Reviewed by GREG KING Director: Joe Cornish Stars: Louis Ashbourne Serkis, Dean Chaumoo, Tom Taylor, Rhianna Davies, Angus Imrie, Rebecca Ferguson, Patrick Stewart, Denise Gough, Noma Dumezweni. The mythology of King Arthur has provided the spark for many films, ranging from the musical Camelot through to the animated Disney film The Sword In The Stone to John Boorman’s Excalibur through to (shudder) Guy Ritchie’s awful recent King Arthur. Now the mythology gets a contemporary makeover with this family friendly fantasy from writer/director Joe Cornish (Attack The Continue reading
MARY POPPINS RETURNS
Reviewed by GREG KING Director: Rob Marshall Stars: Emily Blunt, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Ben Whishaw, Emily Mortimer, Colin Firth, Meryle Streep, Julie Walters, Pixie Davies, Nathanael Saleh, Joel Dawson, Angela Lansbury, Dick Van Dyke, Jeremy Swift, Kobna Holbrook-Smith, David Warner, Jim Norton, voices of Chris O'Dowd, Mark Addy. It's been fifty years since Disney released their endearing and enduring live action musical adaptation of P L Travers' Mary Poppins, fantastical tale of the magical nanny who arrived to heal the Banks family in their time of trouble. Continue reading
SPIDERMAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE
Reviewed by GREG KING Directors: Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, Rodney Rothman Stars: voices of: Shamiek Moore, Brian Tyree Henry, Mahershala Ali, Hailee Steinfeld, Nicolas Cage, Chris Pine, Jake Johnson, Kimiko Glenn, John Mulaney, Liev Schreiber, Lily Tomlin, Kathryn Hahn, Stan Lee, Zoe Kravitz, Luna Lauren Velez, Natalie Morales, Oscar Isaac, Lake Bell. From Marvel Studios in association with Sony Animation Studios this subversive take on the whole superhero genre gives us one of the more sophisticated examples of animation to hit our screens in recent years. Continue reading
THE NUTCRACKER AND THE FOUR REALMS
Reviewed by GREG KING Directors: Lasse Hallstrom, Joe Johnston Stars: Mackenzie Foy, Keira Knightley, Helen Mirren, Matthew MacFadyen, Richard E Grant, Eugenio Derbez, Morgan Freeman, Jayden Fowora-Knight, Ellie Bamber, Misty Copeland, Sergei Polunin. Originally choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov with a score by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, and premiering in 1892, The Nutcracker is one of the most popular ballets of all time. The libretto for the ballet was adapted from E T A Hoffmann’s story The Nutcracker And The Mouse King. Now Disney has brought The Continue reading
SMALLFOOT
Reviewed by GREG KING Directors: Karey Kirkpatrick and Jason Reisig Stars: voices of Channing Tatum, Danny De Vito, James Corden, Common, Zendaya, Le Bron James, Elly Henry, Gina Rodriguez, Yara Shahidi, Patricia Heaton. This charming animated film is set high above the clouds in the Himalayan Mountains where there lies an idyllic village inhabited by Yeti (or the Abominable Snowman as it is also sometimes known). Migo (voiced by Channing Tatum, from Magic Mike, etc) is the son of the village bell ringer Dorgle (voiced by Danny De Vito, from The Lorax, etc) Continue reading