More of this week's film releases...
Rating: 2/5
Justice is blind – and by the end of F Gary Gray's gruesome thriller, it's also horribly burned, dismembered and disembowelled as a family man turns the tables on the lawmakers who let him down, with the help of his good friend Semtex.
The moral conundrum that underpins Kurt Wimmer's screenplay is constantly obscured by graphic violence and relentlessly sadistic revenge fantasies played out by the central character on the denizens of Philadelphia.
His corruption at the hands of an unfair justice system and subsequent quest for retribution are supposed to blur the lines between good and evil, but the protagonists aren't sketched in sufficient detail to carry the story's flimsy convictions.
Gerard Butler has evidently been freeze-framing The Silence Of The Lambs as inspiration for his performance as the family man turned vigilante.
He chews lifelessly on every cliched line, while Jamie Foxx, as the crusading man of the law who must stop him, is just lifeless.
In a deeply unpleasant prologue, Butler's brilliant inventor, Clyde Shelton, is at home, playing the doting father to his young daughter (Ksenia Hulayev), when two thugs break in, stab and restrain him and his wife (Brooke Mills) and go after the girl.
Clyde loses the two people he cares most about, then, to add insult to unbearable injury, glory-chasing prosecutor Nick Rice (Foxx) cuts a deal with one of the perpetrators, agreeing a reduced sentence in exchange for testimony against the accomplice.
"Some justice is better than no justice at all,'' he contends, caring not a jot about Clyde.
Ten years later, Clyde enacts his masterplan to make Nick suffer like he did, by attacking his colleagues Jonas Cantrell (Bruce McGill) and Sarah Lowell (Leslie Bibb) and the mayor (Viola Davis).
Clyde even involves Nick's wife Kelly (Regina Hall) and daughter Denise (Emerald-Angel Young), so the prosecutor tries to reason with him.
"You think your wife and daughter would feel good about you killing in their name?,'' he asks.
"My wife and daughter can't feel anything,'' replies the widower coldly. "They're dead.''
When more people die while Clyde is safely tucked away in a cell, the prosecutor faces the terrifying possibility the prime suspect has an accomplice.
Law Abiding Citizen plays out largely as expected, with lashings of blood and gore to remind us Clyde is a psychopath who doesn't think twice about gutting his cellmate to pass the time.
The hunt for the accomplice is a classic Scooby-Doo caper, replete with a ridiculous pay-off that is impossible to take seriously.
Scenes between Butler and Foxx lack tension as both actors go through the motions, content to let director Gray have his pyrotechnic-laden fun.
Justice, it turns out, is bland as well as blind.
Bunny and the Bull (15)
The creators of The Mighty Boosh bring their anarchic sense of humour to the big screen in this singular road movie set entirely within the confines of a living room.
Stephen Turnbull (Edward Hogg) is an agoraphobic who hasn't stepped outside the front door for over a year.
His life is a carefully orchestrated routine until fate throws an almighty spanner in the works and he has to contemplate the unthinkable – leaving the house.
The huge emotional strain of opening the door and then stepping outside sparks memories of Stephen's journey around Europe with best friend Bunny (Simon Farnaby).
En route, the duo enjoy a meal at Captain Crab's Seafood Shack, where Spanish waitress Eloisa (Veronica Echegui) catches both of their eyes.
Stephen nervously tries his luck, but he's no match for charismatic Bunny, who brings along Eloisa for the ride.
Glorious 39 (12A)
Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain stands on the brink of war and Britain braces itself for the consequences in Stephen Poliakoff's emotionally wrought drama.
The Keyes family, led by government minister Alexander (Bill Nighy), is embroiled in all of the intrigue from the comfort of their stately pile in Norfolk.
Adopted daughter Anne (Romola Garai) is an aspiring actress who is poised to marry Foreign Office agent Lawrence (Charlie Cox).
A visit by the mysterious Balcombe (Jeremy Northam) fills Anne with dread and, soon after, she discovers secret recordings in one of the family's out-houses.
Her curiosity piqued, she begins to make inquiries about the origin of the recordings, but in so doing places herself at terrible risk from unseen forces, people who will stop at nothing to extinguish any resistance to the war movement.
Mr Right (15)
Rating: 3/5
This feel-good romantic comedy follows the lives and loves of three gay couples in Soho and is quirky enough to appeal to a mainstream audience, writes Mike Polanyk.
So it's odd Mr Right struggled for three years to land a distribution deal.
Successful artist Tom is dating model Lars whose every indiscretion he forgives.
But, he may have trouble accepting Lars wants to bed TV producer Harry, who is in a relationship with an actor Alex.
Meanwhile, William struggles to juggle responsibilities for his daughter while falling for a soap actor.
At the epicentre of all, Louise worries her boyfriend might be a little too comfortable with her gaggle of gay male friends.
It has a sophisticated script and a sharp sense of humour but is let down by underwhelming performances and a tangled plot.
Seraphine (PG)
Rating: 5/5
To her friends and neighbours, Seraphine (Yolande Moreau) is little more than a skivvy – an overweight, bumbling and slightly eccentric cleaning woman who fades into the background, writes Mike Polanyk.
Yet she leads a secret life as a self-taught artist, painting exquisite still-lifes by candlelight.
When German art collector Wilhelm Uhde (Ulrich Tukur) rents a room in the village and stumbles on one of her canvases in his landlady's living-room, he is astonished to discover it is the work of the cleaner.
At the heart of Martin Provost's beautiful tale is the unexpected relationship between the avant-garde art dealer and the visionary cleaning lady, a celebration of creativity and resilience.
It's a splendid film – slow burning but very moving.
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