk taking the plunge into the blood-splattered territory previously the preserve of John Wick and Liam Neeson’s Bryan Taken Mills.

Before We Die, Channel 4 review - Lesley Sharp excels as a detective in crisis

★★★★ BEFORE WE DIE, CHANNEL 4 Lesley Sharp excels as a detective in crisis

The personal and the professional collide in brutal crime-gang drama

Perhaps inspired by its ever-intriguing Walter Presents strand, Channel 4’s new thriller Before We Die is based on a Swedish original called Innan vi dör (“before we die” in Swedish).

Black Bear review - unexpected knotty treat

★★★★ BLACK BEAR Unexpected knotty treat, and a stand-out perf from Aubrey Plaza

Plaza delivers a career-best performance in rug-pulling drama

We’ve all experienced the “fast food film” – enjoyable while we watch it, but realise afterwards it was an empty thrill with little nutritional value. Much rarer is the film that can only be truly appreciated once the credits roll. Black Bear, with its segmented presentation and recurring themes, is one such film. Risky, baffling, and more than the sum of its parts.