The latest releases reviewed.
THE SIMPSONS MOVIE ****
Directed by David Silverman. Voices of Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright, Yeardley Smith, Hank Azaria, Harry Shearer, Albert Brooks PG cert
The Simpsons' belated first feature arrives in a decent DVD. There are two commentaries, nice menu screens and a host of deleted scenes. Fans of the excellent boxed- sets of the series may, however, still feel a little short-changed. The film itself, in which Homer creates environmental havoc, needs only a tad more Mr Burns to secure the highest recommendation. DONALD CLARKE
THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM *****
Directed by Paul Greengrass. Starring Matt Damon, David Strathairn, Joan Allen, Julia Stiles, Albert Finney, Paddy Considine, Scott Glenn, Daniel Bruhl 15 cert
In Damon's third movie as the amnesiac assassin, Bourne comes closer to discovering his identity. The action scenes are viscerally staged and the emphasis firmly on exemplary stunt work, with minimal recourse to CG effects. This lean, uncluttered, adrenalin-pumping thriller is steeped in paranoia in its picture of round-the-clock surveillance in our present-day world. MICHAEL DWYER
TRANSFORMERS ***
Directed by Michael Bay. Starring Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson, Jon Voight, John Turturro 12 cert
Autobots and Decepticons, rival robots that can transform into various vehicles, visit earth in Bay's ear-bursting reinvention of the 1980s cartoon series. The film, though frequently unintelligible and overpowered by dizzying computer graphics, is actually more charming than we had a right to expect. The bombast continues in a packed two-disc edition. DONALD CLARKE
SHERRYBABY ** **
Directed by Laurie Collyer. Starring Maggie Gyllenhaal, Brad William Henke, Giancarlo Esposito 18 cert
Gyllenhaal immerses herself in the role of a volatile ex-convict desperately trying to stay off drugs and reconnect with her young daughter. She strikes a magnetic presence, seamlessly blending aching tenderness and vitality in this touching, unsparing moral drama. MICHAEL DWYER
