MOONLIGHT (15, 111 mins) Drama/Romance. Mahershala Ali, Naomie Harris, Janelle Monae, Patrick Decile, Alex Hibbert, Ashton Sanders, Trevante Rhodes, Jharrel Jerome, Andre Holland. Director: Barry Jenkins.

Released: February 17 (UK & Ireland, selected cinemas)

Based on the stage play In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue by Tarell Alvin McCraney, writer-director Barry Jenkins' tender coming-of-age drama finds hope, compassion and salvation in the darkest places.

Moonlight glimpses abuse, regret and desire from the perspective of an African American boy struggling to come to terms with his sexuality against a backdrop of crime and punishment in Miami, Florida.

Neatly bookmarked into three chapters which capture the central character at different points in his life, it is an extraordinary film of naked emotion, broken dreams and deep longing that upends stereotypes and speaks loudest in agonizing silences between tortured characters.

Cinematographer James Laxton's bold choices - saturated colours, stark lighting - are echoed in the use of subtly different film stocks for each chapter; one brings out the actors' rich skin tones, another imbues each frame with a blue tinge.

These choices are subtle, but demonstrate meticulous thought behind even the most simple shot of two characters in deep discussion, wrestling with demons of their shared past.

Naomie Harris scorches every frame as a drug-addicted mother, whose lip-curling cruelty propels her wounded son into the surrogate care of her own dealer.

Scenes of her taking money from her boy to feed her habit wrench at the heart, nicely offset by later scenes when she acknowledges the damage she has wrought.

"You ain't gotta love me," she tearfully tells her boy, "Lord knows, I didn't have love for you when you needed it."

Twelve-year-old Chiron (Alex Hibbert) is one of the smallest boys in his year and an obvious target for bullies.

Any beatings pale next to the pain inflicted by his mother Paula (Harris), who is a slave to her drug habit.

Her neglect drives Chiron into the arms of dealer Juan (Mahershala Ali) and his girlfriend Teresa (Janelle Monae), who try to provide a stable home environment as he contends with growing pains.

As Chiron grows into an awkward 16-year-old (now played by Ashton Sanders), the lad recognises his attraction to his best friend Kevin (Jharrel Jerome).

Many years later, Chiron (now played by Trevante Rhodes), drives to the diner where Kevin (now played by Andre Holland) waits tables in order to purge the poison.

"For a long time, I tried not to remember...," confesses Chiron to the only man he ever loved.

Moonlight is a wondrous collaboration between a director at the height of his powers and a cast willing to lay themselves emotionally bare for their art.

Naturalistic performances from the three actors who play Chiron are exemplary, and Oscar nominees Ali and Harris age gracefully between each polished act.

Every anguished syllable of dialogue glistens with authenticity, holding us spellbound as a curious boy becomes a damaged, yet gentle man.

:: SWEARING :: NO SEX :: VIOLENCE :: RATING: 9.5/10

HIDDEN FIGURES (PG, 127 mins) Drama/Romance/Comedy. Taraji P Henson, Octavia Spencer, Janelle Monae, Kevin Costner, Kirsten Dunst, Jim Parsons, Mahershala Ali, Ken Strunk. Director: Theodore Melfi.

Released: February 17 (UK & Ireland)

Based on an inspirational true story, Hidden Figures is a crowd-pleasing drama, which celebrates three brilliant African-American women, who lit the touch paper on NASA's 1960s space race.

Sensitively directed by Theodore Melfi, who co-wrote the Oscar-nominated script with Allison Schroeder, this life-affirming portrait of determination in a time of bigotry and intolerance strikes every emotional chord with aplomb.

Laughter and tears abound, flecked with romance and bravura recreations of key events from an era when men and women of science were literally shooting for the moon as the rest of the world watched in awe.

Selective use of archive footage, including one televised appearance by Martin Luther King Jr, puts this race to the stars in vivid historical context.

"Civil rights ain't always civil," one husband sternly reminds his wife, who hopes to petition a judge to allow her to attend an all-white school, so she can obtain an engineering degree.

A glorious ensemble cast, led by the divine trinity of Taraji P Henson, Octavia Spencer and Janelle Monae, proudly honours the memory of these unsung heroes with emotionally raw and touching performances that resonate long after the end credits roll.

Katherine Johnson (Henson) and fellow mathematicians Mary Jackson (Monae) and Dorothy Vaughan (Spencer) work in the segregated West Computing Group in Hampton, Virginia.

They are part of NASA's concerted effort to put a man into space before the Soviets.

The successful launch of the Korabl-Sputnik-4 spacecraft puts America on the back foot.

"We can't justify a space program that doesn't put anything in space!" despairs NASA's beleaguered director Jim Webb (Ken Strunk).

Al Harrison (Kevin Costner), director of the Space Task Group, desperately needs a mathematician in his team to check computations.

Supervisor Vivian Mitchell (Kirsten Dunst) selects Katherine, who is the first African American to work with Al's crack team.

Many of the experts, including head engineer Paul Stafford (Jim Parsons), openly discriminate against her and all of the toilets in the building are for whites only.

Al won't tolerate any distractions and he takes matters into his own hands, loudly declaring, "Here at NASA, we all pee the same colour!"

Emboldened by this show of unity, Katherine, Mary and Dorothy strive for greatness while handsome military officer Jim Johnson (Mahershala Ali) prepares to woo one of the women.

Hidden Figures richly deserves its three Oscar nominations, including a nod for Best Picture and another for Spencer's scene-stealing work as a would-be supervisor who intends to move with the times, not be held back by them.

Henson and Monae are equally terrific as women of fierce intelligence and pride, who doggedly overcome the obstacles thrown in their paths.

Sterling support from Costner and Dunst, and a dramatic role for Big Bang Theory star Parsons, add to the golden lustre.

:: SWEARING :: NO SEX :: NO VIOLENCE :: RATING: 8/10

THE GREAT WALL (12A, 103 mins) Action/Thriller/Horror. Matt Damon, Tian Jing, Andy Lau, Pedro Pascal, Willem Dafoe, Zhang Hanyu. Director: Zhang Yimou.

Released: February 17 (UK & Ireland)

East meets west, but the filmmaking heads south in director Zhang Yimou's hulking historical romp, which imagines a special effects-heavy monster mash atop one of the world's architectural marvels.

The Great Wall is the most expensive film made in China and looks ravishing.

Sweeping, panoramic shots of the man-made structure snaking across the countryside, or shrouded in heavy morning mist, provide a stunning backdrop to artfully choreographed battle sequences and slow-motion slaughter.

Costumes and production design spare no expense, festooning the screen with hundreds of nameless extras in intricate armour, locked in fierce battle with hordes of computer-generated creatures under the control of a vengeful queen.

It's Starship Troopers reset to the pomp and colour-saturated pageantry of imperial China, steeped in the myths and traditions of a regimented society that preaches unerring obedience to the Emperor above selfish personal advancement.

Yimou doesn't disappoint when it comes to jaw-dropping spectacle, but the script, credited to a trio of American writers, repeatedly scrimps on coherent plotting and characterisation, with perfunctory dialogue in both English and Mandarin.

Every 60 years, hordes of flesh-hungry, green-blooded monsters called the Tao Tei rise to punish avaricious mankind.

A secret military sect called the Nameless Order, led by General Shao (Zhang Hanyu) and brilliant strategist Wang (Andy Lau), exists solely to repel these hideous beasts from atop the wall.

Defences are divided between five colour-coded garrisons, each with a different specialty: the black Bear Troop of close-quarter fighters, the blue Crane Troop of spear-wielding acrobats, the red Eagle Troop of archers, the bronze Tiger Troop of heavy artillery experts, and the magenta Deer Troop of horseback warriors.

Two mercenaries, William (Matt Damon) and Tovar (Pedro Pascal), who are searching for "black powder", stumble into the middle of this brutal and bloodthirsty conflict.

William is bewitched by the Crane Troop's beautiful leader, Commander Lin (Tian Jing), and pledges his support to the Chinese in their battle against the Tao Tei.

However, Tovar reminds his murderous comrade that their fate and personal fortune rest on stealing gunpowder from their hosts with the help of another bandit, Ballard (Willem Dafoe).

As the mighty queen Tao Tei issues her battle cry and creatures swarm at the foot of the wall, William must decide where his allegiances lie.

The Great Wall is an exceedingly expensive and glossy B-Movie, elevated to entertaining hokum by directorial brio and solid performances from the international cast.

Damon's accent is a wonder of the world by itself, ricocheting between Irish, English and gruff American from one scene to the next.

He's more than a match for the physical rigours of the role, sparking pleasing screen chemistry with Jing, whose feisty and appealing heroine cuts through the swaggering machismo.

Dafoe gratefully picks up his pay cheque for a nondescript supporting performance.

:: NO SWEARING :: NO SEX :: VIOLENCE :: RATING: 6/10