Andrew Warne finds a YOUNG ADULT in Charlize Theron. He also finds a refreshingly unHollywood-ised comedy from the writing / directing team of JUNO, Diablo Cody and Jason Reitman, who seemed to have ironically delivered their most grown up film to date. Be warned, there's no warm fuzzy ending to this film, nor a lead protagonist who redeems herself in any way.

Charlize Theron gives a tour de force performance, that has already won her a Golden Globe Award, as Mavis - a slightly delusional minor celebrity writer who wakes up to discover her life isn't as amazing as she may have thought and that her small town high school sweetheart may just be the answer to getting her life back on track. So she hits the road to rekindle the romance with the ex, played by Patrick Wilson, who is now happily married with a newborn child. Astoundingly this is of no concern or relevance to Mavis, and is the first of many cringe-worthy moments the film serves up.

Andrew chats to Charlize about playing a character that, quite frankly, is rather hard to like, who in Charlize's words is just 'erk'. Yet it was a character she was thrilled to play, not only to work with director Jason Reitman ('Up in the Air', 'Juno', 'Thank You for Smoking'), who confesses that he loves unlikeable people and that Mavis is his most fully developed and interesting character that he has directed to date.

Andrew then chats with writer Diablo Cody who tells how she was more surprised than most, that her script was adapted to film and that an actor of Charlize Theron's star quality would then bring it to life.

Another stand out performance is from stand up comedian Patton Oswalt, who explains how his comedic talents helped him inhabit his rather down and out character.  

For those who like their film raw and ready, YOUNG ADULT is a must see.

In stark contrast to the hyperkinetic action spy movies of today, TINKER TAILOR SOLIDER SPY does espionage thriller the old-fashioned way. Adapted from one of the seminal spy novels of the 1980s by John LeCarre, the search for a mole in the upper levels of MI6 is carried out by the best of British thespians.

This ridiculously rich roll call includes Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, John Hurt, Toby Jones, Mark Strong, Tom Hardy and Kathy Burke, so if you find the slow simmering suspense a bit of a yawn, the cast alone should engage most cinephiles.

Gary Oldman reveals that what many may think is his most restrained performance, was one he had been waiting for all his life. Oldman plays the LeCarre's infamous character George Smiley, a role that Sir Alec Guinness first made his own in the award winning BBC TV series.

Colin Firth tells Andrew Warne the film is much more than a spy movie with very humane themes particularly that of isolation and loneliness. And if you thought the back drop of the Cold War might be a little outdated, the cast and director all claim that an understanding of that period is comparative to, and essential to understand, what is going on in the world today.

Andrew finds out why author John LeCarre insisted on Director Tomas Alfredson & Writer Peter Straughan developing a more loose adaptation of the book and how the languid pace of the film was a challenge, again in these Bond & Bourne times.

TINKER TAILOR SOLIDER SPY is a favourite among critics and picked up 11 nominations at the British Academy Film & Television Awards. Check out our segment to uncover the full story.