The latest releases reviewed.

300 ****

Directed by Zack Snyder. Starring Gerard Butler, Lena Headey, Dominic West 15 cert

Mythology and technology are combined for a potently heady cinematic experience. This stylised treatment of Frank Miller's graphic novel dramatises the Battle of Thermopylae in 480 BC, as King Leonidas (Butler) leads 300 Spartans against a massive Persian army. Remarkable visual effects are employed for the visceral combat sequences.

HALF NELSON ****

Directed by Ryan Fleck. Starring Ryan Gosling, Shareekah Epps, Anthony Mackie 15 cert

Fleck's edgy drama stars the Oscar- nominated Gosling as a Brooklyn teacher whose cocaine addiction spirals out of control, and revelatory newcomer Epps as his caring 13-year-old pupil. A commendably restrained and uncommonly honest film that eschews soft options and phoney epiphanies, it packs a strong emotional charge. DVD extras include Fleck and writer Anna Boden's award-winning short, Gowanus, Brooklyn.

JINDABYNE ***

Directed by Ray Lawrence. Starring Laura Linney, Gabriel Byrne, Chris Haywood 15 cert

Harrowing adaptation of a Raymond Carver story detailing a couple's descent into bitterness after the husband does something callous on a fishing trip. Lawrence's follow-up to Lantana is a similarly nuanced piece of work, but the sustained misery of the film feels forced and the final scenes at an Aboriginal mourning ceremony don't quite ring true.

BLACK SNAKE MOAN **

Directed by Craig Brewer. Starring Samuel L Jackson, Christina Ricci, Justin Timberlake 16 cert

Jackson, a retired blues singer recently abandoned by his wife, encounters Ricci, a brazen hussy, lying at his gate and, eager to reform her sinning ways, chains her to the radiator. Pardon? The director's commentary on this extraordinarily dodgy - though well made - melodrama fails to clarify what the hell he thinks he's up to.