St Vincent (12A), directed by Ted Melfi

4/5

A grumpy old man’s unlikely friendship with a young boy which becomes life-changing might spell sentimentality and heart-warming cliches.

But not when the wonderfully acerbic Bill Murray is playing the drunken, gambling and hedonistic curmudgeon who, on the face of it, has no redeeming qualities. Yet Murray gives him an unfathomable charm and humour as he keeps it edgy and real in a superlative performance.

For a fee Vincent (Murray) agrees to babysit his new next door neighbour’s (Melissa McCarthy) 12- year-old son Oliver (Jaeden Lieberher). He then takes him to the races and a bar where he introduces him to his pregnant stripper/prostitute friend Daka (Naomi Watts) as he mentors him in the ways of the world.

As Oliver starts delving into Vincent’s life as part of a school project to find someone with saintly qualities, he discovers that there is more to the old man than his cantankerous facade.

Writer and first-time director Ted Melfi delivers a razor-sharp, rich and emotive comedy drama which doesn’t drown in sentimentality due to Murray’s straight- shooting portrayal.

Lieberher is an extraordinary performer, holding his own comfortably opposite Murray and their deadpan, quick-witted exchanges are the highlight of the film.

St Vincent is a timely reminder of the importance of a sense of community and knowing and looking out for your neighbours which we have seem to have lost.

Maria Duarte

Get Santa (U), directed by Christopher Smith

3/5

A fun and charming children’s Christmas film is hard to come by but horror film director Christopher Smith has pulled it off.

Get Santa is a delightful festive tale with a dark edge about an ex-con Steve (Rafe Spall) who attempts to bond with his estranged nine-year-old son Tom (Kit Connor) by helping him save Christmas.

When his son tells him Father Christmas (Jim Broadbent) is hiding in the shed and needs to be reunited with his sleigh and reindeers, Steve is deeply concerned.

Yet once he meets him he goes along with it, putting his freedom in jeopardy in a bid not to lose Tom.

Broadbent makes a wonderful Santa and is hysterically funny when he ends up in jail and has to blend in with the other inmates in scenes reminiscent of Porridge.

Packed full of great visual gags, Get Santa is a far cry from Smith’s former films but it captures the Christmas spirit and will appeal to both young and old.

Maria Duarte

Men, Women & Children (15), directed by Jason Reitman

3/5

The Way social media and the internet have permeated our way of life is scrutinised closely in this film through a group of high school kids and their parents in what’s a humorous yet telling drama.

Cyber bullying, internet porn, anorexia and the sexualisation of youngsters online are all explored in this film adaptation of Chad Kultgen’s novel.

Jason Reitman’s insightful feature doesn’t just outline the perils of modern technology but the lack of communication and intimacy that it has resulted in.

No-one phones each other any more. They conduct their most personal business by text, tweet or Facebook.

That’s the background to a film in which Rosemarie DeWitt and Adam Sandler play a couple who are in a marital rut. She starts dating online while he hooks up with high-class prostitutes via the web.

Meanwhile their teenage son is so addicted to internet porn that he can’t cope with real sex, apparently a growing problem among boys today.

Jennifer Garner portrays a mother who polices her daughter’s every social media and internet move to protect her while Judy Greer plays a failed actress who posts risque photos of her wannabe model/actress daughter on her website as her portfolio without realising that she is sexualising her.

This is a fascinating and moving drama which doesn’t shy away from the controversial. But sadly it’s spoilt by its pointless beginning and end, which entails a probe going into space accompanied by a surreal voiceover by Emma Thompson.

Maria Duarte

Black Sea (15), directed by Kevin Macdonald

3/5

The idea of a group of men stuck on a submarine in search of nazi gold bullion at the bottom of the Black Sea isn’t one that particularly floats my boat.

But in director Kevin Macdonald’s skilful hands, this proves to be a powerfully tense, claustrophobic and riveting thriller which shines a stark light on human nature.

Suspicion and greed prove the downfall of the British and Russian roughneck crew led by Jude Law as the working-class Scottish captain who perceives this job as his retribution against the corporate bosses who laid him off.

A thriller with hidden depths and social bite.

Maria Duarte

Hello Carter (15), directed by Anthony Wilcox

3/5

Charlie Cox proves convincing as the eponymous Carter who, hit by a triple-whammy of losing his home, job and girlfriend, ends up travelling around the London Underground meeting misfits off the beaten track.

Still in lust and hoping to reunite with his girlfriend, a chance meeting with her brother sets him off on a wild goose chase. This allows him to exercise his venom on city sharks in what appears to be some kind of twilight zone.

While an evident parody of the class system, the film never really connects due to Carter’s lack of charisma, which is often the fate of the of those stuck in a psychological cul de sac. Even so, it’s an impressive audition by writer-director Anthony Wilcox for future projects.

Jeff Sawtell