What’s it about?
In the days after receiving the Nobel Peace Prize, Martin Luther King Jr. (David Oyelowo) decides to use his clout to establish voting rights for blacks who have been systematically disenfranchised and intimidated, using the town of Selma as his battleground.

What did we think?
Elizabeth Best says: It’s almost as if the spirit of Martin Luther King Jr himself came down from the heavens to inhabit the body of Oyelowo for this performance. The fact that he missed out on an Oscar nomination for this is frankly astounding. Selma is a searing and engaging portrayal of a pivotal time in the fight for civil rights that highlights how far we’ve come at the same time as declaring nothing’s changed.

What’s it about?

Cheesy TV host Dave Skylark (James Franco) and his producer (Seth Rogen) are coerced by the CIA to kill Kim Jong-Un during an interview.

What did we think?
Elizabeth Best says: If you ban it, they will come. In terms of finding a following, the Sony hack was probably the best thing to happen to this film. The Interview is dumb. It’s irreverent. It has Franco mugging his ass off like… well, like Franco. But it still manages to squeeze more than a giggle or two from an audience probably too ashamed to admit it. So take that, North Korea.

What’s it about?
Mark Schultz, under tutelage from wrestling fanatic and all around creeper John duPont, finds himself caught striving for perfection while training athletes in a bid to sweep Seoul Olympics and maintaining a weird bond with his sponsor.

What did we think?
Nick Bleeker says: Pacing issues aside, this is a rather disturbing affair with grand performances from Steve Carrell, Channing Tatum and Mark Ruffalo, but doesn’t give Ruffalo’s character enough time to develop. It’s a very muted film, that relies on less on its dialogue and more on the physical performances from everyone. Bennett Miller shoots it extremely well and precisely, but you can’t help but walk out feeling like it’s missing a soul.

What is it about?
Damaged woman Cheryl (Reese Witherspoon), braves the long hike along the Pacific Crest Trail to reconcile her past, and change her future.

What do we think?
Alistair says: I left this movie wanting to start hiking immediately. It is based on the real life adventures of Cheryl Strayed, played convincingly by Witherspoon. It’s never boring watching Cheryl walk from southern California to the edge of Canada, across deserts and snowy mountains, transforming from determined novice to seasoned hiker. The scenery is often epic, and frequent encounters with the passers-by along the way range from the sinister to the sentimental. But the stand out is a roadside encounter with an expert on all things hobo. There’s also a kid who is so sickly sweet, you’ll want to throw away your birth control. Flashbacks slowly reveal the events that got her here, including the pivotal relationship with her mother and troubles with her ex-husband. It’s a road movie, except it’s about walking (so let’s call it a walk-movie). Go see it and then take a hike.

What’s it about?
Bradley Cooper plays Chris Kyle, the most lethal sniper in US history. American Sniper follows his four tours of duty while weaving in his personal struggles adjusting to home life.

What did we think?
Nick Bleeker says: Cooper carries this film. American Sniper might be better if it focused squarely and only on Kyle’s tours or his struggle adjusting to civilian life. The short gaps for his civilian life serve more as a means to an end rather than a significant shift of circumstance for his character, and in doing that the film sacrifices Kyle’s humanity. Director Clint Eastwood captures the tension of tours really nicely, though, and Cooper’s performance is excellent; it’s just a shame that the rest of the film doesn’t quite reach the same heights.

What’s it about?

Dylan and his father are both stuck in a rut, searching for some sort of escape from their demons. When Dylan discovers a flair for paper plane construction he’s encouraged to participate in the national paper plane heats.

What we thought

Dan says: You’ve seen this film before with ice hockey (Mighty Ducks), lawn bowls (Crackerjack), golf (Tin Cup), karate (Karate Kid), the list goes on and on. I’m a sucker for this tale no matter how many times it’s told and so it was that I was disappointing to find myself checking my watch only thirty minutes in. The writing and the filmmaking is below par and feels like the very worst episodes of Secret Valley. The actors flail through the woeful dialogue as best they can but there’s little chance of saving it. Deborah Mailman and David Wenham are criminally underused.

You’ll find yourself rolling your eyes more than once and the worst part is that there’s some really nice moments hidden away here. Ed Oxbould and Sam Worthington do a beautiful job and a few more rewrites could have picked this up and out of the mud.

Appropriately, his film has wings, but no steering.