The latest releases reviewed

JUNO
****
Directed by Jason Reitman. Starring Ellen Page, Michael Cera, Jennifer Garner, Jason Bateman, Allison Janney, JK Simmons, Olivia Thirlby 15 cert
Page is irresistibly appealing as a pregnant 16-year-old seeking the ideal adoptive parents for her unborn baby. Director Reitman nimbly steers the characters through the complications devised in Diablo Cody's imaginative, Oscar-winning screenplay for a seductive movie that sparkles with wit and warmth. MD

CLOVERFIELD
****
Directed by Matt Reeves. Starring Michael Stahl-David, Mike Vogel, Odette Yustman15 cert
A yuppie uses his camcorder to film an assault on New York by a giant something-or-other. If you can make yourself believe any human being would keep filming during events this scary then you should have a ball. The pseudo-subjective camera bestows a terrifying immediacy on the action, and the director does a terrific job of showing just enough of the creature to tantalise. DC

THE DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY/LE SCAPHANDRE ET LE PAPILLON
*****
Directed by Julian Schnabel. Starring Mathieu Amalric, Marie-Josée Croze, Emmanuelle Seigner, Anne Consigny, Patrick Chesnais, Neils Arestrup, Olatz López Garmendia, Jean-Pierre Cassel, Marina Hands, Emma de Caunes, Max von Sydow 12 cert
Mathieu Amalric expressively plays Elleeditor Jean- Dominique Bauby, who, paralysed after a stroke, dictated his book by blinking his left eye. One of the many remarkable achievements of Schnabel's thought- provoking film is that it proves life-affirming yet never turns sentimental. When it was shown at Cannes last year, the jury gave Schnabel the best director award. MD

THE EDGE OF HEAVEN/AUF DER ANDEREN SEITE
****
Directed by Fatih Akin. Starring Baki Davrak, Tuncel Kurtiz, Nursel Kose, Hanna Schygulla 15 cert
When his father accidentally kills a middle-aged prostitute, a German academic travels to Istanbul to locate the dead woman's daughter. Akin's excellent follow-up to Head-Ononce again addresses the Turkish experience in Germany (and the German experience in Turkey). Buoyed up by consistently strong performances, the film manages to tell a good story while asking probing, important questions. DC

DAN IN REAL LIFE
***
Directed by Peter Hedges. Starring Steve Carell, Juliette Binoche, Dane Cook, Norbert Leo Butz, John Mahoney, Dianne Wiest PG cert
Carell's sat-upon shtick wears very thin in this self-satisfied comedy. Steve plays the author of a folksy newspaper column who falls in love with his brother's girlfriend (an uncomfortable Binoche) during a family gathering by the sea. There are some amusing moments, but the story is far too contrived and the characters far too cutsey. DC