The Screen Critic: Two top family treats for the school holidays, a ripper action thriller and a crime drama that looks at the perils of youth culture

Two major treats await those droves packing into the multiplexes as the school holiday season kicks in.

The first is Dog Man, a delightfully nutty animated action comedy about a policeman who, after a serious accident, has his head replaced with that of his loyal pooch.

His arch enemy is a wise-cracking evil cat who needs help taking over the city so attempts to clone himself – only the result is an ultra-cute kitty whose innocent manner and adorable eyes provides the heart of this wonderfully whacky lark.

Already a huge hit in the US, Dog Man has a deliberate rough edge to its visuals and is bound to please even the most discerning six year old.

Not in the same league but still enjoyable is A Minecraft Movie, with Jason Momoa playing a former video game champ who enters the world of the Minecraft game to help Jack Black save the place from an evil wench.

Those familiar with the game will like the way the film replicates the cube look, while those who don’t know Minecraft from Kraftwerk will find it a pleasant, fast-paced time killer as they marvel at how much Momoa has, well, grown.

Devotees of tense, tightly directed action thrillers are going to have nothing to complain about as they behold The Amateur, easily one of the best genre pieces since the Bourne series.

Ensconced deep inside the CIA sits techno-wiz Charles Heller (Rami Malek), a quiet, unobtrusive guy who is propelled on an international quest for revenge when his lovely wife Sarah (Rachel Brosnahan) is murdered by terrorists.

With insufficient field training but lots of cyber know-how Heller methodically tracks down his wife’s killers, all of whom were stupid enough to commit the deed in broad daylight in front of dozens of cameras.

Terrific action scenes spice up the pursuit, with the epic Laurence Fishburne weighing in with strong support alongside Jon Bernthal as a shadowy agent. The scene at the infinity pool is pure gold, borrowing from the 1981 John Savage film that some Boomers might recall.

Two films for your Don’t Waste My Time list are Novocaine and Death of a Unicorn.

Both suffer from the same Hollywood syndrome: strong ideas that degenerate into mulch.

In the former a bank manager (Jack Quaid, son of Dennis) who feels no pain goes chasing after a kidnapped colleague and gets into a series of gratuitously gory fights, all in the name of comedy. Ha ha.

In the latter, a father and daughter (Paul Rudd & Jenna Ortega) discover that unicorns are real while driving to the remote mansion of his boss. What starts out great soon becomes a standard creature feature. Yawnsies.

Big on Netflix right now is Adolescence, a much- talked about four-part British drama about Jamie, a 13-year old high school boy arrested for the stabbing murder of a girl. The show explores the mystery behind the crime, whether he did it and what could have motivated him.

Much praise has been lathered upon the discussion of male youth culture, as has the brave decision to film each episode in a single take, without tricks, hidden cuts or digital assist.

It’s certainly an unusual series and certainly worth checking out, though it has been lauded a bit too much. The bad influence of the internet is well developed, if repetitious, while the quality of the performances vary wildly.

Stephen Graham (one of the creators) is very good as the father alongside Owen Cooper as his son.

Unfortunately, there is some over-cooked acting, most notably in episode three where a psychologist (Erin Doherty) spends most of the time in a staring contest with Jamie.

And though the shooting style sounds innovative, it is also quite limiting, locking the action into one or two locations and burning up many minutes as people move from one setting to another, the camera tracking with them.

Still, it’s got people talking and discussing some very important issues about the internal and external pressures shaping the brittle young men of today and tomorrow.

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