Under Milk Wood

two stars

Dir: Kevin Allen

With: Rhys Ifans, Charlotte Church

Runtime: 88 minutes

WHEN she is not campaigning against austerity, Charlotte Church has been known to sing a bit. Here, she also has her acting hat on for an adaptation of Dylan Thomas's "play for voices". Director Kevin Allen, with the aid of Rhys Ifans as Captain Cat, Church as Polly Garter, and a cast of what seems like thousands of extras from the valleys of Welsh acting, bring the residents of Llareggub to life. Allen lends an inventive, cinematic eye to proceedings but the 1972 version, with Richard Burton and Liz Taylor, still reigns supreme. Here, the staging has more than a whiff of The Singing Detective about it, and one would need to be a pretty hard core Thomas fan to enjoy all 88 minutes. Church is a natural, though, when it comes to screen presence, with her characterisation of Garter, all rose bloom cheeks and rolling curves, making her the perfect choice if anyone ever wants to remake The Darling Buds of May.

The Sisterhood of Night

two stars

Dir: Caryn Waechter

With: Georgie Henley, Kara Hayward

Runtime: 104 minutes

MARY, an American teenager, has decided to go off-line. How shocking you find that probably signals how much you will enjoy Caryn Waechter's promising but ultimately disappointing drama. There is little wrong with the young leads, particularly Georgie Henley (The Chronicles of Narnia) who slips into the role of high school student as if to American suburbia born (she does in fact hail from Yorkshire). The premise too - a gang of girls forms a secret sisterhood, only to be suspected of satanic practices - is a great starting point for drama. But after a strong beginning, Waechter loses control of the story and allows it to become a teen soap with obnoxious teenagers to the fore.

Tonight [Weds], 18.05, Cineworld; June 27, 20.35, Odeon

The Violators

two stars

Dir: Helen Walsh

With: Lauren McQueen, Liam Ainsworth

Runtime: 97 minutes

IT'S a British drama set oop north, so what's the betting it is going to be grim? Correct. Helen Walsh, author of The Lemon Press, turns writer-director for this tale of a broken family - two brothers and a sister - trying to put their lives together again despite the constant fear that their abusive father will get out of jail and come looking for them. Shelly, the strongest one of the bunch, is badly in need of friends at this point in her life, but has she found them in the curiously intense Rachel or the always there for her Mikey? A terrifically assured performance from Lauren McQueen as Shelly marks her out as a young actor to watch, but the rest of the film is by the numbers bleak and all too predictable.

June 27, 18.20, Odeon