STAR TREK – THE IMAX EXPERIENCE * * * * *
Cert 12A, 126 mins
Heavens above – talk about maximum warp! Four times bigger than a standard multiplex screen, Millennium Point’s giant IMAX cinema is easily the best way to see this spectacular resurrection of a movie franchise that seemed to have been long abandoned in the galaxy.

Six years after the 11th movie Nemesis just about put a crumpled tin lid on the TV series created by Gene Roddenberry in 1966, Lost director JJ Abrams really has achieved mission impossible.

Not only has he created a genuine silver screen blockbuster that’s full of amazing visual and aural special effects, but an old-fashioned adventure that’s based on heart, emotion and, of course, logic, too.

By creating a genuine prequel, he’s also made Star Trek accessible to anyone who might feel they need a Trekology degree to join the USS Enterprise after 43 years.

Even the most critical of die-hard fans will also find much to admire. The story introduces James T Kirk and Spock as children, illustrates their progression into manhood and charts their rivalry on board ship.

Ready to test their mettle, Incredible Hulk star Eric Bana is virtually unrecognisable as the new Romulan villain Nero who has plans. Big plans.

Chris Pine plays Kirk to perfection, offering a rebellious streak to illustrate his thrill-seeking rural background in Iowa.

But the most important job of all goes to Heroes star Zachary Quinto. He not only has to make us believe that he could be the half-human, half Vulcan Spock, but has to convince the now 78-year-old Leonard Nimoy on screen, too.

Tempted to wear the ears for the first time in almost two decades, Nimoy’s performance is one of exceptional grace.

While Star Trek is happy to be blitzing its way across space – and at IMAX you’ll feel like you really are – Nimoy’s presence anchors the movie firmly on Earth.

The wider casting is equally brilliant, with faithful performances from John Cho as Hikaru Sulu and Anton Yelchin as Pavel Chekov.

Complete with a cheeky striptease, Zoe Saldana’s Nyota Uhura is as memorable as any Bond girl in what is a male-dominated production.

As well as emphasising the merits of science and the eternal battle between logic and gut instinct, Star Trek is also not afraid to add considerable humour with the arrival of Simon Pegg – once a street busker in Birmingham – as Scotty.

In every respect, Star Trek blows the three leaden Star Wars’ prequels clean out of the universe. It was the original, and now it’s the best.

Beware letting younger viewers see an early bar-room punch-up which is far too graphic.

But for any 12-year-old taken to see this at IMAX, Star Trek could well be a life-defining cinema moment in the same way that their parents might today have fond memories of seeing Star Wars for the first time in theatres in 1977/78.   GY

CORALINE  * * * *
Cert PG, 100 mins
A stunning visual delight, this beautifully-made animated adventure will thrill children of about eight and above.

Be warned, though, that its PG certificate is misleading, as it could terrify younger children. Older ones should find it has just the right blend of chills, magic, laughs and excitement.

Coraline (voiced by Dakota Fanning) is our feisty heroine, with her blue hair, yellow coat and orange pyjamas standing out in her dull grey world.

When she moves with her family to an old house in the country, she’s left to her own devices as her parents, voiced by Teri Hatcher and John Hodgman, are too busy to pay her any attention.

She’ll take any excitement she can get, so when she finds a secret door to another world, she goes through it.

What lies on the other side looks just like her house, except this one is bright, colourful and cosy, inhabited with a fun father and a caring mother who cooks delicious food.

The only difference is, her “other mother” has buttons for eyes.

Coraline loves this world, full of interesting inventions like a real gravy train and a chandelier dispensing milkshakes.

The wonderfully weird and witty characters include Mr Bobinsky (Ian McShane), who’s been training a jumping mouse circus, and ageing actresses Miss Spink (Jennifer Saunders) and Miss Forcible (Dawn French), who put on a trapeze act.

Things turn nasty when her other mother says she can stay forever – as long as she sews buttons in her eyes too.

Based on the book by Neil Gaiman and directed by Henry Selick, who brought us The Nightmare Before Christmas, Coraline has the same deliciously dark feel and is full of imaginative detail.

It’s well worth seeking out cinemas which offer a 3D version, as Coraline is the first stop-motion animated feature created in stereoscopic 3D.  RL

CHERI * * *
Cert 15, 92 mins
Twenty-one years ago, Leicester’s Stephen Frears directed Michelle Pfeiffer in a film with a screenplay by Christopher Hampton.

The result was seven Oscar nominations and three wins for Dangerous Liaisons.

But this reunion, with Hampton again adapting a French novel (this time by Colette), isn’t nearly as satisfying.

Set in pre-First World War Paris, Pfeiffer plays renowned courtesan Lea de Lonval, now considering retirement. One of her few friends is former prostitute Charlotte Peloux (Kathy Bates), who asks Lea to take her debauched, rich, 19-year-old son under her wing.

Lea duly obliges with the feckless teenager, nicknamed Cheri (Rupert Friend), and the pair embark on a passionate affair. For six years (blink and you’ll miss the clumsy time shift) they flirt and bicker.

The relationship comes to a halt when Cheri is married off to virginal Edmee (Birmingham actress Felicity Jones). Lea steps aside gracefully, but it’s clear she cares more about her lover than she’s been letting on.

Pfeiffer is fabulous for 51 and puts in a good performance, as does Bates who delivers bitchy lines with relish.

The Belle Epoque dresses, hats, mansions and cars are gorgeous to look at. It’s certainly not lacking in style, but this film could do with more substance.

The two leads are pretty unlikable. Lea sums it up when she says of Cheri: “I can’t criticise his character, mainly because he doesn’t seem to have one.”    RL