Critical Week: Time after time

OK, so the sleek, weepy film version of The Time Traveler's Wife is kind of lacking the edginess and clarity of Audrey Niffenegger's remarkable best-seller. But it's still thoroughly engaging, and a terrific alternative to the normal bludgeoning of the summer movie season. I'm also secretly hoping that this kicks off a time travelling fad that gives vampire films a run for their money.

Also screened to the press last week were Renee Zellweger's entry into the nutty evil-child thriller genre, Case 39; the warm and funny indie male-bonding comedy Humpday; the fiendishly clever British thriller Jetsam; the gritty indie prep-school drugs drama Afterschool; the London crime thriller (complete with Danny Dyer) Dead Man Running; and the harrowing and riveting dolphin-killing doc The Cove.

This week is even busier, with Park Chan-wook's no doubt original take on the vampire drama Thirst; Michael Caine in the revenge thriller Harry Brown; the Aussie revenge horror The Horseman; the Euro-epic The Red Baron; the French festival winner Welcome; the 15-years-in-the-making photojournalism doc Shooting Robert King; and the Wayan's brothers' probably unfunny Dance Flick. We'll also get to see 16 minutes of James Cameron's Avatar in 3D on the Imax screen - ooh!