Life Of Pi:
They said it was unfilmable. But then, they also said a story about gay cowboys would never find an audience. Honestly, if someone just tells Ang Lee that Lindsay Lohan’s a lost cause, she could be transformed into the next Meryl Streep by Tuesday week. Bringing his magical touch to Yann Martel’s novel, Life Of Pi is visually ravishing. Exploring faith, religion and storytelling, Lee deftly weaves these philosophical musings into a gorgeous narrative about a young man’s childhood in a zoo, and his epic solo voyage on a small boat – with a Bengal tiger for company. Relative unknown Suraj Sharma brings warmth, wit and emotion to a difficult role, acting opposite animals both CGI and real. As his older self, Irfhan Khan is dignified, intelligent and emotive. And with effects that are iridescent, fluorescent and phosphorescent, the actors are surrounded by beauty. Sumptuous and vibrant, this is a graceful and thought-provoking triumph. Extras include an hour-long making-of documentary.

Silver Linings Playbook;
On paper, this edgy romantic comedy seems to be more than worth all the hype: helmed by indie maverick (and on-set terror, by many accounts) David O. Russell, Silver Linings Playbook features an unconventional romance between bi-polar Pat (Bradley Cooper) and depressed widow Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence). There is also a tearful Robert DeNiro, a dance number with unexpected results and an examination of the realities of mental illness. Unfortunately, it’s far more formulaic than it wants to be. However there’s no shame in imbuing a tried and tested formula with intelligence and great performances, and this does. It’s Cooper’s strongest role to date (though acting-wise, his filmography has very little competition), while Lawrence’s acerbic, emotive turn isn’t quite as devastating as her role in Winter’s Bone, but still demonstrates a comic ability and wisdom beyond her years. She’s the only aspect of the film that lives up to all the hype, but being a comedy with heaps of heart and sporadic lashings of intelligence is no small feat. Extras include deleted scenes.

THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY:
Fanboys and fangirls, be still your beating hearts and be washed your hobbit costumes. Peter Jackson’s eagerly awaited epic is finally here. As expected, it’s visually wonderful. With much more humour than the Lord Of The Rings trilogy, it does feel the story is being stretched to sustain itself over its drawn-out run-time. Every scene seems overlong, even the initially exciting action sequences. However, Martin Freeman is delightfully cantankerous as Bilbo Baggins while Andy Serkis provides some delicious darkness as Smeagol. Though the thin story may overstay its welcome over two upcoming sequels, it’s a nice start to the trilogy. Extras include making-of featurettes.

THE MAN WITH THE IRON FISTS:
Since his arrival in the Chinese jungle, village blacksmith RZA has been forced by radical tribal factions to create elaborate tools of destruction. When the clans’ brewing war boils over, the stranger channels an ancient energy to transform himself into a human weapon. As he fights alongside iconic heroes and against soulless villains, one man must harness this power to become saviour of his adopted people. Directed by RZA in a painfully bad homage to Tarantino, this hammy B-movie blends clumsy martial-arts sequences with pantomime performances from a portly Russell Crowe and killer madame Lucy Liu. RZA proves a horribly wooden actor, incapable of holding the film together, and his attempt to combine outrageous gore and tongue-in-cheek violence falls flat thanks to the lack of cohesion and humour. His direction also demonstrates a lack of faith in his audience’s intelligence, as any jokes or gimmicks are shoved down our throats.