Reviewed by GREG KING Director: Jane Campion Stars: Benedict Cumberbatch, Kirsten Dunst, Jesse Plemons, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Thomasin McKenzie, Keith Carradine, Genevieve Lemon, Frances Conroy, Peter Carroll. The Power Of The Dog is Jane Campion’s first feature film since Bright Star, twelve years ago, but it is also, arguably, one of her best. Produced under the auspices of streaming giant Netflix, this modern western, set in Montana in 1925, is based on Thomas Savage’s little known 1967 novel. Phil Burbank …
THE GRINCH
Reviewed by GREG KING Directors: Yarrow Cheney, Scott Mosier Stars: voices of Benedict Cumberbatch, Cameron Seely, Rashida Jones, Kel Thompson, Angela Lansbury, Pharrell Williams, Tristan O'Hare. Under the pseudonym of Dr Seuss, Theodore Geisel (who died in 1991) is one of the best-selling authors of children’s books and he wrote over 40 books. Surprisingly he also penned the script for the bizarre 1953 film The 5,000 Fingers Of Dr T. Many of his books have provided material for a number of short films and animations, while a handful have been turned into …
THOR: RAGNAROK
Reviewed by GREG KING Director: Taika Waititi Stars: Chris Hemsworth, Cate Blanchett, Tom Hiddleston, Mark Ruffalo, Jeff Goldblum, Tessa Thompson, Karl Urban, Idris Elba, Anthony Hopkins, Benedict Cumberbatch, Taika Waititi, Rachel House, Clancy Brown, Ray Stevenson, Zachary Levi, Sam Neill, Luke Hemsworth, Matt Damon, Shari Sebbens. The 17th feature in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the third film in the Thor series is lighter in tone and lots of fun. For those who have grown a little tired on the usual formula and destructive set pieces of Marvel this will be …
DOCTOR STRANGE
Reviewed by GREG KING Director: Scott Derrickson Stars: Benedict Cumberbatch, Rachel McAdams, Tilda Swinton, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Mads Mikkelsen, Benedict Wong, Benjamin Bratt, Michael Stuhlbarg, Scott Adkins. For a long time the DC comic book adaptations have been rather dark and grim, both in content and look, while the Marvel comic adaptations have been lighter in tone and more colourful and creative, boasting some great special effects and strong characterisations. And this is indeed true of Doctor Strange, which gives us yet another origins story for a Marvel …
ZOOLANDER 2
Reviewed by GREG KING Director: Ben Stiller Stars: Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Penelope Cruz, Will Ferrell, Kristen Wiig, Justin Theroux, Cyrus Arnold, Milla Jovovich, Billy Zane, Kiefer Sutherland, Benedict Cumberbatch, Kyle Mooney, Nathan Lee Graham, Susan Sarandon, Justin Bieber, Christine Taylor, John Malkovich, Katy Perry, Fred Armisen, Sting, Neil DeGrasse Tyson, Anna Wintour, Willie Nelson, Tommy Hilfiger, Marc Jacobs. This sequel is one of the year's dumbest comedies, with a capital "D". It's been fifteen years since Ben Stiller unleashed his creation of Derek …
BLACK MASS
Reviewed by GREG KING Director: Scott Cooper Stars: Johnny Depp, Joel Edgerton, Kevin Bacon, Benedict Cumberbatch, Jesse Plemmons, Rory Cochrane, Julianne Nicholson, Dakota Johnson, Peter Sarsgaard, Corey Stoll, Adam Scott, W Earl Brown, Bill Camp, Juno Temple. Based on the book written by journalists Dick Lehr and Gerard O'Neill, Black Mass explores the biggest scandal in the FBI's history when an ambitious FBI agent made a deal with a notorious gangster that eventually backfired. Black Mass looks at the rise of the notorious Jimmy "Whitey" Bulger, a thug who rose to …
PENGUINS OF MADAGASCAR
Reviewed by GREG KING Directors: Eric Darnell, Simon J Smith Stars: voices of Benedict Cumberbatch, John Malkovich, Tom McGrath, Chris Miller, Chris Vernon, Christopher Knights, Ken Jeong, Peter Stormare, Annet Mahendru, Andy Richter, Werner Herzog. As with Despicable Me's thoroughly entertaining minions, the scene stealing antics of the cute and wisecracking penguins briefly enlivened the Madagascar franchise, providing some much needed comic relief. They have already been given their own short lived spinoff television series, a host of short films, and direct to DVD …
THE IMITATION GAME
Reviewed by GREG KING Director: Morten Tyldum Stars: Benedict Cumberbatch, Keira Knightley, Matthew Goode, Charles Dance, Mark Strong, Matthew Beard, James Cairncross, Rory Kinnear, Allen Leech, Steven Waddington, James Northcote, Alex Lawther, Jack Bannon. The Imitation Game is a gripping WWII drama about a group of British boffins brought together by the War Office to try and crack the German's unbreakable Enigma code, a sophisticated encryption machine they used to send all their top level messages and convey troop movements. The code was changed at midnight …