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 …
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 …
A WRINKLE IN TIME
Reviewed by GREG KING Director Ava DuVernay Stars: Storm Reid, Levi Miller, Reese Witherspoon, Oprah Winfrey, Mindy Kaling, Chris Pine, Zach Galifianakis, Michael Pena, Deric McCabe, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Andrew Holland, Rowan Blanchard, David Oyelowo, Daniel MacPherson, Tim Kang. Madeleine L’Engle’s popular 1962 YA fantasy novel A Wrinkle In Time has long been considered difficult to adapt to the screen. There was a four-hour television miniseries made for Canadian tv in 2004 which featured some shoddy special effects and ordinary performances. This version has …
THE SHAPE OF WATER
Reviewed by GREG KING Director: Guillermo del Toro Stars: Sally Hawking, Michael Shannon, Octavia Spencer, Richard Jenkins, Doug Jones, Michael Stuhlbarg, Nick Searcy, David Hewlett. The Shape Of Water is a bold and surprisingly moving mash up of science fiction, 50s and 60s creature feature, fantasy, cold war thriller, beguiling romance, politics, science, prejudice, forbidden love and sexual identity. It is visionary Mexican born filmmaker Guillermo Del Toro’s best film since 2006’s Pan’s Labyrinth. However, a healthy suspension of …
MY PET DINOSAUR – interview with Matt Drummond
by GREG KING My Pet Dinosaur is a family friendly mix of sci-fi and creature feature, and a rarity from the Australian film industry. The film is suffused with the spirit of 80s cinema, in particular Spielberg’s ET, coming of age tales like Stand By Me and even The Goonies. Greg speaks to writer/director Matt Drummond about the making of the film. http://www.mediafire.com/file/bd4scdx1p5prkcb/220408_001.MP3 …
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MISS PEREGRINE’S HOME FOR PECULIAR CHILDREN
Reviewed by GREG KING Director: Tim Burton Stars: Eva Green, Asa Butterfield, Ella Purcell, Samuel L Jackson, Chris O'Dowd, Judi Dench, Rupert Everett, Milo Parker, Terence Stamp, Kim Dickens, Allison Janney, Finlay MacMillan, Lauren McCrostie. Harry Potter meets X-Men on Groundhog Day? For years Jake Portman (Asa Butterfield, from Hugo, etc) has heard fantastic stories from his grandfather Abe (Terence Stamp) about the time he spent in a fantastic orphanage in the years before WWII. However, Jake's parents have done their best to dismiss his stories as fanciful …
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THE LAST WITCH HUNTER
Reviewed by GREG KING Director: Breck Eisner Stars: Vin Diesel, Michael Caine, Elijah Wood, Rose Leslie, Julie Engelbrecht, Olafur Darri Olafsson, Rene Owen, Isaach de Bankole, Joseph Gilgun. Up until now I always thought that The Chronicles Of Riddick was the nadir of Vin Diesel's film career. But now we have another contender for this dubious distinction with the messy, special effects heavy fantasy The Last Witch Hunter, which was a vanity project for the star. Based on a series of graphic novels, The Last Witch Hunter has been written by a trifecta of …
WINTER’S TALE
Reviewed by GREG KING Director: Akiva Goldsman Stars: Colin Farrell, Russell Crowe, Jennifer Connelly, Eva Marie Saint, William Hurt, Jessica Findlay Brown. "Magic is everywhere around us, you just have to know where to look," says the narrator of this whimsical fantasy/romance, which has been released in time to cash in on the Valentine's Day goodwill. But it will take more than magic or a miracle for the messy and incoherent Winter's Tale to seduce audiences into going along for the ride. Shakespeare it's not! Set in an alternative New York in the early part of the …