Alan Dee’s guide to the week’s new cinema releases

Fed up with all the family-friendly animations cluttering up your neighbourhoor multiplex?

Don’t despair, there’s another meaty offering in the powerhouse Bourne franchise on offer this week.

Of course you have to bear in mind that The Bourne Legacy doesn’t actually feature Bourne in the shape of Matt Damon.

Nor is Paul Greengrass, the man widely credited with lifting these thrillers several notches above the norm, calling the shots.

But director Tony Gilroy – who scripted the previous Bourne films but is also an experienced helmer with some quality titles under his belt – has an impressive cast led by Jeremy Renner as the mystery man in the middle.

Rachel Weisz, Edward Norton, Albert Finney and Joan Allen are also involved, and the action takes place at the same time as The Bourne Ultimatum.

Renner is an agent on the same conflicted team as Bourne, who has to use all his wiles to save himself when his bosses fear their covert crews are about to be exposed and they need to rub out all the evidence.

After his recent score in Avengers Assemble, another solid star role should be enough to cement Renner in position at the top of the Hollywood tree.

> It may already be showing on a screen near you, but Brave is only officially released this week – schedulers play fast and loose with timetables at this time of year, particularly if they see a window of opportunity for a particular film.

So this is a bit like the Little Mermaid meets Braveheart – family animation featuring a feisty heroine (Kelly Macdonald on voice) and a supporting cast of superior Scottish sorts including Billy Connolly and Robbie Coltrane, as well as the likes of Emma Thompson and Julie Walters.

It comes with the Pixar guarantee of quality and it’s certainly more engaging than some of the cartoon capers we’ve been offered this summer.

> You’ve only got yourselves to blame, because enough of you were curious enough to spend good money to see The Expendables and now they’re back for more.

The names above the title may be billed as the greatest action stars in the world, but they’re also among the oldest – Sly Stallone, Dolph Lundgren, Bruce Willis and Chuck Norris are hardly in the first flush of their careers and even Jason Statham is no spring chicken.

A hefty chunk of weapons-grade plutonium have been stolen, placing the entire world in danger.

Our heroes are trapped behind enemy lines and with the world at risk from nuclear attack.

Con Air director Simon West is a reliable pair of hands, but these wrinkly warriors just look silly as they flex their mature muscles..

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