Wonder Park Movie Review
June has created an imaginary place called Wonder Park. It’s a place she and her mother (Jennifer Garner) share together. When her mother becomes ill, the script is unafraid to go to a dark place to give the storyline some dynamic range.
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The drama this creates informs the first half of the film. In the second half, through circumstance, June finds herself alone in the woods, where she actually finds a dilapidated version of the fun park. She sets out on a path ...
SHAZAM! Movie Review
Having the adult superhero be a boy inside gives great comic possibilities and these are at the heart of the humour. The boy, Billy Batson (Asher Angel) who turns into the superhero Shazam! (Zachary Levi) plays the two against each other for some great laughs. This approach helps sell the longing for family that Billy craves without dragging the film into a needy funk.
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Coming to grips with his emerging superhero powers also provides some very entertaining moments. ...
Pet Sematary Movie Review
It also rewards fans of the original film with moments like a delicious bait and switch scene that was as self-referential as it was fun. The actors are given slow burn roles and in particular Jason Clarke’s turn from sensible family man to shrunken eyed loon is a hoot. The transition of daughter, Ellie (Jeté Laurence) is also arresting.
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For those with a good working knowledge of the basic storyline, via both Stephen King’s book and the original film, there ...
Dumbo Movie Review
The story is expanded and now ends with a much bigger flourish. It also gives some of the actors the canvas to go big. In particular Michael Keaton, who has never been more hammy and over the top as the representation of the evils of big business, V. A. Vandevere. Colin Farrell as the returning World War One solider Holt Farrier, also gets to play a heroic father figure to his two young children played by Nico Parker and Finley Hobbins.
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The real star of the show ...
Us Movie Review
Life is good for the Wilson clan, so good in fact, they can afford to rent an expensive lakeside house to get away from it all. As they settle into their new digs, each family member shows their own unique personality. Everyone seems happy but Ma Adelaide (Lupita Nyong’o) seems to be quite fragile.
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She’s had a traumatic experience as a youth and it still colours her actions even in adulthood. Husband Gabe (Winston Duke) tries his best to counter this mood by ...
Five Feet Apart Movie Review
Their lives revolve around schedules and treatment but within those strict confinements they are still teenagers. They push the limits and still believe in love (or at least the teen version of it). Will and Stella are drawn to each other, he is the resident bad boy with a disregard for protocol and she is the OCD teen that must have everything perfectly organised.
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Of course they fall for each other and run headlong into the myriad of rules and restrictions, the ...
The Lego Movie 2 Movie Review
Emmet (Chris Pratt) is back and so is his main squeeze Lucy (Elizabeth Banks) together they lead an idyllic and peaceful existence. Perfect it is, until aliens invade and turn their colourful home into a bleak and monotone land. They also kidnap Lucy and the rest of Emmet’s best buds and disappear off into the plastic cosmos.
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This abduction leads to major adventures and a long quest that visits many new lands. The life’s lessons are inter spread amongst an ...
Fighting With My Family Movie Review
When the son and daughter get the opportunity for a try out with the American company, the youngest member of the family, Saraya (Florence Pugh) makes the grade but has to leave behind her brother Zak (Jack Lowden). This causes a strain in the family as Zak has also dedicated his life to the squared circle.
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Wrestling forms the backdrop but what the film is really about is the power of love and the feeling of inclusion that can only be provided by family. By blood ...
Hotel Mumbai Movie Review
The main trust of the film is the attack on the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel. This site was chosen for its opulence and the large numbers of Westerners that stayed there. We follow the plight of the humble hotel staff, most notably Anupam Kher as head chef Hemant Oberoi and Dev Patel as Arjun, one of his waiters. The staff are presented as selfless and brave. This reality is confirmed by the high number of actual staff members that were killed in the siege while protecting their guests.
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A Dog’s Way Home Movie Review
Through circumstance Bella (the dog) has to leave town to avoid running afoul of the local dog catcher (John Cassini) and ends up hundreds of miles from home. This leads to a long journey back where Bella learns about life on the road and befriends a baby cougar amongst other adventures.
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She lives through numerous perils as she is hunted by a pack of wild dogs and trying to survive in the wilderness. The film also makes a number of worthwhile comments along the ...
