Oscar night is nearly upon us and there have been a few surprises — and some apparent snubs — in the shortlist, says Esther McCarthy.

Hell or High Water 5/5

Two brothers go on a bank robbery spree for their own unique reasons.

Director David Mackenzie may not be a household name but the English filmmaker has been quiety turning out some truly impressive features in recent years, including Starred Up and the criminally underrated sci-fi romance Perfect Sense.

1. Dracula Delights

Starred Up ****

MIDNIGHT in Paris (15A) stars Owen Wilson as struggling writer Gil, who travels to Paris in search of inspiration with his fiancée Inez (Rachel McAdams).

Much has been said about Kutcher’s change of direction in this film in which he plays serial womanizer Nikki who assumes he’s every female’s dream hunk and goes through them like the proverbial knife in butter, betraying along the way what might have been the love of his life (Heche).

Joy Division biopic Control leads the field at the British Independent Film Awards with 10 nominations.

Bell is making some remarkably good films these days, maturing into a fine actor.

It’s one thing to promise a tight, gripping thriller about obsession; and quite another to fail to deliver enough reasons for such passion.

Two Irish films - Asylum and Hotel Rwanda - are bound for the Berlin International Film Festival next month.

Popular The Return of the King failed to clinch a single gong at an awards ceremony voted for by film critics tonight.

The Magdalene Sisters, the film which depicted life in the laundries run by the Magdalene nuns, has earned four nominations in this year’s London Film Critics’ Circle Awards.

Cast Ewan McGregor as a lowlife lothario and throw in a few graphic sex scenes and you’re guaranteed box office success.

Police today began removing peace protesters gathering for a mass demonstration outside the home of Britain’s Trident fleet.