filmsExaminer

Musical - Sequel made 54 years after the original. This film is set in 1930's London, stars Emily Blunt, who plays the eccentric but stern upper class nanny. The original 'Banks' children have grown up with children of their own. The family are having financial problems, and close to losing their house. But also Mr Banks is really struggling with the recent loss of his wife. So not only grieving, but also with a very short deadline to repay his entire load as well. Mary Poppins is here to help, she flies down on a kite, arrives at the house and her entrance sent a shiver down by spine. This film maintains the look and spirit of the original, especially the hand drawn animated sequences. Look out for the lamplighters dance sequence and bathtub sequence, both look very familiar with catchy music. This is a great family film, a classic Disney musical that kept my 8 year old granddaughter (Mya) engaged throughout, she wanted to see the film almost immediately after - there

Aquaman is an origin film of a half Anlantean half human hero, whose superpower is control of the sea. He battles his half-brother to be king, similar to the Lion King or Black Panther theme. To be triumphant he needs to first recover the all-powerful trident. The villain character is called Black Manta, he is created from underwater technology, and looking for revenge of his father's death that Aquaman was responsible for at the beginning of the film. These films are very like any DC / Marvel film that you've already seen. They all seem to blend into each other nowadays. Stay in your seat to see the customary post credit sneak peek of the forthcoming sequel. 6/10

Bank robber drama based on a true story. A disappointing film about an aged compulsive bank robber, similar atmosphere to 'Catch me if You Can'. At my screening the audience was mainly aged, older than me at least. The plot is an old gentleman who is addicted to robbing banks in a quiet, slow and polite manner. He's also escaped prison 17 times in the past, the breakouts are summarised towards the end. My wife fell asleep half way for 30-40 minutes but picked up the plot again without any problems. Looks like a 'made for TV movie' - definitely would not watch again. Very disappointing unless you're an insomniac! 5/10

The beginning is very like 'The Wolf of Wall Street', this film is also all about capitalism and greed. Our hero, Cassius is struggling to make end meet, he applies to be a telemarketer and quickly promoted to a 'Power Caller' - He discovers that senior management are exploiting its employees to generate more profit (you'll see how towards the end). The humour at the beginning turns into dark social commentary with lots of symbolism. I'm always apprehensive when a poster says 'the best film of the year by far' Well ... it's not the 'best', but very good and definitely different. 8/10

Romantic period drama, set in 17th century Amsterdam. The female protagonist Sophia (Alicia Vikander) is an orphan, raised in a convent. To safeguard her future she is married off to a wealthy merchant Cornelis (Christoph Waltz) who hopes for an heir. She fails to fall pregnant after much trying. Their housekeeper, Maria, is having an affair with the local fishmonger, before long she becomes pregnant but conceals this to carry on working. Cornelis commissions a painting. The artist and Sophia fall in love, she secretly visits the artist at his studio, disguised as the housekeeper. The fishmonger follows her one day and witnesses a kiss but believes she is Maria, he is heartbroken and suddenly leaves forever. Sophia soon becomes pregnant, so both girls are pregnant. Obviously Sophia wants to leave and plots to fake her own death in childbirth in order to be with the artist. Maria gives birth first but pretends this is Sophia's baby. Sophia is taken away in a wooden casket and soo

Character study. Sequel but also a respectable standalone. Adonis is at the height of his boxing career already being the heavyweight champion, he's to fight the son of the man who killed his father, the father he never knew as he wasn't born when he died. Consequently the stakes are instantly high. The romantic chemistry between Adonis and his girlfriend is tangible, he proposes and soon becomes a father, and this puts his life into a new perspective. Rocky is a father figure, he's naturally apprehensive of the fight between Adonis and Victor, this appears to be a dangerous prospect. Rocky is still the trainer, much older, wiser and looking vulnerable. Rocky is worried that Adonis is 'flying too close to the sun' this time. Victor is a 'skyscraper' of a man and a wrecking machine, Adonis is physically smaller but has lots of heart. As is generally the case in previous Rocky films, the plot revolves around making choices. I'd have awarded a higher sc

Action spy thriller, sequel to 'The Dragon Tattoo'. Plot similar to 'Golden eye'. Starts with a backstory sequence involving the young protagonist Lisbeth and her sister, we see how she is raped and abused as a child and how this motivates her to become the super hacker, vigilante hero. She escapes, runs away but her sister is trapped for many more years. As an adult hero, her mission is to track down a laptop that contains a program called 'Firefall' with codes to all the nuclear weapons in the world. She is up against a criminal organization called 'the spider' also looking for 'Firefall. Not a bad action film, but poor spy film which steals ideas from other action films. A mixture of 'James Bond', 'Mission Impossible', 'Jason Bourne' and 'Die Hard'. 6/10