A new Shakespeare adaptation always revives cinema's conundrum when it comes to the Bard. In the 400th anniversary of his death, the approach to Shakespeare is still divided between those who value the words and characters above all - Laurence Olivier, Kenneth Branagh; those who favour atmosphere - Orson Welles, Roman Polanski, Franco Zeffirelli; those who pump up the style over substance - Baz Luhrmann, hang your head; and those who feel that the themes are paramount - the acclaimed interpretations of Japanese master Akira Kurosawa.Australian director Justin Kurzel has opted for an approach that has a lot of style but also, and in great part because of his lead actors Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard, retains enough substance to be a successful and satisfying interpretation. In Kurzel's hands the Scottish Play becomes very Scottish - starting with the decision to locate the action in the 11th century and retain Shakespeare's original dialogue, delivered in ranging degrees of Scottish accents against the brooding, misty, grey backdrop of the Highlands.We begin with a bit of back story not in the original play which sees Macbeth and his wife lighting a funeral pyre for their son and from there we're into the savagely beautiful slow-motion hurly-burly ballet of the last battle of the civil war. Out of the ashes and the mist rise the eerie witches ready to deliver their terrible prophecies for the battle-bloodied Macbeth and Banquo (Paddy Considine). Fassbender quietly moves from the loyal soldier to the increasingly ambitious usurper.Cotillard delivers a wide-eyed, unhinged performance which also manages to negotiate the difficult balance between Lady Macbeth's dedication to putting her husband on the throne and the guilt she feels as she watches him spiral out of control. The Macbeths begin this tale as damaged people, he scarred by battle and she by the death of their child and so their reasonably quick decision to commit murder most foul, naturally flows from their psychological scars.By the time the raging flames of Birnam Wood bring the ratty faced, revenge determined Macduff (Sean Harris) to Dunsinane it's been one hell of a compelling and discomforting journey involving buckets of claret, metres of rain and emotionally thundering performances that leave you as spent as the lifeless, finally relieved body of its protagonist at its end.\\\'Macbeth' opens in cinemas todayAlso openingZ FOR ZACHARIAHNot the most eventful post-apocalyptic drama, but its grip is strong and sure. This minimalist but deeply affecting morality play slowly tugs you in. Jeannette Catsoulis, nytimes.com10 CLOVERFIELD LANEIs it a thriller, a puzzle, or a monster movie? This vice-like film keeps you guessing until the end. Robbie Collin, thetelegraph.comEDDIE THE EAGLEWeirdly mythologised , heavily fictionalised story of Team GB's only ski-jumper at the 1988 Winter Olympics. Peter Bradshaw, theguardian.com..