ROBIN HOOD
Far removed from the BBC’s recent moisturised version, or indeed Kevin Costner’s slightly hammy …Prince Of Thieves, Ridley Scott’s take on the Sherwood legend follows a grandiose trajectory. Russell Crowe is a perfect Robin Hood, a me-against-the-world grizzly man, custom-made for the wilds of forest living. And even cynics can’t fail to be impressed by the vast scale of the film, à la Gladiator, part-filmed on Wales’ most picturesque coastline. Aiming at greater historical accuracy proves a masterstroke: a gritty medieval epic that does what every great blockbuster should - transport you to another world.
Verdict: Arrow-accurate box office hit

I KNOW YOU KNOW
A touching semi-autobiographical tale based on Welsh director Justin Kerrigan’s childhood, his first feature since Human Traffic is short and sweet, but certainly dusts off old adages about best things/small packages. It follows Jamie (hugely accomplished debutant Arron Fuller), a kid whose single dad (Robert Carlyle) is living a double life as an undercover agent. Not all is as it seems in this affectionate portrait of enduring love for a less-than-perfect father, however. Shot in Bridgend and Cardiff, the bleak 1980s cityscapes are painstakingly well observed, taking you right back to South Wales two decades ago. Drawing flashes of heart-warming humour from a situation that quickly degenerates from carefree to something much darker, meanwhile, the cleverly executed, genuine lump-in-throat conclusion balances sentimentality and pragmatism with expert results.
Verdict: Get in the know

BAD LIEUTENANT: PORT OF CALL NEW ORLEANS
spectacularly, despicably rotten it emerges the other side of dreadful, right back at incredible. The original Bad Lieutenant was such a film, portraying a crooked cop snorting/shagging his way around New York City. Nicolas Cage assumes the central role for this post-Hurricane Katrina re-rub, with sometimes unintentionally hilarious vividness. Playing the titular greaseball gambling/narcotics addict with hooker girlfriend almost too flawlessly, Cage becomes a total caricature as he investigates five vicious drugs murders. Plot takes a backseat to morally bereft antics though – with Cage’s dodgy cop guzzling enough class As to fell an elephant and engineering countless corrupt scenarios. Messier than New Orleans after the levees broke, this won’t win any Oscars, but it’s addictively entertaining - for all the wrong reasons.
Verdict: Brave, bold and brilliant

WATCH OUT FOR…
While Catherine Zeta-Jones filmed The Rebound, granda…um, husband Michael Douglas clearly needed an outlet between pension payments. So enter Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, updating the 1980s stockbroker classic and cementing financial types as marginally less popular than child molesters. Some top laughs come via a new duo of Islam-themed Brit comedy gems: satirist extraordinaire Chris Morris’s Four Lions turns deeply unfunny subjects – homegrown jihadist extremists – into side-splitting parody, while David Baddiel’s The Infidel is equally observationally smart. Welsh links are everywhere, as ever: US/UK political reacharound The Special Relationship stars famous figure chameleon Michael Sheen, who also pops up in Unthinkable; Rhys Ifans supports in Ben Stiller’s latest, Greenberg, while the low-key West Wales-set Barafundle Bay looks worth a punt. Elsewhere, TV’s most reprehensible series ever dribbles out a big screen sequel. But don’t fret… any gents dragged to see Sex And The City 2 can swiftly regain manliness: clap eyes on Iron Man 2, or take in Van Damme/Lundgren return Universal Soldier: Regeneration, plus forthcoming muscle-fests The A-Team and action hero overload The Expendables, and pretty soon you’ll be feeling tougher than a Merthyr council estate once more.

Are you scared of Russell Crowe? Adam Kennedy is