Rating: 3/5

Rating: 3/5. Verdict: More soul to her cry

Rating: 3.5/5. Verdict: Still dour, but more diverse second offering from London trio

Jeff Bridges' Cogburn retains the Wayne eyepatch and the girth but he's not up for the carbine twirl.

Fela Kuti was a revolutionary and a rogue. And man, could the Nigerian musician and pioneer of Afro-beat sing, dance and play saxophone.

Rating: 4/5. Verdict: Get down with the coolest grandma.

Director Danny Boyle goes from a cast of many with Slumdog Millionaire to pretty much a cast of one, in an intense tale of survival that takes the saying "I'd give my right arm ..." to a new level.

Rating: 4/5. Verdict: Folk fellow finds the funk on his fifth.

Paul Auster writes splendidly about disaffected, damaged people, usually alienated from society in some way, often isolated, physically and/or psychologically.

After an interregnum of six years following the "retirement" of Justin Paton (the quotation marks are an intriguing addition by the publisher) in 2004, during which "guest editors" steered the ship, Landfall has a permanent editor again.

You'd be a fool to buy into the argument that Adele Adkins is just another packaged Brit School graduate with a great set of lungs.

The highly charged electro-pop that's pumped out by Fenech-Soler is relatively unknown here, but in the band's British homeland it's a floor-filling festival favourite.

Enough to make you spew Not even Kiwi talent can save the Oz "event" movie that is Panic at Rock Island, says Deborah Hill Cone.

Even though 2011 is still new, I suspect this debut novel from US author Susan Henderson will be one of my standout reads of the year.

Rhoda Janzen's memoir may be light on laughs, but it's heavy on affection.

Rating: 3.5/5

They come, they perform, and they move on to the next gig. That's what they do.

Rating: 4/5. Verdict: The old gang is back, and conjuring up their very best in a new way

Rating: 3/5. Verdict: Sounding older and wiser, survivor Allman finds meaning in old blues

It's easy to see, while watching her character's descent into madness, why Portman scooped the Best Actress Golden Globe award and an Oscar nomination for her role in this psychological thriller.

The chief problem with The Hopes and Dreams of Gazza Snell is Gazza. As played by William McInnes, he's meant to be bit of a dag who needs to grow up, despite being a husband and father of two running his own business.

Rating: 3/5. Verdict: Portland folkies' sixth album is solid, but lacks true grit

A conventional and heartwarming film, this is the true story of the great horse Secretariat, who made history in 1973 as the first horse in 25 years to win America's coveted Triple Crown.

Rocketing up the New York Times Bestseller list, this book has been praised for its intricate plot, its scope and daring, and its bold and sweeping narrative.

There are some genuinely entertaining moments in this homage to advertising's "golden age", no question. The odd bit of craziness, too, though nothing particularly lewd, salacious or revealing.

Carl Nixon's first two books signalled a writer worth watching. His new work, Settlers' Creek, is a Pandora's box.

This long-in-development update of the 60s TV show throws a lot at the wall, but only some of it sticks.