Chances are, you didn’t even know there was a first one – but the pre-teens in your household will. Released just nine months ago, predecessor Diary of a Wimpy Kid was a surprise success and the rushed-out sequel suggests movie bigwigs were keen to milk this potential cash cow. But despite a formula that generally equates to a great dollop of convoluted tripe, this follow-up is actually rather good.

The film tells of the growing pains (both psychological and physiological) of Greg Heffley (Zachary Gordon) as he comes to terms with entering the seventh grade and deals with his failing efforts to impress the girl of his dreams, all the while contending with his parents attempts to encourage him and his brother Rodrick (Devon Bostick) to get along.

SCREAMING: I think this was the bit where they were watching a scary movie but I'm not sure

The film hits just the right tone, and effortlessly manages to appeal to the age group it targets without alienating parents. And it achieves this without resorting to the multi-layered approach often adopted with kids’ films that depends on the incorporation of adult-friendly content designed to sail over children’s heads and make the viewing experience far more enjoyable for the parent.

Based on the book by Jeff Kinney, this movie sequel is sweet, fresh and funny and will really appeal to youngsters. Crucially, it taps into thoughts and feelings appropriate to the age of its main character, Greg, and therefore it resonates with its young audience. But it also resonates with its older one, who are reminded of the way they felt at the same age; being embarrassed by family, and feeling like a dork and a misfit at school.

Steve Zahn and Rachael Harris, as parents Frank and Susan Heffley, totally inhabit their roles as parents seen through the eyes of a seventh grader – and they’re so effective, even grown-up viewers will wince at the memories of their own feelings towards their mums and dads at the same age.

The rest of the cast does a great job at bringing their characters to cartoonish life – in particular Devon Bostick as Rodrick who plays the tormentor to his younger brother with glee.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules is, quite simply, a great kids’ movie.

Water For Elephants may well boast Oscar-winning actors amongst its cast in Reese Witherspoon and Christoph Waltz but it certainly won’t achieve any acclaim for its name – surely a contender for worst movie title of the year.

Taking its name directly from the source novel, Water For Elephants isn’t really a title to entice movie goers but there’s no doubt that hordes of Robert Pattinson fans will flock to see it regardless.

WITHERSPOON: She played his mum in a film, you know

The film tells the story of Jacob Jankowski (Pattinson) who, as a young man, drops out of college when his parents are killed in a car accident. Prohibited from inheriting any of his parents’ assets, Jacob needs a job. When he crosses paths with a travelling circus, he leaps at the chance to join, putting the veterinary skills learned through his studies to use with the troupe’s animals.

He soon learns that circus boss August (Waltz) mistreats the four-legged stars of his show, partly through a lack of funds and partly through sheer cruelty. But when he learns that August is equally awful towards his employees, he has little choice but to accept it for fear of recriminations. Of course, August’s beautiful wife Marlena (Witherspoon) makes it all the more appealing to stick around but as he falls deeper in love with her, it fires up August’s fury and culminates in a bloody showdown.

The reason for Pattinson choosing this low-key role is crystal clear – he’s at pains to try and shake off his teen idol image. And to some degree, he succeeds. Putting in a nicely restrained performance, R-Pattz is all shy smiles and awkwardness around the assured woman who has bewitched him and though he may appear boyish at times, the performance is a mature and subtle one.

Witherspoon is genuinely entrancing, like a siren who has drawn Jacob into her web. Petite, doll-like and always perfectly coiffed and adorned, she’s an untouchable combination of grace, elegance and spoiled princess.

Christoph Waltz, meanwhile, channels the sadism of the Inglourious Basterds character for which he’s best known to create a ringmaster who is at once magnetic and monstrous, if a little two-dimensional.

Though the film looks sumptuous – Reese Witherspoon’s costumes stand out in particular and its period setting creates a romantic mood that enhances the story – it plods along at a pretty slow pace and is seriously hampered by the lack of chemistry between the two leads.

Aside from the wonderfully transfixing elephant, the film’s greatest strength is production design. With character development and languid storytelling among the film’s weaker points, Water For Elephants is arguably one for R-Pattz fans only.

Another horror film comes along and the hype is always the same – the posters, the trailer and ‘word of mouth’ tell you it’s the scariest film you’ve ever seen. It isn’t necessarily the case that scary equals good when it comes to horror but Insidious certainly scores highly on the former and also does pretty well on the latter.

So what’s the story? Well, when Renai (Rose Byrne) and Josh Lambert (Patrick Wilson) move into a new house with their three children, Renai finds herself disturbed by some odd occurrences – books fall off shelves and she hears spooky noises. When her eldest son Dalton (Ty Simpkins) falls from a ladder in the attic and fails to wake up the next day, the doctors can’t diagnose what’s happened to him and she senses that something is badly wrong.

WAHHHHH: Scary face

Three months later, Dalton has failed to emerge from his comatose state so he is sent home to be monitored in comfort. Once home, the peculiar incidents start up again, only this time they’re more frequent and more terrifying. Believing that the house is haunted, Renai is so spooked that she persuades her husband to move again.

When the frightening episodes persist, she knows it’s time to act but how can she convince a sceptical husband of her fears that malevolent forces are at work? She calls in Josh’s sympathetic mum (Barbara Hershey), who recommends she see a friend of hers – a paranormal investigator…

Though Insidious laudably seems to sing from its own song sheet in many ways, it has elements that bring to mind supernatural horror Paranormal Activity as well as Steven Spielberg’s family-in-peril chiller Poltergeist and Sam Raimi’s recent Drag Me To Hell.

All films deal with demons and spirits in their subject matter but what’s most striking is the stylistic similarities it shares. Most notably, it borrows the subtle tongue-in-cheek humour of Poltergeist and Drag Me To Hell to create an engaging and at times amusing – and yes, even charming – film.

This takes nothing away from the film’s scare factor though. In fact, it’s genuinely, relentlessly chilling – heightened if anything by the moments of levity. Even though shots are often set up in tried and tested ways, you’ll still find yourself jumping. This is in no small part down to the truly unsettling film score, which uses tinkly bits and screeches to disquieting effect.

Horror films are unique in their ability to broach difficult topics – depicting on screen in horrific and terrifying ways the depths of the human psyche. Just as The Exorcist can be read as a young girl’s transition into womanhood, so can Insidious be read as a young boy’s difficulty in dealing with upheaval in his life. It’s also an interesting look at parenthood and how it affects both mother and father. Here, the father is sidelined throughout much of the film, while the mother is shown to feel constricted and suffocated by her role and domestic drudgery. What happens in the film is not only a catalyst for change but also an expression of suppressed thoughts and emotion.

Unashamedly incorporating theatrical moments amid the more conventional elements, Insidious isn’t afraid to be the film it wants to be – and that’s thanks to fearless director James Wan, the man behind the lens of the first Saw film. A strong personal voice, gripping story and some legitimate chills make this a superior horror flick.