OPEN RANGE (12...

Rating: 3/5...

Kevin Costner seems to be on a one-man mission to revive that most neglected of film genres - the Western.

First, we had his sweeping, melodic epic Dances With Wolves, which cleaned up at the Oscars, followed by his take on the Wyatt Earp story.

Now Costner has hit the comeback trail with another sortie into the Wild West, albeit on a smaller scale.

Open Range sees Costner directing and starring as Charley Waite, a trusted hired hand helping Boss Spearman (Robert Duvall) to drive cattle across country.

But their tough, yet care-free existence is shattered on arrival at a frontier town where one man rules through fear and tyranny.

At first, the pair try to head off their enemy at the pass, so to speak, by nobbling his ham-fisted henchmen. But when their friends Mose (Abraham Benrubi) and Button (Diego Luna) are viciously attacked and left for dead, our heroes have only limited options.

Now the idea of strangers ridding terrified townsfolk of a cruel Mr Big is hardly new - The Magnificent Seven set the formula for countless Westerns of that ilk.

But this movie is more than a simple shoot-up between the good guys and bad boys.

Deliberately ponderous in the opening frames, it slowly but surely builds up the tension while finding time to flesh out key characters.

Waite, it emerges, is a retired gun fighter trying to escape his violent past, while Boss is also hiding a dark secret.

Fanning the flames of turmoil in Waite's life is the sudden appearance of doctor's sister Sue Barlow (Annette Bening), whom he falls for big time but is reluctant to show his true feelings. Only the villain the piece Baxter, played by Michael Gambon, seems out of place as a somewhat two dimensional character intent on murder and mayhem.

It's in the final third that the action really starts to hot up, as Costner and Duvall prowl around the frontier town, dispatching their foes with ruthless efficiency.

Costner is excellent as the quiet loner transformed into a one-man killing machine, but he's given a run for his money by Duvall's resolute yet sympathetic Boss.

Out to rent or buy on video and DVD now.

Universal.

BIG FISH (PG)...

Rating: 3/5...

Director Tim Burton serves up another whimsical fantasy, this time about how a family feud is finally resolved on the father's deathbed.

Albert Finney stars as ageing master storyteller Edward Bloom, whose desire to be the centre of attention when telling tall tales has alienated his son, played by Billy Crudup.

When Edward's failing health prompts a long overdue reunion, the pair start to see one another through different eyes.

Cleverly told through a series of flashbacks, Big Fish is a delightfully charming tale about one man's far from ordinary life and how his son gradually manages to separate fact from fiction.

Ewan McGregor, complete with a surprisingly good American Deep South accent, plays Edward as a young man, whose impetuosity often gets the better of him.

Jessica Lange co-stars as Edward's wife in later life, and there are cameo roles for Danny Devito as a circus boss; Steve Buscemi as a poet-turned-bank robber; and an almost unrecognisable Helene Bonham Carter as a white witch.

Out to rent or buy on video and DVD from June 7.

Tristar Home Entertainment .