By ALAN NICHOLS

My Sister's Keeper tells the story of Anna Fitzgerald (Abigail Breslin), who is conceived by IVF to be a genetic match for her older sister Kate (Sofia Vassilieva), an acute leukaemia sufferer.

Here, Cameron Diaz, 36 - who plays the girls' mum Sara - talks about coping with the trauma of her own father passing away while making a film about a family member dying.

My Sister's Keeper is the first time you've played a mum.

Was there any hesitation in doing that?

I really don't think about this stuff too hard.

I just find my way through it.

Nick [Cassavetes, the director] brought me this script and it was wonderful.

I didn't really even think about the fact that I would be playing a mother, or what it meant to my career.

I thought of what it meant to the story, and who this woman was and what her life experience was.

Cert 12A, 109mins, 4/5

Former Little Miss Sunshine Abigail Breslin plays an 11-year-old girl who's been genetically-engineered to keep her cancer-stricken sibling alive.

And My Sister's Keeper feels like a movie that's been genetically engineered to bring a lump to your throat.

While a beautifully told, topical yarn - based on Jodi Picoult's book - no opportunity is missed to get your tear ducts pumping.

It may as well have been sponsored by Kleenex.

Cert 12A, 97mins, 1/5

Just imagine how quiet the universe must have been before God created the Earth - a vast, silent blackness in which nothing moved or stirred.

Now the same sound is set to be recreated in cinemas showing Jack Black's new Biblically-themed comedy.

While the actor hasn't made a decent film in yonks, it's depressing to note Year One's director is Harold Ramis who once upon a time gave us classics such as Ghostbusters, Groundhog Day and Animal House.

Cert 15, 91mins, 3/5

Three years ago, a pair of little-known producers sent audiences into rapture with the quirky comedy-drama Little Miss Sunshine, starring Alan Arkin.

Today, the same producers are set to send audiences to sleep with the quirky comedy-drama Sunshine Cleaning, starring Alan Arkin.

It's a film so achingly average it almost deserves an award for mediocrity.

Set in New Mexico, Amy Adams plays the good-natured but world-weary Rose whose days as the school cheerleader every boy wanted to date are now long gone.

Cert 15, 101mins, 2/5

Russell Crowe plays a world-weary cop tailing a freed killer in one of those meaningful movies that, if you think about it long enough, doesn't mean anything at all.

Filled with your standard damaged characters, packed with obvious metaphors and with what little action there is drowned out by an absurdly pompous voiceover, it's a yawnathon of the very first order.

After serving just three years for the murder of his parents, 18-year-old Eric is released to live with his aunt (Laura Dern).

But any hopes he had of rebuilding his life judder to a halt when he finds himself stalked by death-obsessed teenager Lori and a cop who's certain he'll strike again.

What happens?

Cert 12A, 81mins, 4/5

This low-key comedy-drama about a teenager stranded in a one-horse Mexican town is so laid-back it's in danger of falling over.

A wry mixture of melancholy and humour, chances are you'll sit there wondering when something's going to happen.

And, really, it never does. But don't be surprised if Lake Tahoe's offbeat charms sneak up on you.

Unfolding over a long, hot 24 hours, a depressed teenager called Juan crashes his family car into a lamppost and heads to the nearest town looking for parts, meeting an elderly man who eats dinner with his dog, a kung-fu obsessed teenager and a punky shopworker.

It's only towards the end we learn the source of Juan's alienation, a moment that packs a fair old punch.

Eccentric and not for all tastes, there's still a quirky charm and an aching sadness that'll stick with you.

IF YOU LIKED... Mystery Train, Night On Earth... YOU'LL LIKE THIS.

They are the great survivors of the Madchester era.

Jimi Goodwin and brothers Jez and Andy Williams were school pals in Wilmslow and, since getting together as Sub Sub at the height of the rave era in 1989, they have
seen every other major Manchester band fall apart, change line-up or retire exhausted.

After changing their name, radically altering their musical gameplan and renaming themselves Doves in 1998, the original trio have gone from strength to strength.

Tonight, they headline the John Peel Stage at the Glastonbury Festival - a perfect opportunity to celebrate their current masterpiece Kingdom Of Rust, already a contender for the album of 2009.

Four years in the making, the album is a towering achievement.

Its bold and soulful soundscapes feature the unique blend of euphoria and melancholia finessed over the three previous Doves albums.

"We didn't really use anything that we recorded for it in the first year," says Jez, 39.

"It became obvious to us we needed to go into pastures new.

To get to make a fourth album is amazing.

Some bands don't get to make a second album nowadays, such is the rapid turnover.

"Getting to the finishing line of the album became an obsession for us.

Making this album was like going into a tunnel and not seeing the light for three years.

It was a very drawn out process, but a necessary one."

Recorded on the outskirts of Manchester in a barn that lies on the flight path to the city's airport, Kingdom Of Rust captures the tension between nature and ecological doom.

"We recorded the sounds of low-flying jets and all sorts of weird and wonderful noises," recalls Jez.

"The winds were really strong so we could create atmospherics with that, too.

"The title seemed to sum up the songs and the mood at the time we were recording.

Everything seemed to be crumbling.

We all had our personal disasters but Kingdom Of Rust itself is a positive song.

It's about keeping your head above water."

Although Jimi is the main singer live and in the studio, he sometimes takes Jez's place behind the drumkit while Jez or Andy take centre stage.

This democratic working process - and the band's communal connection to their audience - is the source of the optimism that balances the fear and loss in Doves' songs.

"You dig deep and it comes from inside," says Jez.

"If you lose hope, it's game over, so it is an inbuilt defence mechanism.

It goes back to when we were in Sub Sub.

From day one it's been a democracy.

"A song dictates who goes on the microphone.

Songs, not people, have the egos in this band - they dictate what happens.

There's one on the album called 10.03 which we did eight different ways before we nailed it.

Sometimes those little stubborn tracks can turn out to be the most rewarding."

Having just finished a rapturously received American tour, Jez and the band are fired up to give their best at Glastonbury.

But the excesses that accompanied their earlier days will be reined in - at least until after the show.

"In our twenties we just went for it," admits Jez.

"But the older you get, you realise you can't drink like you used to.

It's a balance now.

We still have a few glasses of wine, but we had a bit of a party in New York and due to that I lost my voice in Philadelphia.

That taught me a lesson."

Naturally, they promise something extra special for Glastonbury.

"We have played there a lot, but not for four years," says Jez.

"So we're really looking forward to it.

The first time we played there was in the New Bands Tent which is now the John Peel Tent, so we've gone full circle.

"We got offered the second stage but we wanted to be in a tent for the atmosphere.

We're going to bring projections and make it a whole audio/visual experience.

I remember seeing Super Furry Animals headline a tent - and quite a few other bands too over the years.

I prefer it to outdoors.

It just feels right to contain all that Friday atmosphere in a tent."

The only problem is that at the same time Doves perform their set, Neil Young will be playing on the main stage.

"We're all big Neil Young fans so when we heard we were up against him we were like, 'Oh God, no'.

If we were playing before or after him, we'd definitely be checking him out, but that's the way it goes at festivals.

We're going to make the most of what's there and it's going to be a great gig."

Doves have come too far and been too good for too long for it to be anything else.

- Doves play Glastonbury tonight.

Kingdom Of Rust is out now.

Jamie T, 5/5

An exuberant return from the Wimbledon-based, one-man 21st Century Clash.

The title track of this four-song disc is a blistering mash-up - an intensely layered, rotating rap narrative tackling the mindless violence of Asbo Britain, a broken relationship, weed-puffing recreational pursuits and much else.

The summer just got more exciting.

15, £19.99, 3/5

Set in the 1950s, Hollywood dream team Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio play April and Frank Wheeler, a young couple who settle into suburban life after the birth of their two children.

But boredom and frustration soon set in when Frank finds himself in a job he doesn't like and April's dreams of a career as an actress come crashing down when she realises she isn't good enough to make the grade.

Frank tries to get his kicks by sleeping with other women, while April attempts to fix their marriage from within.

She hits upon the idea of moving to Paris - a city close to Frank's heart - so they can make a new start in life.

April suggests that she'll work there as a secretary while Frank figures out what to do with himself.

She's hoping that once they are away from the suburbia that's slowly strangling them, they will be able to rediscover their love of life and each other.

Revolutionary Road is quite a sterile piece, which fits the tone of a story in which two people fall out of love.

15, £19.99, 4/5

Anne Hathaway understandably got an Oscar nomination for her role as troubled Kym in this dynamic family drama - easily the best thing she's ever done.

Kym is returning home after months in rehab on the same weekend her sister Rachel (Rosemarie Dewitt) is getting married.

This is a fluid, thoughtful tale boasting an enviable ensemble cast, fantastic music and the most wonderful wedding ever captured on film.