The Sweeney (Cert 15, 108 mins, Entertainment One). Starring Ray Winstone, Ben Drew, Hayley Atwell, Steven Mackintosh, Damian Lewis, Kara Tointon, Paul Anderson **

Flying Squad hard man DI Jack Regan (Winstone) and sidekick George Carter (Drew) hunt a gang of wily European thieves led by Francis Allen (Anderson). Frustratingly, the team cannot find sufficient evidence to charge Allen and Regan is forced to let the suspect go after hours of intense questioning. Tensions within the department explode when Internal Affairs officer Ivan Lewis (Mackintosh) embarks on a personal crusade to bring down Regan, who just happens to be bedding Lewis’s wife Nancy (Atwell). Section chief Frank Haskins (Lewis) protects his boys and girl in the Flying Squad as much as he can, but Internal Affairs clearly has a vendetta. Slick yet soulless revamp of the classic 1970s TV series starring John Thaw and Dennis Waterman.

The Campaign (Cert 15, 82 mins, Warner Pictures Video). Starring: Will Ferrell, Zach Galifianakis, Jason Sudeikis, Sarah Baker, Katherine LaNasa, Dylan McDermott, John Lithgow, Dan Aykroyd, Brian Cox, Grant Goodman, Kya Haywood **

Self-serving congressman Cam Brady (Ferrell) has represented the North California district of Hammond for four terms and is poised to be re-elected for a fifth stint. When Cam’s brazen promiscuity finally comes to the attention of voters, power broker siblings Glenn (Lithgow) and Wade Motch (Aykroyd) throw their considerable support behind a rival candidate: eccentric tour guide Marty Huggins (Galifianakis). Oily campaign manager Tim Wattley (McDermott) descends on Hammond to give Marty, his wife Mitzi (Baker) and their children (Goodman, Haywood) an extreme makeover. As Marty begins to make inroads into Cam’s voting heartland, one-upmanship between the two camps intensifies and the backstabbing escalates out of control. The Campaign fails to deliver on its promises, rather like the political rivals at the heart of the action.

Now Is Good (Cert 12, 98 mins, Warner Home Video). Starring Dakota Fanning, Jeremy Irvine, Paddy Considine, Olivia Williams, Kaya Scodelario, Edgar Canham, Sarah Hadland, Patrick Baladi ***

Seventeen-year-old Tessa (Fanning) has the same lust for life as her best friend Zoey (Scodelario), but Tessa won’t live to see her 18th birthday, go to university or raise a family. She is losing her battle with leukaemia and is painfully aware of the precious weeks that remain. So Tessa makes a list of dreams she would like to fulfil before she dies, including losing her virginity, taking drugs and going shoplifting with Zoey. The teenager wants to take risks, and this includes falling hopelessly in love with hunky neighbour Adam (Irvine), who is ill-prepared for Tessa’s deterioration. Based on the book Before I Die by Jenny Downham, Now Is Good is a touching drama about two teenagers united in the shadow of terminal illness.