Last year’s Wicked, the first in a two-part film adaptation of the smash hit stage show, was a pop cultural sensation; a fun frothy musical fantasy that seemed to fill the void in major event escapist cinema left by the conclusion of the Harry Potter films. It was also a remarkably effective vehicle for the prodigious talents of its leads
Read moreThe success of 2023’s The Super Mario Bros Movie and the dollar signs it registered in the gleaming eyes of studio execs guaranteed we would be subjected to many more years of video game movie adaptations. The latest is A Minecraft Movie which is based on the hugely successful game Minecraft that has obsessed tweens the world over. For those
Read moreMy experience of the fantasy game Dungeons and Dragons is limited to playing it for about 20 minutes 40 years ago. Suffice to say I’m not an expert on its intricacies and can only vaguely suggest how much has been woven into the new cinema adaptation, Dungeons And Dragons: Honour Among Thieves. Whether or not the film has obsessive fidelity
Read moreTaika Waititi’s previous instalment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor: Ragnarök was, at least for a while, a strikingly odd experience and refreshingly different flavour in what had become the bland cinematic equivalent of a fast-food franchise. Suddenly, droll, pisstaking Kiwi humour had entered the overblown Wagnerian Marvel superhero fantasy universe. At first, it felt quite subversive but the film
Read moreThe Aladdin story has been the subject of numerous cinema adaptations including the 1940 classic The Thief of Baghdad, the much-loved animated 1992 version with the late Robin Williams and outrageously camp English pantomimes. The latest version, a musical directed by Guy Richie, is elaborate, colourful and energetic but tonally inconsistent and not always as funny or charming as it
Read more‘Built For Speed’ is back for 2019 and this week we have a packed show for you as we catch up with some of the big films released over the Christmas period including ‘Aquaman’ and ‘The Favourite’. We’ll also tell you about the Interpol gig at the Palais last Friday. There’ll be plenty of fine tunes including some Interpol faves,
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