Fury joins his allies, including Everett Ross, Maria Hill and the Skrull Talos, who has made a life for himself on Earth. Together they race against time to thwart an imminent Skrull invasion and save humanity.

Marvel Studios’ “Secret Invasion” stars Samuel L. Jackson, Ben Mendelsohn, Cobie Smulders, Martin Freeman, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Charlayne Woodard, Killian Scott, Samuel Adewunmi, Dermot Mulroney, Christopher McDonald, Katie Finneran, with Emilia Clarke and Olivia Colman, and Don Cheadle.

Ali Selim directs the series and executive-produces, along with fellow executive producers Kevin Feige, Jonathan Schwartz, Louis D’Esposito, Victoria Alonso, Brad Winderbaum, Samuel L. Jackson, Ali Selim, Kyle Bradstreet and Brian Tucker. Kyle Bradstreet is also the head writer, and Jennifer L. Booth, Allana Williams and Brant Englestein serve as co-executive producers.
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The story throws a lot your way and it relies quite a bit on the viewer’s past knowledge of the Terminator film series and its liberal take on time travel. Most of the plot twists originate from that ethos and they are at times hard to follow. It also features a progression of special effects as the early reels show simpler CGI while the later reels try their best to blow your mind with what’s now possible with zeros and ones.

The new cast play better with Arnie than they do with each other as the two new leads, Emilia Clarke (taking time away from her dragons) as Sarah Connor and Jason Clarke as John Connor have very little on-screen chemistry. The big guy gets all the good lines here but they are still a bit hit or miss. Technology both on-screen and implied is still the film’s star.

As a sampler of past points of interest in the Terminator series, Terminator Genisys is a nice way to reminisce as you get to revisit the original Arnie version, the liquid metal version and the later film’s mind tease of past and futures colliding. As a stand-alone experience it’s less successful. It’s still fun but just not a memorable as previous endeavours.

Rob Hudson
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Struggling to recover from a major surgery and enduring a succession of one night stands, she’s a mess. Her self-destructive and selfish streak has alienated her from almost all her friends (and their husbands) and she’s on the outs with her family as well. Hitting a new low by becoming homeless, she really does need a Christmas miracle.

Enter Tom (Henry Golding) a mysterious man she meets outside her place of employment. He gets her and her wise cracking ways. As an on-screen couple, Golding and Clarke have great chemistry together and the script gives them ample opportunity to win you over. The time they spend together gives her hope but there is something that is just not quite right about him.

Giving Clarke’s character a sarcastic wit keeps the film from becoming too saccharin, while her innate charm insures she is not off putting. Other than a few predictable nods to it being a festive film, it’s got a little more edge than most holiday fodder. There is also a twist that some will see coming while others will be blissfully unaware until the reveal. It’s starting to feel a bit like Christmas.

Rob Hudson
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Kate (Emilia Clarke) harumphs around London, a bundle of bad decisions accompanied by the jangle of bells on her shoes, another irritating consequence from her job as an elf in a year-round Christmas shop. Tom (Henry Golding) seems too good to be true when he walks into her life and starts to see through so many of Kate’s barriers. As London transforms into the most wonderful time of the year, nothing should work for these two. But sometimes, you gotta let the snow fall where it may, you gotta listen to your heart … and you gotta have faith.

Last Christmas features the music of George Michael, including the bittersweet holiday classic of the film’s title. The film will also premiere brand new unreleased material by the legendary Grammy-winning artist, who sold more than 115 million albums and recorded 10 No. 1 singles over the course of his iconic career.

The film is produced by BAFTA winner David Livingstone for Calamity Films, by Emma Thompson, and by Paul Feig and Jessie Henderson for Feigco Entertainment. The film is executive produced by Sarah Bradshaw.

Last Christmas will be released in Australian cinemas November 7!
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Solo of course refers to Han Solo, he of roughish charm and one liners. In early chapters, Harrison Ford made the role his own and now Alden Ehrenreich (Hail, Caesar! & Beautiful Creatures) gets the chance to put his own stamp on the role. Unfortunately his character is the least developed in the film and the roughish charm inherent in Ford’s take is mostly missing. When Ehrenreich as Solo claims he is an outlaw, it’s a stretch to believe as per the actions that have come before.

That being said, the film, like some in the cannon, places action over character development and in this department, Solo has no trouble entertaining the troops. The film uses a surprisingly under lit first reel and dark tone before expanding the palette in both colour, light and story.

Taken as a chapter in an ever expanding book, Solo fills in a few gaps and through a few key surprises sets up some interesting story telling opportunities. It’s a solid work from a very consistent director, Ron Howard, it does make one wonder though if the supposed irreverence of the early directors take on the film would have produced something a little more transcendent.

Rob Hudson
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The story throws a lot your way and it relies quite a bit on the viewer’s past knowledge of the Terminator film series and its liberal take on time travel. Most of the plot twists originate from that ethos and they are at times hard to follow. It also features a progression of special effects as the early reels show simpler CGI while the later reels try their best to blow your mind with what’s now possible with zeros and ones.

The new cast play better with Arnie than they do with each other as the two new leads, Emilia Clarke (taking time away from her dragons) as Sarah Connor and Jason Clarke as John Connor have very little on-screen chemistry. The big guy gets all the good lines here but they are still a bit hit or miss. Technology both on-screen and implied is still the film’s star.

As a sampler of past points of interest in the Terminator series, Terminator Genisys is a nice way to reminisce as you get to revisit the original Arnie version, the liquid metal version and the later film’s mind tease of past and futures colliding. As a stand-alone experience it’s less successful. It’s still fun but just not a memorable as previous endeavours.

Rob Hudson
www.terminatormovie.com