new releases
Identity Thief (15) Identity theft affects an estimated 1.8 million people in the UK every year, leading to months of worry and stress. It’s hardly a laughing matter. Nor, sadly, is Seth Gordon’s brash comedy – a smash hit on the other side of the Atlantic – which pits a kind-hearted family man (Jason Bateman) against the ballsy con woman (Bridesmaids scenestealer Melissa McCarthy), who has spent thousands of dollars and committed heinous crimes in his name. Identity Thief relies heavily on the razor-sharp comic timing of the two leads, casting Bateman as the beleaguered straight man to McCarthy’s whirlwind extrovert. The opening hour is acrimoniously divorced from reality, reaching a ludicrous crescendo with a motel room threesome; which makes the second half, laced with heart-tugging sentiment and tearful confessions, exceedingly hard to swallow. Damon Smith
The Croods 3D (U) Ice Age meets Brave in Kirk De Micco and Chris Sanders’s energetic computer-animated romp about a caveman called Grug (voiced by Nicolas Cage), who has taught his family to be afraid of the unknown. While Grug’s wife Ugga (Catherine Keener), oafish son Thug (Clark Duke), decrepit mother (Cloris Leachman) and feral baby abide by his diktats, restless daughter Eep (Emma Stone) rebels and leads the rag-tag prehistoric tribe on a perilous expedition across uncharted wilderness in the company of a charming caveboy called Guy (Ryan Reynolds). The Croods bursts with vibrant colour, punctuated by lively action set pieces including a hunting sequence that draws in several otherworldly species. A cuddly sloth called Belt provides the comic relief amid the saccharine father-daughter bonding. DS
Stolen (12A) Simon West’s lumbering action thriller, which reunites the Con Air director with grizzled leading man Nicolas Cage, intends to pickpocket 95 precious minutes of your life. Resist at all costs because Stolen is a bore, casting Cage as thief Will Montgomery, who is arrested by the cops shortly after he has incinerated the incriminating $10 million haul from his latest heist. Having served eight years behind bars, Will emerges with a desire to go straight, only to be dragged back into the mire when his old partner (Josh Lucas) kidnaps Will’s truculent daughter (Sam Gayle) and holds her hostage for the missing booty. Stolen lurches from implausibility to physical impossibility, and none of the crash-bang action scenes, including a chase through a multi-storey car park, quicken the pulse. DS
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