Nine hours on a plane leaves you with few options…you can work (on a Saturday night - yeah), you can sleep (even in Premium Economy I can’t sleep sitting upright) or you can avail yourself of the in-flight entertainment system - which was my choice yesterday as I took BA053 from London to Seattle.

I watched two films on the spin - In The Valley of Elah, and Michael Clayton (more of that later) - it was like a complete film festival in one seat (with no popcorn).

In The Valley of Elah stars Tommy Lee Jones as the father of a man just returned from Iraq who is found murdered near his barracks. Susan Sarandon plays the mother, who watches (mostly) from a distance as her husband uncovers the details behind their sons death.

It is an interesting and engaging murder mystery, which of course raises excellent commentary on the Iraq war and the actions of US troops over there, Tommy Lee-Jones is absolutely excellent, as are Sarandon & Charlize Theron who joins the cast as a local rookie detective looking to overcome her own issues to help investigate the murder.

Thought provoking, sensitive and really well scripted, the characters emerge quickly and fit together well  in a fairly complex story that is not afraid to comment on current events. Highly recommended movie, opened in the UK on 25th January - across loads of cinemas now.