HELICOPTER pilot Captain Colter Stevens (Jake Gyllenhaal) wakes up on a train, sitting opposite Christina Warren (Michelle Monaghan). Confusingly, she calls him Sean and a visit to the bathroom reveals he is trapped inside the body of a teacher called Sean Fentress.

"Every’thing's going to be OK," smiles Christina as the train explodes. Colter wakes almost instantly in a top-secret facility under the control of Dr Rutledge (Jeffrey Wright), who needs Colter to identify the bomber. "I don't know who bombed the train!" rages Colter. "Then go back and find out," sternly replies Rutledge, ordering uniformed officer Colleen Goodwin (Vera Farmiga) to send the pilot back into the "source code", which has been culled from the last eight minutes of the real Sean Fentress's memory.

Source Code is an adrenaline-pumping thrill ride that plays loose and fast with our notions of space and time. Aspects of the high-concept plot don't make sense and some of the digital effects aren't as slick and polished as you would expect. However, director Duncan Jones and editor Paul Hirsch don't become too bogged down in the flawed science behind the slam bang thrills, maintaining a brisk tempo throughout.

Gyllenhaal brings vulnerability to his role, including a heartbreaking scene when he breaks protocol to make an important telephone call. Farmiga is equally impressive in a role that requires her, largely, to stare down a camera lens.

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Mars Needs Moms (PG)

NINE-YEAR-OLD Milo (voiced by Seth Green) doesn't appreciate his mother (Joan Cusack). After a disagreement about broccoli, which Milo refuses to eat because it "looks like brains", the youngster is sent to his room to sulk. "My life would be so much better if I didn't have a mom at all!" he spits, reducing his parent to tears.

That night, Martians descend from the skies and kidnap Milo's mother. The youngster gives chase and stows on board the Martian craft, eventually seeking refuge in a Martian rubbish tip, home to a techno-savvy human called Gribble (Dan Fogler). The astronaut vows to help Milo rescue his mother from the terrifying Supervisor (Mindy Sterling), aided by a rebel Martian called Ki (Elisabeth Harnois). Mars Needs Moms is a computer-animated adventure that affirms the special bond between mother and child, based on the delightful book by Berkeley Breathed. Action set pieces are orchestrated at breakneck pace, and a tear-jerking finale should have a few parents reaching covertly for their tissues.

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