There is an obvious reason why the novels of Thomas Pynchon have never been adapted for the screen. The reclusive author's fictions are, as any fan will know, too full of references, mind-bending structural tricks and a love of jumping through history like a circus lion to be approached by even the most seasoned of filmmakers.But Paul Thomas Anderson, America's most consistently original director, is not one to shy away from a challenge and he has chosen Pynchon's 2009, 1970s stoner noir Inherent Vice as the material for his seventh film. It is easier-to-handle material than other Pynchon novels such as V or Gravity's Rainbow but it is still full of twists and red herrings and enough insanity to keep it recognisably Pynchonesque.To explain the plot would take the rest of this review but suffice to say that it revolves around a mystery that pothead private investigator Doc Sportello (Joaquin Phoenix) becomes embroiled in following an unexpected visit to his Venice Beach pad by an ex-girlfriend. In search of answers Doc's journey takes him to the mansion of a millionaire developer, a confrontation with a biker gang and many run-ins with Detective Christian F "Bigfoot" Bjornsen (Josh Brolin) - a hippie-hating policeman and part-time actor who has the "twinkle of civil rights violations" in his eyes.Narratively, this is Anderson's loosest work to date, and the confusion of Doc's marijuana-hazed world is replicated in the style and structure of the film. Phoenix gives an excellent performance as Doc, his hair constantly ruffled, his eyes always red and his sense of reality slipping more certainly away from him at every turn.Anderson films his characters in close-up, creating a sense of claustrophobia that envelops everyone in a befuddled series of events. It is not as calm or coolly played as Robert Altman's 1970s noir classic The Long Goodbye but the film just about works as an ambitious but flawed companion piece to that film and proves a brave and fascinating attempt to film an impossible book.With an excellent score by Radiohead guitarist and long-time Anderson collaborator Jonny Greenwood and strong supporting performances from Brolin, Owen Wilson and Benicio Del Toro, Inherent Vice is often perplexing but always entertaining. In order to really enjoy it you need to let go of any desire to work out what's going on plot-wise and just allow it to happen . man. Smoking marijuana beforehand might make that easier but even those who don't will be stoned by the cinematic experience.There might never be another Pynchon film but this one is better than many might have hoped while still not quite as brilliant as it promised. There's still reason enough to see it more than once.What others sayThis is a movie to inhale rather than watch; to succumb to its strange paranoid rhythms, to float over its garbled incomprehensible plot and to laugh hysterically at its blitzed-and-fried slapstick humour. Mark Kermode, The GuardianA film that, in its own Cheech and Chong fashion, fully lives up to the best traditions of classical Hollywood noir. Geoffrey Macnab, The UK IndependentAlso openingCinderellaKenneth Branagh's live-action movie is like a fairy-tale edition of 'Strictly Come Dancing'. Tim Robey, The TelegraphFast and Furious 7The biggest, silliest movie in the 'Fast and Furious' franchise, officially transforming the series into 'The Avengers' with muscle cars. Jacob Hall, nydailynews.com..