The 'Drive' star and Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn reteam to empty effect

The movie star is dead: that's the recurring lament currently gaining credence once more this summer following a string of flops from supposed A-listers such as Will Smith, Johnny Depp and Channing Tatum. Flying in the face of such a prognosis, however, comes The Heat, a hit blockbuster in the US whose appeal derives from nothing so much as its lead duo's scorching screen presence.

Danny Boyle's hyper-devious thriller begins with James McAvoy's hero-narrator Simon explaining, with a sly wink, how the security system operates in the auction house where he works.

Vegas showmen Burt Wonderstone (Steve Carell, shiny teeth, stonking toupée) and Anton Marvelton (Steve Buscemi, wonky teeth, wondrous manner) have been pulling the same act for decades – only to split up when challenged by maverick street-magician Steve Gray (Jim Carrey in manic mode).

Various directors DVD/Blu-ray

Tom Shkolnik DVD/ Blu-ray (79mins)

Jean-Jacques Annaud Blu-ray (101mins)

Harold Ramis, Amy Heckerling, Jeremiah S Chechik, Stephen Kessler Blu-ray

Wolfgang Reitherman DVD/Blu-ray (76mins)

Ryan Gosling pulls no punches in his latest thriller

(18)

(15)

 (12A)

This scrapbook memoir of an American legend plays out against an Oedipal struggle that might have gone unacknowledged.

Advance word that this would be the scariest horror since Amityville proves well wide of the mark.