The Paperboy
Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Nicole Kidman, Zac Efron - Dir: Lee Daniels

The Paperboy is based on a novel by Pete Dexter, the man who wrote the award-winning Paris Trout, so it's a fair guess that it might not end all happily ever after. And it makes it less of a surprise when the film's initially blackly comic tone slowly drifts into simply black.
But the film has a lot going or it: a smart screenplay and a great cast for a start. Zac Efron is okay, John Cusack and Matthew McConaughey very good, and Nicole Kidman simply outstanding, her aggressively white Southern trash turn as Charlotte, in love and trying to free Cusack's repulsive jailed murderer, deserving of an Oscar nod.
Ward (McConaughey) and a fellow writer – controversially, this being 1969, a black Englishman – are trying to help prove a miscarriage of justice. Meanwhile, younger brother brother Jack (Efron) falls for Charlotte.
The story wanders a bit, as if not sure which bits to leave out from the book, and it could happily lose ten minutes, but the sweaty swampy Florida locations are wonderfully realised and the seedy cast of secondary characters bring a real atmosphere to proceedings.
Those expecting a tight journalistic detective story will be disappointed. This presents a bunch of deeply flawed people and watches as their lives spiral to (generally) unfortunate conclusions. Thinking about it again, maybe it needed to be longer rather than shorter.

Neil Jordan has already made one very handsome vampire flick, the not-entirely-successful Interview With The Vampire. The rich colour pallet and serious tone of Byzantium is reminiscent of that and the underlying themes (the difficulties of an eternal life of blood-drinking) not dissimilar. It has two female vampires ('mum” Gemma Arterton, 'schoolgirl” Saoirse Ronan) living in a run-down coastal town where their secrets are in danger of being exposed. It's a melancholy films, as much a character study as it is a thriller or horror film. Those into the vampire genre will be impressed by this thoughtful approach.

You've never seen anything like it before, but that isn't necessarily a recommendation when it comes to Sharknado. In deference to Truth in Advertising I can reveal that it does indeed feature a 'Sharknado”, as high winds whip the California coast, carrying sharks through the air onto the heads of the alarmed local population. A lot of terrible actors (and John Heard, who has clearly hit on hard times) scream, run, fight and get eaten. This is clearly not a movie to watch by yourself but, with a group of friends and sufficient supplies of intoxicants, you could have a lot of fun with it.

OKAY. How does one judge a film like Fast & Furious 6? Well, it's faster than number 4 and number 2. And it's a lot more furious than 3 and 4. But it's neither quite as fast or furious as number 5. All sorted? The sixth instalment comes on like a sequel to part 5, which was the one that reunited the original team and then added extra rock in the form of Dwayne Johnson. He's back again along with – seemingly – everyone else from the entire franchise (even the dead ones). It's completely over-the-top, absolute nonsense, but the stunts are again ridiculously entertaining.

Dark Skies is a slow-burner of a film. Made on a limited budget, its trailer and cover art may suggest a visual effects feast but it ain't. It centres on the Barrett family – mum (Keri Russell), dad and a couple of kids – who are living quietly in suburbia till things start going bump in the night. At first they think someone has broken in but the weirdness increases until... Well, that would give it away I guess. The tension builds admirably, but it's all a bit too much of a Signs retread, with none of that film's cleverness.