Megamind (PG, 92 mins, DVD £19.99/Blu-ray & DVD Combi-pack £27.99)

DreamWorks Home Entertainment. Animation/Comedy/Action/Romance, featuring the voices of: Will Ferrell, Tina Fey, Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill, David Cross, Justin Theroux, Ben Stiller.

Megamind (voiced by Will Ferrell) is separated from his alien parents as a child and crash lands on Earth, where he grows up in the Metro Prison For The Criminally Gifted.

Surrounded by thieves, murderers and degenerates, he discovers his calling. "Being bad is the one thing I'm good at!" he giggles, sowing the seeds of a lifelong rivalry with dashing hunk Metro Man (Brad Pitt), who gets all of the applause and the girls including TV journalist Roxanne Ritchie (Tina Fey).

Miraculously, one of Megamind's elaborate plans comes to fruition and Metro Man is destroyed, allowing the villain and his loyal henchman, Minion (David Cross), to take charge of Metro City. However, the villain quickly learns that life is dull without a hero to scheme against.

Megamind is a fast-paced computer animated adventure that asks if a villain could become a hero when the entire world is pitted against him.

The role reversal taps into a rich vein of humour and screenwriters Alan J Schoolcraft and Brent Simons have fun plundering the conventions of the genre, peppering their script with pop culture references, wry one-liners and visual gags.

Vocal performances are strong and Ferrell tugs the heartstrings as the lead protagonist, who is tired of striking fear into everyone he meets.

Tom McGrath's film appropriates elements from Shrek and The Incredibles and produces an entertaining hybrid that should have parents chuckling with glee.

However, with the focus on romance and a noticeable absence of cute supporting characters, younger viewers may lose interest.

Rating: ***

The American (15, 101 mins, DVD £19.99/Blu-ray £24.99)

Universal Pictures (UK) Ltd. Thriller/Action/Romance, starring: George Clooney, Violante Placido, Paolo Bonacelli, Johan Leysen, Thekla Reuten, Irina Bjorklund.

Following a bungled assassination attempt in Sweden, hit man Jack (George Clooney) telephones handler Pavel (Johan Leysen), who suggests the assassin should lay low in the Italian town of Castelvecchio.

Jack drives to the remote community and on the spur of the moment, he disobeys orders and sets up camp in nearby Castel Del Monte.

By day, the sharp shooter keeps himself busy by constructing a custom-made weapon for mysterious client, Mathilde (Thekla Reuten).

By night, he enjoys the carnal delights of local prostitute, Clara (Violante Placido).

As Jack's paranoia takes hold, he seeks counsel from local holy man, Father Benedetto (Paolo Bonacelli).

Based on the novel A Very Private Gentleman by Martin Booth, The American is an unremittingly bleak and slow-burning study of solitude, epitomised by a remarkable and protracted sequence in which the titular character drives towards the white light at the end of a long tunnel.

Director Anton Corbijn refuses to cut away from inside the car as the white light expands, illuminating the driver until the entire screen is filled with blinding white.

Clooney is on screen for almost every single frame in the title role, his face etched with weariness as an assassin who has grown tired of always looking over his shoulder.

He kindles a dazzling screen chemistry, in very different ways, with Placido and Bonacelli, the latter wearing his dog collar with conviction.

Corbijn makes excellent use of the stunning European locations, enlivened by a night-time car chase that is as close as the film strays to an action set piece.

Rating: ***

Somewhere (15, 94 mins, DVD £19.99/Blu-ray £24.99)

Universal Pictures (UK) Ltd. Drama, starring: Stephen Dorff, Elle Fanning, Laura Ramsey, Michelle Monaghan, Robert Schwartzman.

Film star Johnny Marco (Stephen Dorff) has taken up permanent residence in room 59 of the Chateau Marmont hotel and breaks up the tedium of his days by going for a drive in his black Ferrari.

A private performance from pole-dancing twins sends him to asleep rather than arousing his ardour and he has to use a wooden step for a photo shoot with a statuesque co-star (Michelle Monaghan).

Out of the blue, Johnny's old flame dumps their daughter Clio (Elle Fanning) at his door, just as he is poised to leave for Milan to accept an award.

As he spends time with the youngster, Johnny realises the emotional vacuum in his so-called life.

Somewhere is a gently paced snapshot of life in celebrity-obsessed Los Angeles.

In the same way that writer-director Sofia Coppola revived the faltering career of Bill Murray with Lost In Translation, here she resurrects Stephen Dorff, providing him with a meaty role as a soulless man who turns on the charm when the cameras are rolling.

Given the right material, he is a compelling screen presence. Screen chemistry with Fanning is convincing and there are some amusing and tender interludes such as the hunky masseur who shocks Johnny mid-session by stripping off so that he is "on the same level" as his client.

In one of the film's entrancing and almost wordless scenes, Johnny sits motionless as three make-up artists encase his head in plaster to create a mould.

Rhythmic breathing through two nostril holes and the occasional swallow break the silence.

Rating: ***