What’s it about?
Based on a true story, this film follows the Perron family, who moved into a house in the country in the 1970s only to find it haunted by multiple demonic spirits. Enter Christian paranormal investigators, Ed and Lorraine Warren (Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga).

What did we think?
Hilary says: If you enjoy the classics when it comes to horror films, The Conjuring is not to be missed. Part Child’s Play, part Amityville Horror, part The Exorcist, this film —  by director James Wan (Saw) — delivers genuinely gut-clenching scare fare. Corny lines we’ve come to expect of this genre crop up at times, but they are improved by strong performances from Farmiga and Wilson as the paranormal investigators, and Lili Taylor (Six Feet Under) as the children’s mother. Make sure you catch this at the cinema for maximum scream factor.

What’s it about?
A retelling of the classic legend that saw Texas Ranger John Reid become a masked avenger. Except sillier. And with more explosions.

What did we think?
Anthony Sherratt says: Genuine fans of the original character, of which I number, were concerned over a remake that appeared more comedy than action and more Pirates of the Carribean than wild west. And we were right. It is much sillier and stupid and is indeed Gor eVerbinski and Johnny Depp (Tonto) remaking it Pirates-style. But despite being FAR too long, something strange happens along the way: it is SO over-the-top it actually becomes rollicking fun. I mean we’re talking about riding a horse on the top of a moving train and yet… Perhaps it’s the iconic theme song playing or the fact we’ve given up on our old memories by this point but you actually leave the cinema having laughed and – somehow – enjoyed this B Grade flick.

What’s it about?
It’s a buddy cop movie. With female leads. Sandra Bullock plays a Type A anal FBI agent who teams up with Melissa McCarthy’s foul-mouthed slovenly detective. You know the rest already.

What did we think?
Anthony Sherratt says: The Heat plays to nearly every buddy-cop stereotype and somehow succeeds in spite of it. The script’s working title was “Female Buddy Cop Movie” which is apparently the reason why Bullock read it. It isn’t high on originality (at all) as the two work their way through cliche after cliche but its rawness does actually manage to elicit laughter. It only works as a parody of the male counterpart movies but in that context it’s entertaining enough.

What’s it about?
A teenager finds herself shrunken and transported to a deep forest setting where a battle between the forces of good and the forces of evil is taking place. So of course she bands together with a rag-tag group characters in order to save their world.

What did we think?
Anthony Sherratt says: There should be laws against mislabelling a movie like this: Epic is anything but. It’s a visually appealing but overly simplistic story that fails to engage on any real level. Rather forgettable sadly as the potential is there but majorly unrealised. Epic? Fail.

What’s it about?
In the near future, humanity takes its last stand against the interdimensional Kaiju – immense, destructive beasts from beyond the deep – by building equally immense mechas (not robots, thank you) known as Jaegers, which they use to lay the smack down on our would-be conquerors. That is literally all you need to know going in to this film.

What did we think?
Mitch says: Michael Bay wishes he knew how to film giant creatures beating the crap out of each other as well as this. Visually spectacular and possessing a levity, grace and intelligence not commonly found in so many modern “event” movies, Pacific Rim – for all its cheesy dialogue and atrocious Australian accents – is the most fun I’ve had at a blockbuster in years.

Idris Elba and Ron Perlman are highlights on the human side of things, but the show is totally stolen by the gargantuan combatants, beautifully realised and animated as they are. Del Toro and screenwriter Travis Beacham don’t spoon-feed the audience either, nor do they draw things out, and the film is all the richer for it.

What’s it about?
Henry Cavill plays Superman. He searches for meaning. He fights General Zod.

What did we think?
Anthony Sherratt says: F*** you Snyder.