Moon

In 2024, with the earth running out of resources, astronaut Sam Bell [Sam Rockwell] works alone, mining helium and sending it back in rockets from the moon. Towards the end of his three-year contract, desperate to see his wife and son, he starts hallucinating. Then, knocked unconscious in an accident, Bell wakes up to find that he is not alone. Can he get back to earth?

Wendy Ide, the Times: Remember the glory days of intelligent science fiction? The time before every vaguely futuristic flick became a chase movie, punctuated by big bangs, space bugs and steroidal set pieces? The director Duncan Jones clearly does. His pensive debut feature Moon is an elegy for the thoughtful storytelling of films such as Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey and Tarkovsky's Solaris. It has its roots in the kind of picture that looked far into space to unearth truths deep within the human soul. (Verdict: 4 stars out of 5)

Dave Calhoun, Time Out: Jones has created a credible theatre in which to stage a meditative play on isolation and identity within the bounds of wild fiction, the edges of which are curiously blurred. Less is more in Jones's eye: he knows that big ideas can be lost amid noisy gestures so keeps his drama within the confines of a few rooms, with only the odd, more poetic moment unfolding outside on the moon's surface. (Verdict: three stars out of five)

Simon Crook, Empire: Less a whodunnit, more a whothehellami, while the ingenious script keeps you guessing, a terrific turn from Sam Rockwell keeps you caring. It's a deeply engaging one-man show and, crucially, puts a human face on some seriously hefty themes (memory, alienation, identity). When he finally cries, "I just want to go home," hearts will break. (Verdict: four stars out of five) ·