Directed by Ralph Fiennes

Coriolanus is the closest Shakespeare came, perhaps, to the classic Greek tragedy format of a single hero brought down by his fatal flaw, his hubris. It's one of those Shakespeare plays hardly anyone knows - even the Eng Lit graduate is not that likely to have encountered it, so in a way Ralph Fiennes has a free pass to present something fresh and without the weight of expectation. Which he does, impressively. Set in 'a place called Rome', though clearly relating geographically to the Yugoslav conflict (it was shot mostly around Belgrade) it's very familiar contemporary scenario that can be recognised in so many conflicts of the last 30 years - an unstable state facing pressure from warring neighbours outside and civil unrest within in the shape of its oppressed, protesting and increasingly violent populace.

Directed by Clint Eastwood

When a man as interestingly awful and with as many unresolved mysteries as J Edgar Hoover is chosen as a biopic subject you might think the director taking it on would come up with something more insightful and thought provoking than this plodding 137 minute effort. Intense, yes; but monotonous, muddled and not at all engaging - not that this should take away from the tremendous performance of Leonardo DiCaprio, a visceral and ugly portrait of a difficult and cold-hearted man that doesn't for a moment try to win our sympathy.